"Why Jimmy?!"
That is the question this a.m. "Why do some people believe in crazy (see previous post) conspiracy theories?"
Honestly, beats me. Maybe some people are just "wired that way." As for myself, I have always been a bit of a skeptic: "not easily convinced; having doubts or reservations." Maybe it's just a personality quirk.But, you know, I do have some guesses about what's going on:
Psychoticism is a core feature of so-called schizo-typal personality disorder, characterized in part by “odd beliefs and magical thinking” and “paranoid ideation.” In the language of psychiatry, it is a milder form of full-blown psychosis, the recurrent delusional state that characterizes schizophrenia. It’s a pattern of magical thinking that goes well beyond garden variety superstition and usually comes across socially as disjointed, uncanny or “off.”
We are a Species that NEEDS ANSWERS! Human Beings need answers, they hate uncertainty & ambiguity. We have even invented Gods and Demons just to get our heads around the reality of our human condition.
Fear of the The Other - Human Beings need to blame someone, or a group of someones, to explain their failures, crushed dreams, and general unhappiness.
PTSD -- We are all suffering from Post-Traumatic-Stress-Syndrome. We are all connected in a global information network, we are constantly being assaulted with bad news, tragedy, and hard to process news: mayhem, death and destruction. It's not a healthy thing to be bombarded constantly with BAD NEWS.
Too Many Human Beings (8 billion and counting), spinning around on a Planet that we are destroying. Call it the "Ball of Confusion" Syndrome. We are depleting and destroying our life-supporting, interconnected ecosystem. Species are going extinct. The rain forest, the oceans, the air we breathe and the ground we walk on, are all being adversely impacted. Maybe all this death and destruction is making us CRAZY?!
Inventing Crazy Conspiracy Theories helps human beings explain the world to themselves and makes them feel better. Maybe it's that simple?! Better to believe in something totally, bat-shit crazy, than to see the world and ourselves clearly. Let's call this one the Oedipus Syndrome. Oedipus had a moment of clarity: he realized he had slept with his mother and murdered his father. He couldn't deal with that cold truth and he blinded himself.
What Else? I actually typed into the Great Google this A.M. and came up with this article from the NY Times: "A Theory About Conspiracy Theories." I recommend reading the article. It all comes down to Psychology:
"The personality features that were solidly linked to conspiracy beliefs included some usual suspects: entitlement, self-centered impulsivity, cold-heartedness (the confident injustice collector), elevated levels of depressive moods and anxiousness (the moody figure, confined by age or circumstance). Another one emerged from the questionnaire that aimed to assess personality disorders — a pattern of thinking called “psychoticism.”
Psychoticism is a core feature of so-called schizo-typal personality disorder, characterized in part by “odd beliefs and magical thinking” and “paranoid ideation.” In the language of psychiatry, it is a milder form of full-blown psychosis, the recurrent delusional state that characterizes schizophrenia. It’s a pattern of magical thinking that goes well beyond garden variety superstition and usually comes across socially as disjointed, uncanny or “off.”
Now. What about Fox News & Rush Limbaugh, and Hannity, and Tucker Carlson, and Alex Jones and all those Toxic, Right-Wing Noise Makers? Why do they push crazy conspiracy theories? That one is easy. It's all about the Benjamins. Greed. Power. It's a lucrative business model. A certain way to build a large and loyal audience. Sell the FEAR, Sell the CRAZY. Create an Enemy to Hate!
Anyway, thanks for playing along this morning...
