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I've been wondering about the conspiracy theory mindset.
Posted: Feb 6, 2013
And found some interesting info from a fairly recent study about it.
Belief in Conspiracies Linked to Machiavellian Mindset
Know any conspiracy theorists? No doubt they’ve tried to convince you that man didn’t really land on the moon or President Obama was born in Kenya.
In fact, they were imparting genuinely interesting information — about themselves. New research suggests belief in such theories may reveal a Machiavellian mindset.
“At least among some samples and for some conspiracy theories, the perception that ‘they did it’ is fueled by the perception that ‘I would do it,’” University of Kent psychologists Karen Douglas and Robbie Sutton write in the British Journal of Social Psychology.
“These studies suggest that people who have more lax personal morality may endorse conspiracy theories to a greater extent because they are, on average, more willing to participate in the conspiracies themselves.” ...
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Umhm. I've often noticed that some people expect bad from - others because it's normal behavior to them.
[ In Reply To ..]x
Now, now. That's not fair... - wait, what's this?
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Why did the lights go out - at the Super Bowl?
[ In Reply To ..]?
*waits for punchline* - .
[ In Reply To ..].
still trying to figure out why the lights went out - in Georgia
[ In Reply To ..]still not solved. ;)
Ha - Good one :)
[ In Reply To ..].
And who let the dogs out? (who who who who who) ♫ ♪ - mraker
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Awwww, LOL - whatta cutie (nm)
[ In Reply To ..].
Black Ops & Aliens - nm
[ In Reply To ..]x
The article would have been credible until - The part where - sm
[ In Reply To ..]They are trying to link where Obama was born. That is not a conspiracy theory. So go ahead and make fun of me if you want, but I'll set you straight on some things. Obama's birth place is not a conspiracy. JFK, UFOs, moon landings, etc. Those are conspiracy type stories. Not where someone was born.
Hate to break it all to ya also, but the fact of the matter is this is not a closed case as much as you want it to be. I'll just sit back and watch the show.
But no, you cannot trust an article when they start to include where someone was born in with conspiracy theories. Know they are trying to distract from the truth and poke fun of people. Many of us are not falling for it.
If the president was born in Kenya - Fanatical Hypocrite
[ In Reply To ..]that would be the definition of a conspiracy theory. Obama, his family, the state of Hawaii, the federal government and any potential witness to him being born would be in on it. Even if it's just him and a select few who forged his birth certificate, it's still a conspiracy.
Now, in the past there have been real conspiracies on a national level. The media coverage by Hearst and Pulitzer regarding the sinking of the Maine as a prime example of a conspiracy against the public. I also was not present for Obama's birth, so I can't confirm that it was in Hawaii. For that matter, I can't confirm the moon landing. I was not there.
The problem with this conspiracy theory (and many others) is that just because it's simple doesn't make it less far fetched. Why and how are two important questions in this case. How did Obama's family help him create a false life without anyone knowing? Why would they do this? President is really the only thing a foreigner can't achieve here, so why lie when he's a baby unless you're deliberately trying to create some sort of Manchurian candidate style secret agent? I mean there's really no point to this conspiracy.
All that work and effort, a whole life time of lying and for what? To get one lame duck president whose legacy includes a poorly constructed health care bill from Congress, a series of recommendations about gun control he can't enact, a minor war with a country that has nothing we want and killing Osama bin Laden. We have four years left, but so far I'm not seeing a pattern of anything. Just a series of fairly normal reactions to a bunch of abnormal crises that he did not precipitate.
So, while I can't disprove this conspiracy in the same way I can't disprove any conspiracy, I see no evidence whatsoever supporting it. There's literally nothing except a strong dislike of Obama himself.
Also, if I was living back then and decided to create a Manchurian candidate, I'd make him white, rich
and bland because that's what wins 43 out of every 44 presidencies in America.
Not really - The part where - sm
[ In Reply To ..]With your logic, if you think Obama born in Kenya is a conspiracy theory, then every person ever born in American is a conspiracy theory, Angelina Jolie born in California...conspiracy theory, Brad Pitt born in Oklahoma...conspiracy theory. See, that does not fall in the definition of a conspiracy theory. Also, forging a BC is not a conspiracy theory, it's a crime. Granted, some crimes are conspiracy theories (JFK, etc), but no forging a BC is not a conspiracy theory.
Also conspiracy theories are usually far fetched. The case of Obama being born in Kenya is not far fetched and therefore does not fall into the line of a CT.
The reason you cannot disprove this "conspiracy" (your word) is simply because it is not a conspiracy. It's just a fact. Not all fact are conspiracies.
I love people born in other countries. Lived in a few myself, so there is no strong dislike of Obama. In fact I voted for him. I usually don't vote for people I have a "strong dislike" of.
But, no. I do have to say once more, the article was not credible because he was comparing applies to oranges. Saying men didn't land on the moon and Obama was born in Kenya in the same sentence would be like saying. Orange juice makes you drive on the left side of the road. See? The two doesn't fit together. But then again Tom Jacobs does not have a lot of political background. His stories are usually off the wall like "Does eating organic food make you selfish" or (my favorite) "Your bedroom isn't that different than a Cavemans) LOL. His articles are his opinions, not based on hard facts though.
Again, I will be sitting back watching the show.
The "conspiracy" is the supposed forging of the birth certificate and... - mraker
[ In Reply To ..]the newspaper birth announcement and all that was entailed in the supposed cover-up of his supposed real birthplace, etc.
'Any reader who is the slightest bit acquainted with the methods of paranoid conspiracy theorists (PCTs) knows that a birther will not accept any document, no matter how thoroughly vetted or how long the form, as an authentic birth certificate of Barack Obama, unless it indicates that he was born in some country other than the United States. One of the more curious behavioral traits of PCTs is that they always follow the same procedure and it always runs in an infinite loop: they demand proof of X and when proof of X is provided, they reject it and reiterate the demand for proof of X or they will now demand proof of Y and repeat the cycle ad nauseam. Furthermore, if proof of X is not delivered immediately, the "delay" is seen as proof of a conspiracy to hide the truth and justification for doubting the authenticity of any evidence eventually presented.
Reasonable people soon recognize that the PCT doesn't really want proof; for, nothing counts as proof in his eyes. What he really wants to do is keep the conspiracy theory alive. This is evident from the fact that the PCT never provides proof himself, but rather offers speculations (he was born in Kenya or while in Indonesia he gave up his U.S. citizenship) based on whatever his imagination can conjure up and continues to machine gun questions about anything that seems odd or strange to him. The absurdity or lack of proof for the speculations will be irrelevant to those already predisposed to dislike, distrust, or hate Obama. "In October of 2008, Rush Limbaugh suggested that Obama's trip to Hawaii to see his dying grandmother might really have been made in order to do some quick forgery. Limbaugh's fellow talk radio host Michael Savage jumped on that bandwagon, too."'
http://www.skepdic.com/birthers.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_citizenship_conspiracy_theories
Also, the core material for that article is really the scientific study. You may disagree with some of the things the article writer used to explain the study, but that doesn't mean the *study* should necessarily be discounted; the author of the article, Tom Jacobs, had nothing to do with that.
Here's a better source for more complete study info (only the abstract is linked in the Pacific Standard article). Neither Obama nor Birthers are mentioned in the study at all:
Facts are not a conspiracy - no matter how much you want them to be
[ In Reply To ..]The facts are out there, which looks like you and others are not open to searching for the truth.
When someone comits a crime that is not a conspiracy. It's just the facts.
Do you know what a conspiracy theory is? - Because you seem confused.
[ In Reply To ..]A conspiracy theory is the idea that something is an orchestrated lie. Which the "fake" birth certificate idea is.
I know what it is, but it looks like you don't - Not confused here
[ In Reply To ..]Facts are facts. Doesn't mean its a conspiracy theory.
Thanks for setting us straight! - Here I thought it *was* a cons. theory
[ In Reply To ..]I mean, since it would have to be a big epic production to put together all the false documentation and false memories to make it look like he was born in Hawaii.
Good to know that is *not* a conspiracy theory!
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