this post was submitted on 26 May 2024
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In light of the last decade, I've come to almost appreciate the dumb, harmless conspiracy theories like this one.
Flat Earth, birds aren't real, etc - if folks think spending their time on that shit is fun, then more power to em.
More of the fun dumb shit, less political conspiracies that almost invariably shepard idiots over to supporting fascists.
I don't think there is such a thing. Aside from obviously credible things like "the CIA did X thing Y years ago", conspiracy theories are generally not harmlessly even if they're the flat earth kind.
I've seen interviews of flat earthers who say their family has cut them off because of their conspiracies. It can become such a huge part of them, that they can't help but push it on their friends and families. It drives them crazy, so they cut off said conspiracy theorist from their lives.
And there is also the part that belief in conspiracy theories lowers your standard for evidence, makes you paranoid and stubborn, all of which makes you prone to other conspiracy theories.
I've seen much of this with my own mom. She first started believing the covid vaccines were bad, now she believes Bill Gates & George Soros are trying to depopulate the earth. And nowadays it has lead to her acting like fluoridated water and toothpaste is cyanide. Once you have your foot in the door, every other more dangerous conspiracy theory becomes more palatable.
Most flat earth conspiracy is part of a larger biblical conspiracy, which lines up with pushing for Christian theocracy. Most of the flat earthers are not "one and done." They are part of deeper and way more harmful conspiratorial groups like Qanon.
It's not at all harmless joke conspiracies like "birds with arms" or other kinds of one off cryptozoology like Bigfoot or Nessy.
Oh. Well... fuck.
Reality always finds a way to disappoint
I agree. I like the idea of the loch ness monster.
Problem is though, this stuff all seems to blob together and you start a conversation about the Baghdad battery and all of a sudden someone is making some pretty antisemitic theories about the world.
Conspiracy theories generally involve a worldwide conspiracy to hide the “truth”. There’s almost always at least an implied “them” who doesn’t want this truth to be revealed. The illuminati, the freemasons, or, inevitably, the Jews get blamed for suppressing shit. It’s a short road from flat earth or the lizard people to “a worldwide Jewish cabal is trying to sacrifice our children to Satan”.