Anyway this isn't about religion this is about conspiracy theorists. We've all been down the pub or sat around a dinner table when someone will start a conversation with the words "did you know that there were explosives planted in the Twin Towers...they've actually found kryptonite and glycolic kerastase residue in the debris" oh god, please put me out of my misery.
Wikipedia actually have a great list of conspiracy theories (current and old):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conspiracy_theories
it's a delight to read and an hour or so of your life that you'll never get back. The moon landing conspiracy always a favourite and brilliantly satirised in this sketch:
A conspiracy by definition is a group of people who by mutual agreement conspire to do something unlawful and in turn hope their fellow conspirators will remain silent forever! Therein lies my first question conspiracy theorists. For example the moon landing, if you truly believe this was a hoax, it would have meant the collusion of at least three astronauts, many NASA officials, a camera crew (to film the hoax), editors as well as carpenters and electricians to build the set. That's a lot of people to keep quiet for the last 40 years and for what purpose? Even if the NASA officials and astronauts thought for whatever reason (space race with Russia, distraction from the Vietnam War) why would this make any difference to the guy holding the camera and the bloke fixing the lighting?
Even if the majority of people involved in the conspiracy kept this secret to their grave, it would only take one person to blow the whistle - death-bed confession, drunken confession to their partner, anonymous letter. Some people no matter how hard they try are really not good at keeping secrets or most importantly committing a crime.
One of the most famous conspiracies never to become a conspiracy theory would be Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. The newly crowned King James I was initially thought to be sympathetic to the Catholics (his wife was the Catholic Queen Anne of Denmark). Since Elizabeth I's reign, Catholics in Protestant England had been persecuted since her ex-communicaton from Rome but even with his Catholic Queen he felt that he needed to appease the Puritans who felt the Catholics were gaining strength. Finally James gave in to the Puritans and the Catholics were back were they started - underground and paying rescusancy fines (failure to attend Church of England services); plots against the newly crowned King became common place.
Guy Fawkes and his band of Catholic conspirators decided to blow up Parliament when it re-opened on the 5th November. From the original group of five, more people were recruited until more than ten people were now party to this conspiracy. However one of the last members of the group to be recruited (Tresham) sent an anonymous letter to a member of parliament (Lord Monteagle) asking him to avoid the opening. Monteagle had Westminster searched and Guy Fawkes was found amongst the gunpowder.
So why did Tresham (recruited because he had the horses they needed to escape on!) expose the plot? Maybe he felt this was a step too far even for him, he didn't want the blood of all these people on his hands.
Which is why when conspiracy theorists hypothesise after such epic events I ask how the hell would that "government" or group of people have organised such a monumental deception without one person coming clean after or before - it would be unheard of. Even the News International phone-tapping scandal which had been a collusion operating for over a decade is now public knowledge and there are elements of this investigation being unearthed every day. An ex-News of the World reporter speaking to The Guardian last week has threatened to expose those responsible for the scandal to ensure that "Truth Will Out".
The truth does come out eventually, sadly in some events not soon enough. History has shown us that even when you seemingly have everyone on your side it doesn't mean you can guarantee their silence.
1 comment:
People who believe in a conspiracy would rather listen to outlanish logic rather than fact, its easy to do. Sometimes its hard to understand because the truth seems so incrediable. Yes, men walked on moon and amazingly they came back safely. Yes, a handful of men caused the deaths of thousands with just box cutter knives.
Or...
Maybe your just part of the conspiracy by making us think that there is no conspiracy, when actually there is. That means that all the anti conspiracy people are actually part of the conspiracy and anyone who doesn't believe it is also part of it. The conspiracy is bigger than you thought.
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