Sunday, April 22, 2007
Conspiracism: The Neverending Story
The recent Rosie O'Donnell controversy in which she repeated various 9/11 conspiracy myths has compelled me back to my blog. My original conception was that I would bring together links to various official reports, scientific papers, websites, pertinent articles, pictures, and videos so that the general public might have a portal to information that dispels the myths and errors perpetuated by the 9/11 troofers. And then, I would simply maintain the links, adding or deleting as the case might be, with the occasional blog post of my own.
In retrospect, my grandiose concept of being a "portal" is naive. A deluge of conspiracy sites flooded the Internet, gathering ill-gotten momentum from partisan politics and the war in Iraq, and sweeping sites such as mine into obscurity. Still, I earnestly believe that my site has a place in the greater scheme of things. But, it is missing an important aspect. Namely, I must continue to blog and attract attention to the site.
Why? Because conspiracies are neverending stories. As information is presented to debunk the mistakes and myths, the conspiracy story mutates. It grows larger to overcome obstacles or absorb them into an even wider conspiracy. Then, people who hear only the conspiracy story start to repeat its elements until the conspiracy theory starts to self-validate. And, by that I mean that the repetition of myths and mistakes of the conspiracy story across the Internet and by word of mouth reaches a critical mass. Then, when trying to verify the assertions, people see the same "data" on many websites, hear other people state the same "facts" in conversations. Suddenly, by virtue of repetition, the conspiracy story becomes truth rather than speculation.
And, lest you dismiss this phenomenon, the Niger yellowcake debacle that led to the infamous 16 Words in the State of the Union was "validated" by various Western intelligence sources confirming the report with one another. As each had gotten the report separately, they confirmed to one another the details. So, it can happen.
In the face of the Neverending Conspiracy Story, I see my blog and the many other websites dedicated to presenting factual information on 9/11 as important contributions to our country. Yes, I know that still sounds grandiose. Forgive my impertinence, if you would. Better yet, ignore me and focus on the facts that I hope to be able to direct to your attention through my blog.
As always, let me hear from you!
In retrospect, my grandiose concept of being a "portal" is naive. A deluge of conspiracy sites flooded the Internet, gathering ill-gotten momentum from partisan politics and the war in Iraq, and sweeping sites such as mine into obscurity. Still, I earnestly believe that my site has a place in the greater scheme of things. But, it is missing an important aspect. Namely, I must continue to blog and attract attention to the site.
Why? Because conspiracies are neverending stories. As information is presented to debunk the mistakes and myths, the conspiracy story mutates. It grows larger to overcome obstacles or absorb them into an even wider conspiracy. Then, people who hear only the conspiracy story start to repeat its elements until the conspiracy theory starts to self-validate. And, by that I mean that the repetition of myths and mistakes of the conspiracy story across the Internet and by word of mouth reaches a critical mass. Then, when trying to verify the assertions, people see the same "data" on many websites, hear other people state the same "facts" in conversations. Suddenly, by virtue of repetition, the conspiracy story becomes truth rather than speculation.
And, lest you dismiss this phenomenon, the Niger yellowcake debacle that led to the infamous 16 Words in the State of the Union was "validated" by various Western intelligence sources confirming the report with one another. As each had gotten the report separately, they confirmed to one another the details. So, it can happen.
In the face of the Neverending Conspiracy Story, I see my blog and the many other websites dedicated to presenting factual information on 9/11 as important contributions to our country. Yes, I know that still sounds grandiose. Forgive my impertinence, if you would. Better yet, ignore me and focus on the facts that I hope to be able to direct to your attention through my blog.
As always, let me hear from you!
