4 ms·

> Not to be conspiratorial, but one can't help but notice a recent preoccupation in mainstream outlets with pathologizing conspiracy theorists, dissenters, and

> Not to be conspiratorial, but one can't help but notice a recent preoccupation in mainstream outlets with pathologizing conspiracy theorists, dissenters, and now, "jumpers." No conspiracies needed. QAnon type conspiracies are more visible than ever (as they get blown up on social media) and personally I've seemed to notice a pretty big uptick in 'uncle so and so went off the deep end so we had to cut off communication' type stories. This increase in attention feeds news stories about conspiracy adherents (and anybody that can be lumped in with them, even if it's not warranted). > maybe on closer inspection and thoughtful consideration it resembles propaganda to ignore your instincts, trust the narrative, and provides blunt tools for being suspicious of others who don't This is almost all "news" nowadays. Antifa is running the left, QAnon is running the right, somebody is out to get you and ruin the American way of life and we're going to tell you who the bad people are if you just tune in for our next segment.

notreallyserio 5y ago
> I've seemed to notice a pretty big uptick in 'uncle so and so went off the deep end so we had to cut off communication' type stories. I wonder how long that sort of cutting off has been happening in the past. I know there are members of my extended family I don’t associate with due to their crazy beliefs, but I haven’t talked about it.
- helen___keller 5y ago
  My personal opinion is that the pandemic offered a unique opportunity for hidden 'crazy beliefs' to expose themselves. If Uncle Bob in 2017 believed that the federal reserve was run by a cabal hoarding 90% of our tax money to enrich themselves, nobody would really care unless he feels the need to bring it up in every conversation to the detriment of normal human interaction. If Uncle Bob in 2020 believes that, he probably also believes that the cabal is using masks to control the population, which causes an immediate conflict when he insists on going unmasked everywhere, including visits to elderly grandma. And then in 2021 that belief probably gets extended to vaccines. In other words, the pandemic offered a unique opportunity for conspiracy theories to conflict with day-to-day life in a way that wasn't true before the pandemic.
  - rglover 5y ago
    > he probably also believes The entire problem. You're not speaking to this person to figure out what they actually believe, you're forming a belief based on your own assumption.
    - helen___keller 5y ago
      This is a hypothetical person, so no, I am not speaking to the hypothetical person. My point is that IF uncle bob's belief system segued into beliefs about masks and vax, then it becomes more visible and causes conflict with family members who didn't give a shit about the previous belief system; not that all conspiracies will necessarily turn into beliefs about masks and vax.
      - iammisc 5y ago
        It seems to me that there's been an uptick in cutting off family members because it sends a social signal to those you're speaking with that you're the kind of person that only cavorts with rational people. Given how individualistic america is today, cutting off your family for 'rationality's sake is seen as a good thing, whereas to most cultures, this is seen as utterly horrific. Well that and the preponderance of cutting off hypothetical family members.
        tonyedgecombe 5y ago
        >It seems to me that there's been an uptick in cutting off family members because it sends a social signal to those you're speaking with that you're the kind of person that only cavorts with rational people. It seems to me there has been an uptick in people wrongly assuming someone else's attempts to fix a problem are all down to social signalling.
        iammisc 5y ago
        haha touche.
  - 5y ago

notreallyserio 5y ago

> I've seemed to notice a pretty big uptick in 'uncle so and so went off the deep end so we had to cut off communication' type stories. I wonder how long that sort of cutting off has been happening in the past. I know there are members of my extended family I don’t associate with due to their crazy beliefs, but I haven’t talked about it.

helen___keller 5y ago
My personal opinion is that the pandemic offered a unique opportunity for hidden 'crazy beliefs' to expose themselves. If Uncle Bob in 2017 believed that the federal reserve was run by a cabal hoarding 90% of our tax money to enrich themselves, nobody would really care unless he feels the need to bring it up in every conversation to the detriment of normal human interaction. If Uncle Bob in 2020 believes that, he probably also believes that the cabal is using masks to control the population, which causes an immediate conflict when he insists on going unmasked everywhere, including visits to elderly grandma. And then in 2021 that belief probably gets extended to vaccines. In other words, the pandemic offered a unique opportunity for conspiracy theories to conflict with day-to-day life in a way that wasn't true before the pandemic.
- rglover 5y ago
  > he probably also believes The entire problem. You're not speaking to this person to figure out what they actually believe, you're forming a belief based on your own assumption.
  - helen___keller 5y ago
    This is a hypothetical person, so no, I am not speaking to the hypothetical person. My point is that IF uncle bob's belief system segued into beliefs about masks and vax, then it becomes more visible and causes conflict with family members who didn't give a shit about the previous belief system; not that all conspiracies will necessarily turn into beliefs about masks and vax.
    - iammisc 5y ago
      It seems to me that there's been an uptick in cutting off family members because it sends a social signal to those you're speaking with that you're the kind of person that only cavorts with rational people. Given how individualistic america is today, cutting off your family for 'rationality's sake is seen as a good thing, whereas to most cultures, this is seen as utterly horrific. Well that and the preponderance of cutting off hypothetical family members.
      - tonyedgecombe 5y ago
        >It seems to me that there's been an uptick in cutting off family members because it sends a social signal to those you're speaking with that you're the kind of person that only cavorts with rational people. It seems to me there has been an uptick in people wrongly assuming someone else's attempts to fix a problem are all down to social signalling.
        iammisc 5y ago
        haha touche.
- 5y ago