I think that the majority of conspiracy theories are asroturfed, even those that actually started as grass roots. The Russians clearly admit that reinforcing propaganda rhat sticks, is a big part of their strategy.
I feel like Americans generally “know better”. The bottle says to take two, we know better than to follow the label, we take four. The button says to hold until three quarters full, we know better than to fall for that coffee stealing scheme, we crank that baby till it spills over and then try to add 10 creamers with a name we can’t pronounce. So when we hear that someone died under a bizarre circumstance, we know better.
I feel like Americans generally “know better”. The bottle says to take two, we know better than to follow the label, we take four. The button says to hold until three quarters full, we know better than to fall for that coffee stealing scheme, we crank that baby till it spills over and then try to add 10 creamers with a name we can’t pronounce. So when we hear that someone died under a bizarre circumstance, we know better.
I have taken to calling this “American Exceptionalism”. Its in some ways baked in to how Americans address their world. I think much of it comes from pride-in-struggle, that for many Americans, their pride is all they have. And so this needs to be bolstered, put up front.
I think that the distrust of governments and generally those in power is a world-wide phenomenon. But I personally don’t think that it is unwarranted. Corruption, abuses of power, and conspiracies are widespread.
What do you mean? Can you describe what you mean with ‘fascist rulership’? Then maybe I can try.
For example… people in Mexico many people suspect that politicians have associations with drug dealers, and many believe believe that particular bureaucratic systems (such as handing out public infrastructure projects) are exploited to distribute funds in ways that benefit those in power and their friends, these people I would classify as “conspiracy theorists”, and in many cases they have been correct. You think that these people will always side with fascist rulership?
Fascist as in the US actively supporting and financing terrorism in countries it wants control over, historically. Like the Contras, that type of fascism.
And I think that being suspicious has been co-opted by the right wing, yes.
Fascist as in the US actively supporting and financing terrorism in countries it wants control over, historically.
Isn’t this a conspiracy theory? I think that the official position of the US is that they are not financing terrorists, and many of their military actions have been performed to defend citizens from their ruler’s human rights violations. Isn’t the Cuban embargo officially there to protect the Cubans against human rights violations? I think that arguing otherwise makes one a conspiracy theorist.
I am not saying this to argue, I am trying to explain what I understand with conspiracy theory - someone who is skeptical about the official narrative, and believes that those in power will not always be transparent and honest to the public.
And I think that being suspicious has been co-opted by the right wing, yes.
I am aware of the “drain the swamp” rhetoric, that there was a QAnon, anti-vax, and other more fringe theories. But I think that this is a sub-set of conspiracy theorizing that is amplified by the media. Many conspiracy theorists are investigative journalists and critics of governments. And many conspiracy theories have ended up being true. I don’t think that critical thought and skepticism is an exercise that only right-wingers should participate in.
Literally Sandinistas and Contras. Literally one of the world’s most egregious and “oh shit we got caught” moments in US history. Iran-Contras affair doesn’t ring a bell, does it? Why don’t you start there for both our sakes.
Home grown conspiracy theorists are basically all fascist, yes. That whole segment of knowledge, if you can call it that, was astropaved by the right wing decades ago. Let’s put it this way, Alex Jones isn’t voting left. There is always a big bad wolf that you can’t see, and the only cure is voting right.
It rings a bell but I am not familiar with the details, I will look into it but I can’t address it right away. I am well aware that the US is an imperialist nation that has committed and continues to commit horrible acts all over the world. But the point is that this is not the official narrative of the US government. They may give some concessions about what occurred in the past, but the official narrative about what is happening now is always that they and their friends are the good guys.
I am not from the US and the question is about conspiracy theories in other countries. If the question means whether Americans are more prone to believe US-conspiracy theories, then yes, simply because they are much more likely to be aware of them. Many people in other countries don’t consume as much media in English and might have no idea who Jeffrey Epstein was. So they probably have no opinion on whether there was foul play on his dead. But I think that if you talk to someone in Mexico and tell them the story of Epstein, most will agree that there was foul play involved. I am telling you this from my personal experience, at least within my circle but I think it expands more generally. We have a general distrust of the government and law enforcement, and so a story in which foul play is involved to silence someone else resonates. It happens all the time! Journalists are being killed all the time around here to silence them, and very often they are being critical of people in power… Is it really that unwarranted to be suspicious?
Those are fair points- I’m not native US either, just to make clear, and I understand what you’re saying. It’s kind of like, better safe than sorry? There is an evolutionary advantage in beings suspicious, in fact some say that the act of lying and lie detection in humans had a significant impact in forming our ability to communicate through language, so it’s a big deal, sure. We don’t want to get hustled, know what I mean?
The issues arise later, when all our needs are met and we’re fed and cozy, and still our minds try to evolve and suspect everything around us because- better safe than sorry, right?
Absolutely not. People might give you reasons Americans are but that’s because they don’t know about the crazy shit people believe elsewhere but there’s nowhere that’s immune to conspiracy theories.
The thing that differentiates America is that it’s a major country (so on TV a lot, in English) and a low-trust society. But Italy and Uganda and Japan all have wild ass conspiracy theories. (Italy has some actual conspiracies like Propaganda Due.)
American culture, and I’m generalising, there are a million sub cultures obviously… Emphasises the individual. The American dream of you working hard to get some payoff, is an example. As such there is a lot of cultural pressure to not correct people when you are in conversation, it’s more polite and acceptable to play along. Their stupid ideas, their problem.
And that’s where Americans (again I’m generalising) are weakest here. Because stupid ideas are everybody’s problem. Because once people go off-the-deep-end there is no easy way of getting them back. And a large amount of people involved in conspiracy fantasy is legitimising it.
So no Americans are not more prone to conspiracy fantasy, but American culture does permit fast growth of ideas. MLMs are another example of this. You can use cultural taboos and cultural elements to sell bullshit.
The words “lose” and “loose” have the same vowel sound (and for some reason the extra “o” changes /z/ to /s/).
There are no other words ending in -ose that have the /u/ sound
Many words ending in -oose exist that have an /u/ sound, including the very common word, “choose”, which has the same /uz/ sound that “lose” has at the end
I never get these spellings mixed up but I can absolutely understand why someone would.
America has vast tracts of arable land with people who have nothing to look at but fields and endless sky, and who get very little contact with other humans.
Americans are mentally ill by nature. You just need to be in America and you are infected with mental illness and obesity. This is the reason why Americans are more prone to conspiracy theories including the idea that if you are fit you will fluctuate to space, thus most Americans become comorbidly obese to keep them in the Earth’s ground atmosphere. The solution for this is to deny Americans having crazy children who shoot schools and other types of mass murders.
Yes, it is actually a geopolitical issue that affects the biology of Americans. The Pacific Province has active volcanoes that expel smoke and when inhaled makes Americans in the region feel lightweight and as if fluctuating. The Columbia Plateau terrain is formes by basaltic lava that erupted millions years ago; this terrain has special characteristics that make it smoother than other types, so Americans feel like fluctuating instead of being in the ground. The Appalachian Highlands were formed by colliding the North America Plate with the African and Eurasian plates, so when American walk through these places they feel like being in a continent other than North America. The list goes on, but we shall also remember America is a capitalist neoliberal country which is a modern framework for society, so Americans are very stressed out by this system that’s very different from when they were hunter-gatherers; this difference creates an environment prone to the development of mental illness and believing in conspiracy theories. The result: children shooting schools.
Yes, though you have to remember, in most other places, the government cracks down on conspiracy theories. For example, if you live in China and believe that certain groups are secretly being mistreated, you’re going to have the authorities on your tail.
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