Some of them are dupes, buying into right-wing messaging, as I wrote about more extensively here. Some people are afraid. They're buying into this systematic effort to get people to act and vote based on fear.
Then there are the wealthy right wingers, like Charles Koch, who has been attempting to do away with the safety net for the middle class for decades. That safety net includes keeping people safe from the pandemic. Sure, there are questions about balancing safety against keeping the economy going. But Those conversations can be done without evoking conspiracy theories.
I put a draft of this article to the senior team at OpEdnews and got great feedback about how there are real. problems in the world. I got feedback that I may be using POS YJ and his anti-Semitism as "setting up a straw man of anti-Semitic tripe in order to knock down all "conspiracy theories." But I used his mental excretions to show how someone who is totally immersed in conspiracy theory can combine numerous theories into one response or issue. Put them together and the guy looks like a total nutcase. But what about people who only embrace one of these. Is there a gradation of nutcaseness? Another OEN editor suggests that I haven't defined what conspiracy theories are.
I Googled the term and the definitions are fairly consistent with what Wikipedia says:
"A conspiracy theory is an explanation for an event or situation that invokes a conspiracy by sinister and powerful groups, often political in motivation, when other explanations are more probable. The term has a pejorative connotation, implying that the appeal to a conspiracy is based on prejudice or insufficient evidence"
The way I see it, there are a lot of people out there putting out what I consider to be conspiracy theories-- blaming "sinister or powerful groups" to explain things that happen. As publisher at OpEdNews, I see articles and comments coming in proposing these conspiracy theories (now that we're clear on what they are.) And I get a lot of feedback saying that we should be open to discussion and questions. And I think we are. But I also think it is the job of the site to curate-- to take a stand, at some point. For Covid, I've made the call-- a top-down decision-- that we're not going to advocate against Covid-19 safety guidelines. That is not something all of the editors here agree with. But bottom line, MY name is on the line with this site and my conscience too. So I won't allow OEN to go the way of FOX, which has been accused of leading to the deaths of people who ignored the dangers and risks of Covid-19.
The stakes are high. If you buy the apocalypse pessimism messaging they are blasting out you'll be more likely to buy the idea that Trump is fighting the Deep State and that the Deep State is behind all the Black Lives Matter protests. You'll be more likely to marginalize Black Lives Matter protests, which I believe to be incredibly hopeful and positive. The idea that progressives are pooh-poohing the progress the Black Lives Matter protests are making is clear evidence that the right wing echo chamber is working. Yes, BLM has received funding from left wing organizations. I don't have a problem with that. They're doing some good. Are some of the people leading the movement getting weird? Maybe. It's a big movement and there's a lot of money and power swirling around. That's the humans function. They're not perfect. But that doesn't make BLM deserve the attacks it has received.
I'd love to have someone explain to me why people who used to protest against war and for social justice are getting their heads into these inconsistent places.
When it comes to Covid 19 deniers, I think things are even worse. Almost always, we see the denial coming with conspiracy theories that the Deep State or the powers that be (PTB) are ominously, malignantly inflicting Covid 19 upon us so they can take away our freedoms, or to be more Libertarianly correct, 'our liberties.' Or they attribute the existence of the pandemic to a plot by Big Pharma. Sure, Big Pharma is going to exploit any opportunity they can in the face of the pandemic. But I don't buy the idea that they caused it.
Let's be clear, there are legitimate concerns that should be raised. One of OpEdNews's managing editors, Scott Baker, wrote, in an email to the OEN senior editorial team about his concerns, without using conspiracy theories at all:
" I could make a perfectly progressive case, and do, that Big Pharma is behind the push to replace our inherent ability to develop immunity to this disease with an ultra-expensive, dangerous, monopolized vaccine that may not even be necessary by the time it rolls out because so many of us will have developed herd immunity by then. Many people on the Left are legitimately worried about yet another way to separate the haves (vaccinated) from the have-nots (unvaccinated) and that this will run parallel to so many other economic divisions.For that matter, halting of the economy is not primarily a worry for the upper classes - they can usually take time off, work from home, or just live in protected communities with low rates of infection. A shutdown benefits them, especially if it accompanied by things like the CARES package which bailed out the asset markets where the top 10%, especially the top 1%, makes most of its income. A shutdown for the working class and the poor, OTOH, may make it impossible to pay the rent and raise poverty and homelessness; in fact, it already is.
Keeping kids out of school makes it very hard to impossible for working parents, but mostly mothers, to work outside the home. This is anti-working women, a Right-wing trope. Allowing people to go back to work is progressive in that it makes people more equal and empowered. Yes, federal programs could be passed to help the dislocated and those out of a job, but those are not forthcoming and poverty and permanent loss of livelihood is already here."
Do you see how he can question a lot of issues, and do it without, at all, referring to conspiracy theories such as Bill Gates, evil Dr. Fauci, Deep State, or the end of democracy.
Scott also comments on people's thinking about the pandemic:
"I think part of the problem, and the reason why people, but especially Americans, have gravitated towards Deep State theories on the basis of little, or even contradictory evidence, is that, counter-intuitively, we've had it too good for too long. Take a look at how pandemics used to ravage New York in this article.This picture illustrates the situation over 100s of years:
(Note: You can view every article as one long page if you sign up as an Advocate Member, or higher).
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