Conspiracy Theories

My friend (both in real life and on facebook) Karel posted this today:  funny how the mainstream coined “conspiracy theories” to ridicule any other source which might challenge their claim as a beacon of democracy and free press, when in fact it is the mainstream that is flowing with conspiracies and proven lies.

Is somebody trying to tell us something?

I totally agree.  Bigfoot is not a conspiracy theory.  The Chupacabra is not a conspiracy theory.  These are theories about the possible existence of species of animals whose existence has not yet been proven.  As we all know, new species of animals are being discovered all the time.  If something resembling bigfoot is ever discovered, it will be given an ordinary sounding name, like “North American  Mountain Gorilla” and it won’t be any big deal.  Reality is not as interesting as legend.

A belief in ghosts, or reincarnation, or leprechauns, or fairies, or angels, are not conspiracy theories.  These are beliefs.  A different view of the universe which, while it may be backed by some anecdotal evidence, even personally observations, has not been scientifically proven.  Still, no conspiracy is involved.

The idea that crop circles or giant carvings of animals such as the Nazca Lines are evidence of extraterrestrial visitation is not a conspiracy theory.  It’s an extraterrestrial theory.

A belief that something weird is happening in the Bermuda Triangle, or that there was an ancient city called Atlantis, are not conspiracy theories.  They are theories.

A conspiracy  theory means there’s a conspiracy involved somewhere.  The belief that Kennedy was killed by a group of businessmen (Brown and Root, later Kellogg, Brown, and Root, later KBR, later Halliburton) friendly to Lyndon Johnson, now that’s a conspiracy theory.  One I happen to believe, by the way.  Check this.

The belief that Larry Silverstein, Marvin Bush and Dick Cheney, as well as probably 30 or 40 others, conspired to destroy the World Trade Center in New York in September of 2001 and blame it on Islamic Terrorists, now that’s a conspiracy theory.  It’s got the word conspire right in there.

Nothing crazy about it.  Nothing supernatural.  It’s a theory.  It involves a conspiracy.

Keep the terminology straight, that’s all I’m asking.