Do you tend to buy into government conspiracy theories?

[Shell Beau]

[billyskank]

1. You current government makes it too easy!

If you told me Dick Cheney killed babies and drank their blood, I'd probably believe that too!

[Shell Beau]

2. Oh! Haven't you heard?

He does kill babies and drinks their blood.

:P

[billyskank]

4. See? No reaction at all.

:P

[ComerPerro]

3. If you're selling, I'm buying

I at least will hear them. Depends on how far-fetched they seem, and how much of it centers around space aliens or a family from Arkansas that before 1991 was relatively unknown.

[Shell Beau]

What about the paper moon?

Area 51 type stuff? All of the JFK theories?

[CanuckAmok]

10. JFK for sure.

The fact is that we don't know the truth. That makes the matter, by definition, a conspiracy.

As far as the Area 51 stuff, I'm sure some of it is based in fact; there is a top secret, shoot tresspassers on site, airbase at Groom Lake. Whether or not it has any alien flying saucers parkd there is a whole other matter.

[ComerPerro]

12. Exactly.

[Shell Beau]

13. JFK-- I think we all know that we don't know everything

we need to know about that.

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

5. No.

The vast majority of people can't keep their mouths shut. It's extremely hard to keep a conspiracy a secret at the governmental level.

[Shell Beau]

6. So you don't think there are any conspiracies out there?

[Nicholas D Wolfwood]

9. I didn't say there aren't ANY...

just that I tend not to believe them.

[Shell Beau]

11. I don't either. They are amusing, but I don't

really believe any of it!

[Taverner]

7. If there's more than one person involved, it is a conspiracy

So...yes!

Watergate was a conspiracy, Traitorgate (Plamegate) was a conspiracy, Contragate was a conspiracy and the October Surprise was a conspiracy.

However, if you mean do I think there are yet uncovered conspiracies? Yes, and JFK's assasintation was one of them.

[Shell Beau]

8. I was more talking along the lines of

Area 51, the paper moon, government people killing others so silence them, etc. That kind of stuff.

[Taverner]

15. Well I have no doubt that the government kills to silence

James Hetfield for example. Wrote "Fortunate Son." Mysteriously committed suicide. You can actually find quite a few suicides among Bush associates.

As for Area 51, I think it's a testing strip for experimental aircraft. Most likely there are some planes there that are so dangerous, that they couldn't be publically flown without a storm of lawsuits, so that's why its so secret, even today.

Rex 84, however, I do think is the neocon's pet project. They always bring them back to life when they take over again. Think camps, the kind that keep people in...

[Shell Beau]

16. But couldn't you say the same thing about suicides and

deaths during the Clinton administration?

[Taverner]

19. Like Vince Foster?

Perhaps, but if you look at quo bono (who benefits?), the Clinton Administration did not benefit, nor did it stand to benefit from Foster's death. All it did was hurt them, and give whackjobs like Jerry Falwell conspiracy gum to chew on. Especially since it turned out Whitewater was nothing but a fineable offense at worst...

[Shell Beau]

22. Yeah, but my point is that you could probably look

at any administration and find weird things (suicides, suspicious wrecks, etc.) that happened. B/c really there are hardly any politicians that don't have skeletons in their closets that they don't want revealed.

[CanuckAmok]

20. Yes.

Power corrupts, regardless of ideology.

You have to understand that no government can last for long without having a dirty tricks department, if fo no other reason than the number of opponents with their own dirty tricks departments.

The

[Shell Beau]

23. I can agree with that. I don't think ANY

politician gets to where they are w/o some dirty work along the way. And this goes for libs and rethugs.

[Oeditpus Rex]

14. Buy into 'em? Nope

I make 'em up. :evilgrin:

[johnnie]

17. Honestly

I think there are some things that happen that some people would think I am out of my gourd. I guess you can call it a government conspiracy theory, but I look at it as logical thinking.

I have also had some information given to me that some people don't so it makes more sense to me.

[Shell Beau]

18. Wait, I'm a little lost here.

So, you have some info that I wouldn't have access to?

[johnnie]

21. Well, just some things I have been told

From people who are a little closer to things than I am. If I say things though I would be blown off.

Nothing really "crazy" just little things.

[QuettaKid]

24. how much closer?

like "aubergine" closer...?

[Shell Beau]

25. Interesting!! Now I know if something

really weird happens to you, you opened your mouth to the wrong person or you knew just a little too much!!

;) Just teasing.

[Fox Mulder]

26. I believe the goverment is covering-up everything.

Aliens. JFK. RFK. Time Travel. Philadelphia Experiment. 9/11. Mind control. Population control. God. Ghosts. Paranormal. Watergate. Roswell. The moon landing. Plamegate. George Bush. Enron. Marilyn Monroe. Loch Ness Monster. Bigfoot. Amelia Earhart. Oklahoma City. Waco. Drug Companies. Majestic-12. Everything.

The truth is out there. I intend to find it.

[Shell Beau]

27. Good luck! Let me know when you get

ALL of the answers!

[progmom]

28. not generally

[RedCloud]

29. Let's start one.

Let's say we are stinking rich, but don't want anybody out of our club to have anything.

First we get some bozo elected president. Then for no reason whatsoever our friends in the housing industry jack their prices up beyond any hallucinogenic expectation.

Then we raise energy prices.

Then we watch in horror as some planes flown by inexperienced pilots crash into the WTC knocking down four of them. We keep blabbing that only two fell. Within days all will say two fell. Our Pentagon gets hit. Yeah, that's the picture. Our Pentagon. That's why we couldn't stop 'em. Then we blame this on a country that stands in the way of a pipeline. We then scare the hell out of everybody by announcing Anthrax is possible. Finally weeks later, the morans realize they are getting the secret winky winky to go ahead and Anthrax liberal outlets of expression to show 'em we mean business.
Then we shut up all voices in the FBI and leakers in the CIA. We also pass legislation through the sheeple of congress. legislation that took months to type, yet no one will dare ask where the hell did that come from.

Meanwhile Bozo will stop his parody of the presidency and erase his shit eating grin while sending you all off to war, cause he told you who did it, but never proved his case. Of course his pal won't get caught, cause we need him to scare the hell out of you some more. meanwhile all wing nuts are getting mega buck jobs and still scaring the hell out of you.

then we let a sniper run loose in the DC area. We don't give you the correct info for weeks. You fork over more money, scared to BeJeebus. Finally we tell you it is not a white van, but.... and in a few hours an alert citizen reports where they are. Gee, we got brazillions of dollars parading around as heroes and some freaking citizen reports it to us and the news. Now we are fucking forced to close in on the sniper. It takes several hours. But you forgive us and call us heroes instead of lazy asses who couldn't get the job done right and gave you stupid information so the sniper could keep terrorizing you. We get medals and more megabuck pay raises.

Housing costs rise. Then we tell you Saddam has weapons of mass destruction. The rest of the world is crazy, but we need that oil at 97 cents a barrel to extract. And Bozo will convince you to follow him or else.

Gas prices up. You pay and pay. New orleans is ruined. But what the hell. It was a demmie stronghold. Why not take your time about it? People forget.

Now reelection is coming. We are still socking it to you at the pump. No politician is saying, Hey elect me and I'll kick their asses!" We got it made.

If only this could happen somewhere, I might believe it.

[Jed Dilligan]

30. Isn't "conspiracy theory" a loaded word?

Your question reads to me, "Are you a weirdo?" And quite frankly, I am. But no "normie" is going to admit that s/he believes in "conspiracy theories." If you asked them if they believed there were as-yet-unknown and illicit connections between parties in the government and world events, they'd probably say, "Of course."

"Seen that picture of him
With the pamphlets and the gun
Shadows pointin' every which way but there's only just one sun..."

-Asylum Street Spankers, "Lee Harvey Was a Friend of Mine"

[Shell Beau]

31. What?

Why would you take it as "Are you a weirdo"? People have already admitted to believing in them. Sounds to me you are insecure about what you believe. :shrug:

[Jed Dilligan]

32. Au contraire

I'm proud to be a little out there. I'm just saying, that's all your question measures. Do you laugh at the kooks out there or the average joes? I find normal people much funnier and more pathetic.

[Shell Beau]

33. I don't know how this became about normal or abnormal

people. I don't feel one way or the other about what people believe when it comes to conspiracies. Why do you?

On edit, I guess you could say I am pathetic since that is how you judge "normal" people.

[Jed Dilligan]

35. Because "conspiracy theory" is a phrase

that "normal" people, who are constantly in competition and always trying to detect insecurity in others, use to denigrate the beliefs of people who differ from them. And those who differ are proud to be labeled "conspiracy theorists" because they are proud of their difference, which normal people think they should be ashamed of. It's a good way to provoke an endless cycle of miscommunication that resolves nothing. "I'm a freak who's into conspiracy theories" or "let's all band together and have a good chuckle at the expense of that freak." It starts in school and continues. In the end, who cares? I'm just pointing out that, I've designed surveys professionally, and I think your responses are going to be biased by your choice of words.

[Shell Beau]

36. Uh, okay! That is certainly your opinion.

But I personally think you are reading way too much into nothing. People around here are typically honest. And most people around here know that I am not judgmental.

[McKenzie]

34. Nope...

...the "government" is only a front company. The real conspirators go on with their scams unseen.

[Jed Dilligan]

37. PS

A step towards solving the problem I pointed out is if you give a succinct but precise definition of "conspiracy theories." Tough to do...

[Shell Beau]

38. Well I did give examples of what I meant.

We don't really take things so seriously in the lounge. If I asked this question in General Discussion, I may have elaborated a bit. But this is the lounge. We are pretty much goofy here. So, I don't think there is a problem with the way I worded it. People said yes and no. So there you go.

[Jed Dilligan]

39. Okay

I'm not offended or anything. You should be offended, because I'm basically saying that you're asking a stupid question. :)

[Shell Beau]

41. I'm not offended. I'm a laid-back person and it takes

a whole hell of a lot more than that to piss me off. If you think it is stupid, that is your perogative. You still responded though.

[Jed Dilligan]

40. Okay

I'm not offended or anything. You should be offended, because I'm basically saying that you're asking a stupid question. :)