Collarspace Discussion Forums


Home  Login  Search 

RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers


View related threads: (in this forum | in all forums)

Logged in as: Guest
 
All Forums >> [Community Discussions] >> Dungeon of Political and Religious Discussion >> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers Page: <<   < prev  4 5 [6] 7 8   next >   >>
Login
Message << Older Topic   Newer Topic >>
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 7:02:37 AM   
Rule


Posts: 10479
Joined: 12/5/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961
Vincent, some people will buy anything as serious, even when you are being sarcastic.

You are wrong - as usual. I suspect that I perceive a pattern here...

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 101
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 7:05:26 AM   
Rule


Posts: 10479
Joined: 12/5/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961
Melley proposes that conspiracy thinking arises from a combination of two factors, when someone: 1) holds strong individualist values and 2) lacks a sense of control. The first attribute refers to people who care deeply about an individual's right to make their own choices and direct their own lives without interference or obligations to a larger system (like the government). But combine this with a sense of powerlessness in one's own life, and you get what Melley calls agency panic, "intense anxiety about an apparent loss of autonomy" to outside forces or regulators.

Sociology is not a science. This is nonsense.

I notice that you are prone to quoting other people whom you perceive as authorities. That is a pattern as well.

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 102
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 12:52:10 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline 		Although Melley doesn't present any empirical data to show that conspiracy thinking has been increasing for these reasons, some research by psychologist Jean Twenge is consistent with his hypotheses. Twenge's research examines how Americans' personality traits have been changing over the past several decades. She reviews the results of hundreds of studies published from the 1960s through the end of the century, looking at the personality scores for each year. For example, she finds that trait anxiety (or neuroticism) has been rising dramatically in both children and adults over this period.

In another study, she shows that people have come to hold an increasingly stronger external "locus of control"; this refers to the feeling that external forces are determining what happens to you, as opposed to an internal locus of control, the feeling that you dictate your own outcomes. Twenge suggests that the stronger external locus of control reflects our ever-increasing exposure to uncontrollable events and a rise in the "victim mentality" of our culture. (Is this sounding familiar?)

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to Rule)
Profile   Post #: 103
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 2:26:49 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline 		Researchers at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College have found that people in Britain and the United States evidence slowly rising rates of paranoia. Experts say people display a wide spectrum of paranoia, from the irrational fears many people have daily to dangerous delusions, and estimates of the affliction range widely, from 5 to 50 percent. British psychologist Daniel Freeman, author of a new book on the subject, said that in big cities, many ambiguous events can lead to paranoid thoughts because people constantly make snap judgments based on limited information. (MSNBC News; Paranoia: The 21st Century Fear.)

quote:

LONDON - If you think they're out to get you, you're not alone.

Paranoia, once assumed to afflict only schizophrenics, may be a lot more common than previously thought.

According to British psychologist Daniel Freeman, nearly one in four Londoners regularly have paranoid thoughts. Freeman is a paranoia expert at the Institute of Psychiatry at King's College and the author of a book on the subject.
Full story

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 104
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 2:28:43 PM   
Rule


Posts: 10479
Joined: 12/5/2005
Status: offline 		No, it does not sound familiar. It is better than the nonsense Melley spouted, though.

Interesting. Unfortunately context data are lacking and the cause of the changes Jean Twenge discerns for that reason remains unknown.

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 105
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 3:27:53 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline 		Individualistic values have also been getting stronger in our culture, with greater importance attached to personal freedoms and self-reliance. The U.S. currently ranks highest in individualism compared to all other nations in the world.

The rise in anxiety, individualism, and external locus of control may therefore underlie the rise in conspiracy thinking. This is somewhat troubling because these personality trends show no sign of leveling off. In fact, given the current pace of globalization and the "Americanization" of other countries, it seems likely that these personality traits (and conspiracy thinking) will be increasing elsewhere too.

But what's the actual appeal of believing in conspiracy theories? What purpose do they serve people?

For one thing, conspiracy theories help us cope with distressing events and make sense out of them. Conspiracies assure us that bad things don't just happen randomly. Conspiracies tell us that someone out there is accountable, however unwittingly or secretly or incomprehensibly, so it's possible to stop these people and punish them and in due course let everyone else re-establish control over their own lives. Conspiracies also remind us that we shouldn't blame ourselves for our predicaments; it's not our fault, it's them! In these ways, believing in conspiracies serves many of the same self-protective functions as scapegoating.

Paranoia, 9/11, and the roots of conspiracy theories

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to Rule)
Profile   Post #: 106
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 3:42:26 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline 		Christopher Hitchens represents conspiracy theories as the 'exhaust fumes of democracy', the unavoidable result of a large amount of information circulating among a large number of people. Other social commentators and sociologists argue that conspiracy theories are produced according to variables that may change within a democratic (or other type of) society.

Conspiratorial accounts can be emotionally satisfying when they place events in a readily-understandable, moral context. The subscriber to the theory is able to assign moral responsibility for an emotionally troubling event or situation to a clearly-conceived group of individuals. Crucially, that group does not include the believer. The believer may then feel excused of any moral or political responsibility for remedying whatever institutional or societal flaw might be the actual source of the dissonance.

Where responsible behavior is prevented by social conditions, or is simply beyond the ability of an individual, the conspiracy theory facilitates the emotional discharge or closure that such emotional challenges (after Erving Goffman) require. Like moral panics, conspiracy theories thus occur more frequently within communities that are experiencing social isolation or political disempowerment.

Mark Fenster argues that "just because overarching conspiracy theories are wrong does not mean they are not on to something. Specifically, they ideologically address real structural inequities, and constitute a response to a withering civil society and the concentration of the ownership of the means of production, which together leave the political subject without the ability to be recognized or to signify in the public realm"

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 107
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 4:12:56 PM   
Rule


Posts: 10479
Joined: 12/5/2005
Status: offline 		You are still quoting other people.

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 108
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 5:16:06 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline 		The simple truth is there seems to be a psychological profile for those who believe in conspiracy theories. A number of studies have addressed this.


It is also a known fact that those suffering from delusions and psychosis rarely listen to facts that are in direct opposition to what they believe, want to believe or perceive.

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to Rule)
Profile   Post #: 109
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 5:47:24 PM   
Jack45


Posts: 220
Joined: 12/20/2006
Status: offline 		The US Federal courts convict people on conspiracy every single day. A kid in TN was convicted on Conspiracy and sentenced to 10 years in Federal prison.

The US Justice Dept said the kid and another 18 year old were going to wear TOP HATS and  tuxedos with the tails, and murder thousands of black people then the Democrat candidate for Pres at the time.

A jury bought that.

We are supposed to accept whatever conspiracies the govt and the MSM want us to accept.

The full force of the powerbrokers comes down on anything that they don't want the people to consider.

Conspiracies do happen, does anyone think America's immigration laws just changed by themselves? No there was a conspiracy, powerful people worked for a very long time to change the law. They told people nothing would change, but it did, as they planned.

Edward Kennedy told this lie about the 1965 Immigration Act, it should be his epitaph:
“First, our cities will not be flooded with a million immigrants annually. Under the proposed bill, the present level of immigration remains substantially the same… Secondly, the ethnic mix of this country will not be upset…. Contrary to the charges in some quarters, [the bill] will not inundate America with immigrants from any one country or area, or the most populated and deprived nations of Africa and Asia…. In the final analysis, the ethnic pattern of immigration under the proposed measure is not expected to change as sharply as the critics seem to think.”


(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 110
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 10:35:45 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline 		What this is dealing with is the more bizarre and frequently disproved theories that are prevalent in American or World culture.

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to Jack45)
Profile   Post #: 111
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 11:10:18 PM   
Rule


Posts: 10479
Joined: 12/5/2005
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961
The simple truth is there seems to be a psychological profile for those who believe in conspiracy theories. A number of studies have addressed this.

I have got a profile for you.

quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961
It is also a known fact that those suffering from delusions and psychosis rarely listen to facts that are in direct opposition to what they believe, want to believe or perceive.

What has that got to do with conspiracy theorists psychological profiles?

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 112
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 11:17:20 PM   
Real0ne


Posts: 21189
Joined: 10/25/2004
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961

The simple truth is there seems to be a psychological profile for those who believe in conspiracy theories. A number of studies have addressed this.


It is also a known fact that those suffering from delusions and psychosis rarely listen to facts that are in direct opposition to what they believe, want to believe or perceive.


I know so many idiots think dubyas conspiracy theory and no amount of proof will ever sway them


_____________________________

"We the Borg" of the us imperialists....resistance is futile

Democracy; The 'People' voted on 'which' amendment?

Yesterdays tinfoil is today's reality!

"No man's life, liberty, or property is safe while the legislature is in session

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 113
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 11:40:17 PM   
Rule


Posts: 10479
Joined: 12/5/2005
Status: offline 		I do not think that jlf1961 suffers from delusions or a psychosis.

(in reply to Real0ne)
Profile   Post #: 114
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/20/2010 11:47:21 PM   
thaprincess


Posts: 69
Joined: 11/29/2009
Status: offline 		I don't agree with most conspiracy theories, but when it comes to extraterrestrials I believe that may be possible. Has Earth come into contact with them yet? Probably not. But when you look at how big the universe is and how it's always constantly expanding, the idea that little Earth is the only planet that is inhabited just seems arrogant to me. I mean really, it's like having 20 acres of land and only having one small flower grow in the whole thing. Makes no sense, but that's just me.

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 115
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/21/2010 12:51:04 AM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: thaprincess

I don't agree with most conspiracy theories, but when it comes to extraterrestrials I believe that may be possible. Has Earth come into contact with them yet? Probably not. But when you look at how big the universe is and how it's always constantly expanding, the idea that little Earth is the only planet that is inhabited just seems arrogant to me. I mean really, it's like having 20 acres of land and only having one small flower grow in the whole thing. Makes no sense, but that's just me.



Personally, I have not made up my mind about aliens. I mean there are things from the ancient world that we cant duplicate now with our technology, maybe they had help.

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to thaprincess)
Profile   Post #: 116
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/21/2010 11:19:39 AM   
thaprincess


Posts: 69
Joined: 11/29/2009
Status: offline
quote:

ORIGINAL: jlf1961


quote:

ORIGINAL: thaprincess

I don't agree with most conspiracy theories, but when it comes to extraterrestrials I believe that may be possible. Has Earth come into contact with them yet? Probably not. But when you look at how big the universe is and how it's always constantly expanding, the idea that little Earth is the only planet that is inhabited just seems arrogant to me. I mean really, it's like having 20 acres of land and only having one small flower grow in the whole thing. Makes no sense, but that's just me.



Personally, I have not made up my mind about aliens. I mean there are things from the ancient world that we cant duplicate now with our technology, maybe they had help.


That's also something else to think about. I mean we are technically more technologically advanced than ancient civilizations but we haven't been able to duplicate how the Egyptians built pyramids or the Incas figured out how to draw large scale diagrams that could only be seen from air when there were no planes around then. It's like a big chunk of human history is missing.

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 117
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/21/2010 11:57:32 AM   
Avarette


Posts: 1
Joined: 3/20/2010
Status: offline 		So certain were the founding fathers' belief in conspiracies at the core of ambitious men, they argued their suspicions among themselves until they settled on a trilateral form of a Republic (Executive, Aminastrative and Judicial, each subordinate to the Peoples' Constitution), with a bicameral congress (Senate to pass laws without power to appropriate fund, and a House of Representatives to appropriate or veto funds for the Senate or report for the people to rise up with insurrection against the Senate.

There has definately been a successful conspiracy to educate children into ignorant subjects who are suspicious of everyone except the ambitious conspirators they are accustomed to.

..and the children think they grew up to thinkt up in their own little brains that they know who should bow down on their knees to whom.

(in reply to jlf1961)
Profile   Post #: 118
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/21/2010 11:59:24 AM   
Musicmystery


Posts: 30259
Joined: 3/14/2005
Status: offline
quote:

Sociology is not a science.


At what point were you granted arbitrary dominion over the sciences?

(in reply to Rule)
Profile   Post #: 119
RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers - 4/21/2010 1:07:42 PM   
jlf1961


Posts: 14840
Joined: 6/10/2008
From: Somewhere Texas
Status: offline 		Musicmystery, you forget, he is Rule and therefore the final arbiter of all things. At least in his mind.

_____________________________

Boy, it sure would be nice if we had some grenades, don't you think?

You cannot control who comes into your life, but you can control which airlock you throw them out of.

Paranoid Paramilitary Gun Loving Conspiracy Theorist AND EQUAL OPPORTUNI

(in reply to Musicmystery)
Profile   Post #: 120
Page:   <<   < prev  4 5 [6] 7 8   next >   >>
All Forums >> [Community Discussions] >> Dungeon of Political and Religious Discussion >> RE: The inner worlds of conspiracy believers Page: <<   < prev  4 5 [6] 7 8   next >   >>
Jump to:





New Messages No New Messages
Hot Topic w/ New Messages Hot Topic w/o New Messages
Locked w/ New Messages Locked w/o New Messages
 Post New Thread
 Reply to Message
 Post New Poll
 Submit Vote
 Delete My Own Post
 Delete My Own Thread
 Rate Posts




Collarchat.com © 2025
Terms of Service Privacy Policy Spam Policy

0.109