Friends with conspiracy theorists

DontHitTheDitch

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118218701#Comment_118218701

You’re instincts are right, conspiracy theories are, in a lot of cases, a way of avoiding the complications of reality and projecting your sense of helplessness onto an ambiguous ‘they’. For a minority of people though it’s a way of turning the tables on the people who are more intelligent than them, the harder you believe you’ve stumbled on ‘the truth’ that others can’t see the more superior you feel.

McGarnigle2020

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118218715#Comment_118218715

But Covid "conspiracy theories" are hardly a minority view, no matter what that creep Pete Lunn and his ESRI surveys might claim.

If I told anybody in work that I believed Covid was a disease that we should fear, that masks make a major difference, and that the government have tried their best, have been honest, and have not used the situation to any stealth advantage, I'd be laughed at. I've barely met anybody under 60 who believes the official line since about August 2020.

For most people, myself included, the turning point was when we went from 7 cases a day to a few hundred, via the meat plants, but Tony was insisting international travel was a red herring and had little to do with the rise.

People stopped buying it around then.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118213874#Comment_118213874

Most are nonsense but some conspiracies do happen.

People can both have a healthy scepticism and not believe everyone in a position of authority is out to get them.

Certainly a good degree of scepticism towards the media is very much needed at the moment.

EmmetSpiceland

Looks like the thread has been overrun.

Russia gate - never believed that one.

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118218747#Comment_118218747

That’s scepticism, not conspiracy. Except for you thinking covid isn’t something to fear (it’s clearly vicious) your other sentiments are probably with reasonable discourse. The not closing down the air travel, the anti mask sentiment – which seems to have disappeared to be replaced by an over confidence on masks – , the idea schools are safe, the insane opposition to antigen testing, NPHETS crazy statistics etc. All stupid. Never ascribe to conspiracy that which could be ascribed to incompetence.

silliussoddius

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118218751#Comment_118218751

Yes. But these days they are just fantasy with olympian level hoop jumping required.