Monday, October 14, 2013

Will Comet ISON or Nibiru or Wormwood or all three destroy the world?

Well, no, That is just paranoid nonsense. Comet ISON is too small and won't hit the earth this time. Nibiru doesn't exist or has not been proven. Wormwood is just a world from the Bible. If these things are not going to destroy the world, are they going to provide the excuse for some nefarious action by the United States government - FEMA camps, martial law, gun confiscation, et cetera?

You can probably guess what my opinion is, just by reading between the lines of that first paragraph. This post focuses on some sociological thoughts on the nature of these sorts of apocalyptic conspiracies. The types of people who both promote these ideas and take them seriously could tell us something about the nature of the modern world. That's a wild guess, but I will flesh things out presently.

Now, if you have surfed around on YouTube or just Googled "Comet ISON" you might have come up with some type of conspiracy. The basis of the conspiracy seems to be that "they" are hiding the truth. Those sinister pronouns! Always hiding things from people! Actually, the conspiracy refers to the United States government, or just NASA, or perhaps to multiple agencies.

What sort of person takes this conspiracy talk seriously? I don't mean to suggest the believers are insane or stupid. I want to know what social and economic characteristics do believers share that sets the group apart from the general public. And I want to know if my hypothesis is correct.

My proposed account of what's going on works like this: People are marginalized, not getting by in wider society. These people may not be well educated or have much of a social network to relate to. The believers feel bad about their place in the world. Latching onto a conspiracy like the Comet ISON story gives them a sense of being in on something special. And, unlike you, they are wise enough to see through the cover up and official denials.

Why do some folks insist on peddling these conspiracies? Money, power, and true confusion over reality might be all that is called for.

The same process or mechanism works with other conspiracies too. I'll try to explain in more detail in future posts, unless the NSA comes for me.

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