One of the most disturbing aspects of the von Brunn shooting incidence at the Holocaust Museum is that von Brunn is part of the anti-Fed woo woo movement. Unfortunately the woo woo movement is not restricted to the far right wing. It has now become part of radical leftist conspiracy mythology as well.
We have all heard all the Fed conspiracies by now.
-The Fed’s ultimate goal is to create a New World Order.
-The Fed was not legitimately enacted.
-The Fed was created by Jewish bankers.
-The Fed is the root of all our national debt problems.
-The Fed put the government in $14 trillion dollars more debt this year.
The problem is few of these theories are grounded in any truth. The Fed is just an institution that was created to control the money supply and be the lender of last resort when necessary. But the woo woo conspiracy theorist take these absurd notions as fact like people take radical religious views as fact. Anything that counters their believes is not considered at all. Church of Woo Woo hardliners have divine faith in their conspiracies and claim that non-believers just do not accept the truth and are not enlightened. Woo woo believers rarely stray from their founding documents (mostly from internet conspiracy web sites) in their arguments and pray to the almighty movie “Zeitgeist” for their vast orthodoxy of beliefs. Woo woo conspiracy theorists also have there saints like Ron Paul. If these woo woo faithful sound familiar it is because they sound just like religious zealots that close their minds to opposing views.
The worst part of all is woo woo conspirators theories are based on hate that has been passed down for millennium, particularly hate for Jewish people. The Nazi’s and woo woo conspiracy believers share the same basic edicts that Jewish people want to dominate the world. Worse yet they foment this hatred by coming up with more convoluted conspiracy theories like 911 was an inside job and all wars have been the cause of Jewish bankers just to demonize Jewish people even more. Many left leaning woo woo believers minimize this part of woo woo ideology but hatred for Jewish people is the very basis of all the Fed and New World Order conspiracy theories nonetheless.
For practical purposes woo woo believers create problems for people who want real reform with our institutions. There are basic problems with the Fed but they are the same basic problem we have with most of our institutions, namely transparency and accountability. But trying to legitimize these crazy conspiracy theories misdirects bona fide efforts to reform our institutions. The establishment can actually use crazy woo woo conspiracies as a scape goat to prevent real needed reforms.
Woo woo conspiracy theorists tend to dilute efforts to stop real conspiracies from occurring like the conspiracy to go to war with Iraq. Instead of being focused on the fact that the Bush administration was trumping up lies to justify the war, torture and rescinding habeas corpus, many woo woo conspiracy theorists diverted their attention to fighting for the 911 conspiracy theory instead. This was very similar to the way the Bush administration diverted attention from the conflict in the Af-Pak region by starting a new criminal war.
There are people and factors working to control our lives everyday but they are not the insidious organized conspiracies woo woos believe. These controls are institutionalize as wealthy entities have concentrated wealth through exerting influence over government by way of campaign funds and lobbies. The Reagan Revolution of greed is good has much more to do with the economic and institutionalized problems we have today than establishment of the Fed decades ago. Reagan expanded the Military Industrial Complex, created the Prison Industrial Complex with his “War on Drugs” and maximized the Private Healthcare Industrial Complex by demonizing any reforms that including public insurance.
The facts should be obvious we have seen good times and bad times under the Fed. After FDR and before Reagan we had a vast expansion of wealth in the middle class. The tax cuts and deregulation fever that trickle down Laffer curve Republicans brought us has much more to do with why wealth is being concentrated. Just like the Reagan Revolution took 30 years to exact the final verdict of it as a failed policy it will take years and decades for government to undo the damage that has been made to our real economy.
Woo woo believers are not helping society evolve. Like an group steeped in beliefs over reality they are collaborating with conservatives to devolve the American debate by insisting on a new form of orthodoxy rather than fact based discussion.
Part of what I think is interesting to explore on this is where the psychological and emotional need comes from to believe in extreme and unrealistic conspiracies.
I do agree that some of it comes from validating anti-semitism but I also think that another driving force is that of people who feel helpless and inadequate in their lives and believing in conspiracies, that there are evil all-powerful others out there who are controlling everything, lets them off the hook for being responsible for their own failure to realize the life they wanted for themselves.
It’s almost always poorly educated, low income people who make up the majority of conspiracy theorists. Coincidence? I don’t think so.
There are people living lives that they feel are failures and instead of blaming themselves for their own ignorance and bad choices (plenty of people from the most difficult neighborhoods have common sense and can make competent decisions in their lives, we’re talking about a minority of people here).
So, there is cold comfort in being able to blame their plight on those who “have power over them” and are perfect scapegoats for the ignorant to blame for their disappointment in their lives and/or their dire straits (Nazi Germany anyone?)…Da Jooz.
I would add that there may also be a crumb of the need for everything in life to have a reason that’s simple enough for such dimwits to understand.
Shades of gray and the complexity of why things happen hurt their little two-cylinder brains. They need simple, black and white explanations that will fit in their tiny minds. No need to consider hundreds of years of history, greed, corruption in business and politics, etc., if they can just boil everything down to “the bad guys” always being the same, life makes sense to them.
They’re evil, they killed Christ. They were and will always be the ones responsible for all evil. As Mel Gibson said, “Jews are responsible for all the wars in the world!” I don’t know about you but one good thing about electing Obama president is FINALLY breaking the string of Jewish presidents who keep getting us into wars.
Anti-semitism…it’s easier than thinking.
Conspiracies are for people who have no means for rational thinking, therefore jumping on the bandwagon when someone suggest something that for most of us is so off the chart that it ceases to make any sense. Any excuse for not thinking for yourself or heaven forbid, actually thinking about something before you speak. Ask them why and I doubt that they will have any solid, meaningful answer for your question. Blind allegiance to stupidity even where there are substantial facts to disprove their so called theories.
Exactly and well said.
Anytime I have an argument with a woo woo all I get is regurgitation of the same creed over and over again. In fact many times they will cut and paste arguments from their conspiracy websites. Now if someone cut and paste sections of the Bible or the Koran to make their arguments woo woos would be the first ones to tell you that you are being controlled by religion.
You have just described the trolls on Huff, all of them. You would be better off talking to a tree.
😆 You’re right at least trees grow a little faster when you talk to them nicely.
How do you like my little Ron Paul “photoshop” job?
I love it!
Reminds me of a giant Hershey’s Kiss. 😆
Talking about conspiracy nuts, here’s an exchange I just had today on the page for the YouTube NOM Parody video I made: