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Was reading a CBC article regarding QAnon and people who readily believe in conspiracy theories.
Makes sense.
"An American expert on conspiracy theories warned that instead of focusing on the influence of online fringe chatter, we should instead consider what drives people to believe in poorly evidenced ideas and act on them with conviction.
"The answers are sort of troubling because we're talking about — this is just a function of human nature," said Joseph Uscinski, a political scientist with the University of Miami.
"Some people have personality traits like high levels of narcissism, or they have very conflictual personality styles in which they can't negotiate things with other people without resorting to conflict," he said. "And that's what drives a lot of this."
Uscinski pointed out that while incidents like the Peterborough arrests are alarming, they're far from novel.
"The less comforting story is that some people are just like this," he said, noting generations past have endured conspiracy-minded thinking during the Red Scare, witch hunts and satanic panic.
QAnon, he said, builds on long-standing conspiracy tropes, such as pedophila having outstretched global influence, which "allows followers to do sort of a 'choose your own adventure'" as the hero of their own story.
"Their problem is when they're at that point, they're true believers and they think they're doing the right thing," Uscinski said.
"I might say I don't know what the legal issues are behind it, but if someone's going around telling people to arrest police officers and that's creating a public safety hazard, then I'd probably do something about it."
I had a friend whose mother had schizophrenia. Fortunately she didn’t inherit it, but her brother did. She told me he used repair TV sets but had to give it up because he thought the TVs were talking to him.
Where is the line between “some people are just like this” and true mental illness? I don’t know.
some of the QAnon/conspiracy theorists can be articulate and almost believable - Alex jones comes to mind. This lady is neither articulate nor coherent, certainly not based on the videos I have seen on her speaking. She merely rambles, it is very sad. I would hope her family would step in and get her the help she clearly needs
some of the QAnon/conspiracy theorists can be articulate and almost believable - Alex jones comes to mind. This lady is neither articulate nor coherent, certainly not based on the videos I have seen on her speaking. She merely rambles, it is very sad. I would hope her family would step in and get her the help she clearly needs
If she has family who cares, I’m sure they tried. Any treatment would almost certainly involve taking medication. The problem is if she goes off the medication even once, the delusions would resurface and probably would include the belief that the medication is part of a conspiracy to shut her up. Good luck trying to persuade her to go back on her medication again! She can’t be forced.
Pre social media, the mentally ill didn’t have much reach. They would have tended to to be socially isolated. That isn’t the case now. Online they can find each other and their delusions can receive a wide audience. There are a lot of gullible people online who are happy to believe what they are told by total strangers, without doing any fact checking at all. I suspect that the gullible are often those eager to believe that their personal failures in life are someone else’s fault and they are helpless to improve their situation. It’s an excuse not to try.
some of the QAnon/conspiracy theorists can be articulate and almost believable - Alex jones comes to mind. This lady is neither articulate nor coherent, certainly not based on the videos I have seen on her speaking. She merely rambles, it is very sad. I would hope her family would step in and get her the help she clearly needs
Alex Jones is articulate and almost believable? Really. I find him repugnant.
Alex Jones is articulate and almost believable? Really. I find him repugnant.
as do i but he can speak well and is quite persuasive, i can see why people buy into his rhetoric, whilst this Lady has none of his oratory skills
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