I think you are mistaking conspiracy theorist with a skeptic.

Right, but all of your examples have nothing to do with conspiracy theories and are literally just questions.

That term has been hijacked. Skeptics used to be conspiracy theorists. Now skeptics are people that question the “crazy conspiracy theorists”.

you need them both, or are you just going to accept every theory that counters what most people think

Succinct. In response to much of the narrative defending of late I would add to the final question and ask:

Are you truly a conspiracy theorist if you don't ask questions?

Why would anybody want to identify as a 'conspiracy theorist'?

The masses have been programmed to equate 'conspiracy theory' with incorrect, unsuccessful, and crazy.

If you pay attention for long enough, and put aside your ego, eventually you realise that there is no 'waking up' the masses.

They are completely and utterly hopeless. Sheep in human form.

This is the reality, 'conspiracy theorist' or otherwise.

Why would anybody want to identify as a 'conspiracy theorist'?

I do all the time. It seems to let other people drop their guard and either asked questions or propose their own.

How long have you been with your wife?

12+ years, she's from the Midwest and I'm from the north east... Different cultures for sure imo.

I meant the mindset, not the stereotype that goes along with it. C'mon Jep, we all know about the memo that coined the term. Calling people sheep is no way to appeal to them.

You're speaking with the very ego you criticize. There's a way to accomplish goals where the end result is mutual growth; we can get there :)

'Ego' may mean something different to you and I.

When I talk about 'ego' I am talking about the sense or feeling that one is an intelligent creature who can see what is in front of him.

The more I have learned about the hoaxes, the more I have had to accept my own innate stupidity.

This has led me to challenge more and more of my own fundamental beliefs, and with each step, the ego takes another hit.

I suspect that you are conflating 'ego' with confidence, but these are very different things indeed.

Just anticipated the use of the more common definition of ego. The commonplace definition for ego is one's sense of self importance or self esteem; my mistake in reading it as the wrong definition.

I get what you're saying. The more you learn, the more you realize how wrong your previous views were, granting you the understanding that you very well may continue to be wrong moving forward.

It's important to constantly question what you hold to be 'true', absolutely.

Well-written and on-point.

Hey man, you said it first... :D

I have an attachment to some of my beliefs.

Freedom, non negotiable.

Liberty, non negotiable

Justice, non negotiable.

Add private property, non negotiable. Then you get my vote!

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lol, are we in fifth grade history class?

Doesnt mean that private proptery cant be a welcomed and expected consequence of civilized society.

It means that so far it's only caused famine, war, disease and pollution... so, since we can get along very happily without it, I wonder why you are so attached to the idea. I consider myself a custodian of the planet rather than king of an acre plot—it's a more important 'title' anyway, if that's what you're into.

Maybe throw right to privacy in there?

You really only have the right to privacy in regards to your private property.

Good point. Just have to be sure to not use an Alexa, or smart TV, or iPhone, or Smart thermostats, etc...

Buyer beware.

Or fridge or oven or dishwasher. I mean I laugh my like mad to Silicon Valley but only because it's too true. Mike Judge is our truth speaker and a mirror.

Jews don't care about 'right to privacy'; they love fascism.

Add private property

To be defended by the guys with the guns and a monopoly on issuing currency, yeah?

Wat?

I don’t have a badge... but I have a lot of guns and plenty of multiple different cryptocurrencies not controlled by the Fed.

That’s who I rely on to defend my private property.

How would you go if the feds rocked up with their guns?

Oh well if we’re talking about defending from the government, then my only protection is the Constitution (for what that’s worth these days anyway). I was talking about from other citizens really.

Try to be as brave as the Clive Bundy family

Ever wonder if maybe that story was a hoax?

Why?

Open dialogue and questioning of our beliefs is in short supply, on all sides. But there are more and more underhanded and devious tactics being deployed to control the flow and character of the dialogue. And i think it's obvious, that the conversation taking place is being conducted in a dishonest way. That process of dialogue has no future.

continual dialogue and consistent questioning of our own beliefs.

the important part. sabotaging dialogue, or becoming tribal to the point of doing bad things that you would rightly shame the 'opposition' for doing are not acceptable in your pursuit of your ideals.

surely flytape would agree

Different cultures evaluate these beliefs and weigh them differently. Not all cultures are created equal. Brown people are more comfortable in a totalitarian state because they have no ability to long range plan as it is not part of their genetic makeup...and they love communist wealth redistribution...what's theirs is theirs and what's yours is theirs as well.

You can not have

Freedom

Liberty

Justice

with a 'multicultural' society because they don't evaluate issues, politics, legal matters or economics in the same way as Ethnic Europeans do...none of the things you listed mean shit to them because they have no genetic or cultural history for valuing them.

Well said.

Brilliant post.

I like to assign “chances of possibility” to newly discovered information, apply that new info to the information that I already have (which I keep running multiple completely separate possibilities) and then use it to recalculate which possibilities I believe to be most probable RIGHT NOW. And yes each new piece of information reveals an exponential amount of new questions. Obviously this process is never ending.

I think everyone is a conspiracy theorist in their own way and on their own level. From thinking the bitches two cubicles down have it out for you to reptilian alians have infiltrated the top of society... It's why I laugh at people who use it as a smear. But It's been interesting how society has twisted the term to apply to any one asking questions. Asking questions isn't proposing a theory or insinuating a reason for the things you wonder about, which wouldn't constitute being a CT. None the less, I wear CT as a badge of honor IRL and have no issue introducing myself as such... Infact I like it, it always makes for an interesting conversation.

I would say the media has twisted the term. And the CIA actually invented the term to discredit skeptics of the Warren Report after the JFK assassination.

Maybe so. At the moment the media has poisoned the well a ton. But with all the 'fake news' narrative being spewed from all media 24/7, maybe people will see that as the media trying to reclaim their place/legitimacy of the narrative gatekeepers (worded badly). And look for facts that are not covered by MSM. Mk-ultra, cointel-pro etc.

Sounds better than Clerks 2 porch monkey idea =)

I tell people too. After we hang for awhile. Hubby is sadly not that interested though he claims he can't keep up with me and is amazed at what I come up with and how often it's true or close. He isn't dumb just I think happy to be complacently numb and play video games.

I read a ton too so thats part of it also.

But we are in an age now where science is forgotten for scientism aka religion of decreed "settled science" and "peer reviewed stamps". Anyone asking questions even when presented with the settled answer is now a conspiracy theorist... And not just practicing traditional science.

It goes hand in hand with mesmerizing us to docility. If we accept the theology of climate change and man made drugs and invasive surgery as the only medicine, the agreed upon official stories and history then we are good and normal citizens.

If we ask "Why?" We are misbehaving and crazy or stupid... Heretics really. And we even have Blasphemy laws for the modern age in California, UK, Canada and New York.

its been taken back. theres a ton of conspiracy theories being floated on mainstream cable news right now

conspiracy theory thinking has been weaponized for political use. conspiracy theories are often impossible to prove and especially disprove, now they are used to attack political opponents.

as usual, critical thinking will lead you closer to the truth than an ideology of conspiracy theories OR an acceptance of whatever the govt mouthpiece tells you

conspiracy theory thinking has been weaponized for political use. conspiracy theories are often impossible to prove and especially disprove, now they are used to attack political opponents.

Lol, I was saying this a year ago with regards to Rachel Maddow. Could you imagine the field day she would have digging into Bilderberg members & attendees if she use the same measuring stick she uses with Russia-Gate? Btw, my auto correct just suggested Elsa-gate instead of Russia-gate... Lol, That's funny since I've barely discussed elsa-gate.

Many of the questions you are asking simply don't have an answer. Some things just happen and there's really no explanation, nature or acts of God are just that, unforseen, or innocent, if you like.

You must question everything, yes.

“To seek truth requires one to ask the right questions. Those void of truth never ask about anything because their ego and arrogance prevent them from doing so. Therefore, they will always remain ignorant. Those on the right path to Truth are extremely heart-driven and childlike in their quest, always asking questions, always wanting to understand and know everything — and are not afraid to admit they don't know something. However, every truth seeker does need to breakdown their ego first to see Truth. If the mind is in the way, the heart won't see anything.”

My sentiments exactly. Well put, thank you for voicing this.

It's always been about questions. Questions are dangerous things because they bring things to light that were previously in darkness. The truth is the most important thing we can know. The only way to find the truth, is by asking questions.

Whenever you have a society that either prevents you from asking questions about certain topics or shames you for doing so, it is usually for one of two reasons:

1. The mere thought that their perception of a situation could be drastically different than what they currently believe scares them.
2. They are comfortable not knowing the truth since they would rather live in ignorance (Cypher in the Matrix).

The government's goal is to eventually eliminate the Socratic Method, which to this day is still a radical philosophy to follow.

The only scary thing to think about is....when will the ability to ask questions be eliminated?

Just ask questions.

Very well stated. I question most things, not because I think worst case scenario, but because I have a natural curiosity of the hows and whys. Sometimes those questions lead to more questions & those questions bother some people. I have no shame in my curiosities and my journey to find truth. Anyone who knows me, knows this about me. And oftentimes, I’m the first one they call when they have questions of their own. When others know they will not be judged for their questions, they become more comfortable with their own curiosities. Curiosity and an open mind is nothing to be ashamed. It’s healthy to not blindly follow and shut out any opposing thoughts.

Shaming has become acceptable behavior in our society and it is disturbing. Since when is it ok to go around and persecute anyone you feel is deserving of your ridicule? Just because they may have a different opinion or it does not fall into your sense of what is acceptable does not give you the right to place judgement on my thought process. This sense of judgmental arrogance is destroying society.

This guys asking too many questions. Bake em away, toys

This about how you address the posts and comments here in this sub and information in general. Do you take everything as fact and always come to an end result after each post? Do you continually allow your perception of things be defined by other people or do you conscientiously add to your information pool and revise your thoughts and feelings as you go along?

Are you or could you always keep your mind open to new ideas and never let yourself fall easily into that trap of confirmation bias?

After a certain of amount of dissection of information and analysis of patterns we see continually develop here, one may come to some conclusion that skepticism is paramount. Exhausting all questions and follow through become all the more important.

Since we work within a realm of misinformation and disinformation, the very idea of being driven to a socially acceptable end result should be rejected. The purpose of a propaganda campaign and a slowly shrinking acceptable view of the world should drive one to be continually skeptical about all that is presented to him/her.

Or do you try to make the funny comment and let an opportunity slip by?

Can we trust our governments and institutions to tell us the truth and do what is in our best interests?

No.

You know what the problem with being a conspiracy theorist is? That in many cases, it's not a mindset, it's a hobby. It's a thing people do because they enjoy it, and this doesn't lead to searching for truth, but a reflexive contrariness to whatever is a commonly held belief. If 'they' say it's true it must not be true. If 'they' say it's good for you then it must be bad. If 'they' say it's unhealthy then it must be good for you. Why is that event a false flag? Because 'they' said it's real.

Being contrarian is just as rigid and close-minded as being one of the 'sheeple'.

There aren't many things I'm certain of. I'm pretty certain about deity and the afterlife because ive seen it with my eyes.

But in this world what you see is not what you get these people play a long game to ensure control for their grandkids. We are looking to the next election bc thats what the media keeps us focuses on

I take medication. I experience some side effects. Sometimes I see myself on the planet "Ogo", and part of an intellectual elite, preparing to subjugate the barbarian hordes on the planet Pluto. Even though this is a totally convincing reality for me in every way, nevertheless Ogo is actually a construct of my psyche. I am mentally divergent, in that I am escaping certain unnamed realities that plague my life here. When I stop going there, I will be well. Are you also divergent, friend?

"12 Monkeys"anyone?? Hello!

I give up

Right, but all of your examples have nothing to do with conspiracy theories and are literally just questions.

Why would anybody want to identify as a 'conspiracy theorist'?

The masses have been programmed to equate 'conspiracy theory' with incorrect, unsuccessful, and crazy.

If you pay attention for long enough, and put aside your ego, eventually you realise that there is no 'waking up' the masses.

They are completely and utterly hopeless. Sheep in human form.

This is the reality, 'conspiracy theorist' or otherwise.

Buyer beware.

Or fridge or oven or dishwasher. I mean I laugh my like mad to Silicon Valley but only because it's too true. Mike Judge is our truth speaker and a mirror.

Shaming has become acceptable behavior in our society and it is disturbing. Since when is it ok to go around and persecute anyone you feel is deserving of your ridicule? Just because they may have a different opinion or it does not fall into your sense of what is acceptable does not give you the right to place judgement on my thought process. This sense of judgmental arrogance is destroying society.

Hey man, you said it first... :D