From http://z13.invisionfree.com/THE_UNHIVED_MIND/index.php?showtopic=53586
Ya know, going back about 7 years or so, when I first began to notice people uttering that phrase, especially when uttered in my direction, I would somewhat bristle at that notion. But, over time, I found that my reaction was like a phase I was going through, just like often happens whenver a person is going down a path that requires them to adapt to a particular situation. Eventually my reaction transitioned to one of humor, and laughter, upon seeing and or hearing people utter this catch phrase "conspiracy theory". Somewhere within the last 2 years or so, I was contemplating this situation and it came to me that just like it is in so many aspects of this world, there is the element of balance to consider. After dwelling on this thought for a while, it came to me that the flip side of what is really behind the knee-jerk reaction for so many people to spout "conspiracy theory" at the drop of a hat is reality phobia. Since that time I've taken a new approach to how I react to the phrase "conspiracy theory" .... kind of like a badge of courage, of sorts, in an odd way. I am confident in saying that - show me somebody / anybody with a habit of mindlessly throwing around that term "conspiracy theory" and I will show you a reality phobe, a plain, simple, cowering, brainwashed, oblivious reality phobe.
Based on my collective experience in this context, which includes a good amount of my personal observation of the past several years (an ongoing situation, that), there are various thoughts / meanings that have passed my mind upon seeing / hearing someobdy else shout "conspiracy theory!", but "dirty label" has generally not been among the interpretations I get out of people when they use this phrase. I see it more of a way that people have picked up from somebody else when they are trying to dismiss a situation they otherwise do not want to think about too deeply.
There are shades of meaning depending on who it is using the term. On the overall, "conspiracy theory" is the knee-jerk reaction that reality phobes have been trained and conditioned to have at the mere mention of certain trigger words as well as at the mere hint that a conversation is on the brink of heading in a direction that threatens to violate the reality phobe's false sense of reality. "conspiracy theory" is often times a cop out, a defence mechanism being activated by the person prone to utter this phrase as though it is going out of style. For the populous at large, it is the mass monopoly media that has programmed them to be fearful of reality. Talking heads in TV land as well as the print industry favor the utterance of the phrase "conspiracy theory" in order to dismiss a topic from the minds of viewers who otherwise might actually consider critical analysis of the topic. You wanna divert the attention of the masses away from a topic that you otherwise do not want the masses spending time on critically thinking about? Launch the phrase "conspiracy theory" into the public consciousness, and be sure to associate it with other catch phrases that the average person is want to throw around without actually comprehending the meaning, like "paranoia", and also be sure to associate same with "little green men flying around in peculiar space craft".
I gotta tell you, each and every time I've been hit with "oh, so you are a conspiracy theorist, eh?", and come back with "well, that tends to be the typical mantra of the average reality phobe", the impact has been palpable. You wanna knock somebody down a peg or two, or instantly turn a person into a sputtering, stammering idiot? Just suggest to them that they are possibly a reality phobe. No need to be blatant nor beligerant about. Being curteous while keeping voice at a civil level will do. You'll see what I mean. Without fail, the reaction is precious .... and the after effect just might get that person to actually spend a little time being a bit circumspect rather than being so quick to parrot someobdy else's nonesense that they picked up from TV or the newspaper.
-JagDRS
No comments:
Post a Comment