David Icke banned off Facebook

[Aladdin]

He's on a higher IQ spectrum than most of Britain and deserves a lot more respect.

IQ is not a measure of sanity

 

[gentlegreen]

Didn't Savile boast of being in Mensa ?

 

[bimble]

Flicking thru YouTube and spent 10mins watching before being bored then watching Avicii live or something else.

Hmm.

David Icke has some quite interesting content tbf.

Or is Icke a far right extremist too?

You are a massive coward , why not just say what you actually think once in a while.

 

[Chilli.s]

Icke is just a common old con-man tricking people into buying. And I suppose he's made a good living at it.

For a friday night meltdown this is less impressive than last week 4/10

 

[Doodler]

He's a charismatic demagogue who tells compelling tales about why the world is so fucked up and your life sucks.

But why is it some people find Icke's tales compelling? Meaning enough to believe them, instead of just treating Icke as a form of entertainment.

 

[killer b]

People just want answers. I dunno the precise mechanism that makes Icke's stuff popular with men who smoke a lot of weed though tbh.

 

[two sheds]

I've now made sense of the earlier posts and challenged the poster concerned to explain himself. I still remain baffled hot it ended up being discussed here, mind.

Yes that's what I couldn't understand, nor why Ax^ seemed to be getting the blame for it.

 

[Marty1]

Hmm.


You are a massive coward , why not just say what you actually think once in a while.

I have, but don’t let that stop you from bumbling a cack handed gotcha attempt fail.

 

[bmd]

He is as charismatic as a freshly laid dog turd.

Has irony become extinct on Urban?

 

[bimble]

But why is it some people find Icke's tales compelling? Meaning enough to believe them, instead of just treating Icke as a form of entertainment.

I do wonder whether there’s a sort of scale of belief, and I think people don’t believe icke’s stories (or that the earth is flat or chemtrails etc) in the same way that they believe for example that they’ll have to pay rent next week or that fire is hot. Don’t think it’s got the quality of religious conviction either it’s more like a social thing, talking about and sharing the stories serves a function.

eta I’m halfway through this 5 episode thing and it’s got some good & surprising ideas in it, about what makes a conspiracy theory and what makes people more likely to subscribe to them:

How to spot a conspiracy theory – Expert guide to conspiracy theories part one

PODCAST: Part one of the Expert guide to conspiracy theories from The Conversation’s Anthill podcast.

theconversation.com

 

[shifting gears]

What does my head in is the people who seem to think that parroting Icke-type stuff is some kind of proof of their ability to engage in critical thinking, while generally ignoring all the wanton ways in which they actually are being hoodwinked by governments, media, business, banks etc

 

[JimW]

Wonder if appeal of conspiracy also grows with the increasing complexity and interlinkage of modern life. Since the reality is quite a story, made up versions can sound plausible too.

 

[JimW]

What does my head in is the people who seem to think that parroting Icke-type stuff is some kind of proof of their ability to engage in critical thinking, while generally ignoring all the wanton ways in which they actually are being hoodwinked by governments, media, business, banks etc

Definitely this too, think themselves clever sorts over represented.

 

[bimble]

Definitely this too, think themselves clever sorts over represented.

This is more the narcissistic thrill of being party to ‘hidden knowledge’ I reckon. The theories / stories are always in fact more simple than the real world, having baddies and order in them as they do.

 

[killer b]

Wonder if appeal of conspiracy also grows with the increasing complexity and interlinkage of modern life. Since the reality is quite a story, made up versions can sound plausible too.

All conspiracy theories, however wild, are much, much less complex than reality. That's really what the appeal is more than anything else - a simple explanation for an insanely complex web of human interactions.

 

[krtek a houby]

People just want answers. I dunno the precise mechanism that makes Icke's stuff popular with men who smoke a lot of weed though tbh.

Not just popular with that demographic, either. Some women friends share the 5g stuff on FB. One of them is otherwise down to earth and the other has a few issues.

 

[bimble]

Not a modern phenomenon, if you include (I think you should) stuff like the Jews being responsible for the plague in this country in the 1300s (and being killed en mass as retribution).
maybe conspiracy theories have a lot in common with old ideas of witchcraft.

 

[planetgeli]

Conspiracy theories are about feeling powerless. You neither have the mental capacity to understand the science nor whatever complexity it is, so you have no control (and people need control). So you make some shit up, or believe the simplicities of someone else who has made stuff up for you. This gives you a) a false sense of understanding (and the comfort that comes with that) and b) puts this elusive control into the hands of something that isn't your fault (for not understanding the actual facts), thus dissolving yourself of blame.

 

[krtek a houby]

Not a modern phenomenon, if you include (I think you should) stuff like the Jews being responsible for the plague in this country in the 1300s (and being killed en mass as retribution).
maybe conspiracy theories have a lot in common with old ideas of witchcraft.

Makes sense. It's like they induce a form of hysteria. Look at the pizzagate thing in the US a few years back...

 

[RTWL]

IMO - A combination of the simple mechanical effect our consciousness has when meeting a situation where we can not see the actor or hand and seek an explanation, and the fact that unscrupulous people have noticed this effect and peddle propaganda to stimulate it for political ends .

These days we have a new level of PR stimulating this which is really catching on ; targetted advertising .

Today in the United States we have somewhere close to four or five thousand data points on every individual ... So we model the personality of every adult across the United States, some 230 million people.

It is working a little to well and has just about polished off the last bastions of democracy . How else is the whole world actually listening to the Trump administrations bullshit !

 

[two sheds]

Not a modern phenomenon, if you include (I think you should) stuff like the Jews being responsible for the plague in this country in the 1300s (and being killed en mass as retribution).
maybe conspiracy theories have a lot in common with old ideas of witchcraft.

Long time ago I read The Pursuit of the Millennium by Norman Cohn, fascinating book talking about anti-semitism and the crusades. I can't find references now but I'll swear it had a description of the Childrens' crusade (got sold into slavery), the crusade where they followed a divinely inspired goose and Peter the Hermit and the Peoples' Crusade, also very entertaining.

The Pursuit of the Millennium - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[Chilli.s]

Conspiracy theories are about feeling powerless. You neither have the mental capacity to understand the science nor whatever complexity it is, so you have no control (and people need control). So you make some shit up, or believe the simplicities of someone else who has made stuff up for you. This gives you a) a false sense of understanding (and the comfort that comes with that) and b) puts this elusive control into the hands of something that isn't your fault (for not understanding the actual facts), thus dissolving yourself of blame.

Very well explained. It's an age old trick used by con-artists and showmen, not quite hypnosis but getting that way.

 

[Doodler]

Common enough for people to start believing daft things when they're desperate. Quack doctors make a living selling ground up apricot seeds or whatever to cancer sufferers. But not sure that the average Icke fan has that kind of fear. Social conditions must be important because conspiracy theories seem to gain ground more in certain times and places than others.

A benefit of being into a conspiracy theory nowadays is that it's like joining quite an exclusive club. You can go online and agree with people who are into the same thing. Many groups and societies throughout history have required would-be joiners to undergo a painful initiation rite or have some physical disfigurement inflicted on them. People are now more squeamish and pain averse so the alternative is to show you've paid some kind of mental price by parroting really stupid notions. This is not limited to conspiracy theories.

 

[Marty1]

There’s quite a few YouTubers referring to themselves as ‘conspiracy analysts’

 

[Orang Utan]

A taxi driver told me he wasn’t a conspiracy terrorist recently

 

[gentlegreen]

I just replied to this on a local Facebook group :-

the Government will be held to task when all this dies down. Except while everyone was locked down a law was passed that leaves us with no rights & they intend to vaccinate us all with a vaccine that only took 8 weeks to be produced. No test it will be microchipped to be activated by 5G. Sounds outrageous do your homework. If you think any of the things they are doing make sense??

Not much in her profile - a Monsatan protest, animal cruelty - just someone pronouncing on science on the Internet who doesn't know how an incandescent light bulb works...

 

[JimW]

People are now more squeamish and pain averse so the alternative is to show you've paid some kind of mental price by parroting really stupid notions.

Bit of a tangent but one insightful thing I read about how the Leninist bureaucracy works here is that the point of the often fawning and farcical speeches and reports officials make isn't to convince an audience but to show the hierarchy they're willing to set aside any sense of dignity and toe whatever line is given.

 

[Doodler]

Bit of a tangent but one insightful thing I read about how the Leninist bureaucracy works here is that the point of the often fawning and farcical speeches and reports officials make isn't to convince an audience but to show the hierarchy they're willing to set aside any sense of dignity and toe whatever line is given.

Great example. There is probably an informal hierarchy among conspiracy theorists therefore scope for some sucking up.

 

[two sheds]

A taxi driver told me he wasn’t a conspiracy terrorist recently

That must have made you feel immediately much more relaxed in his company

 

[Orang Utan]

That must have made you feel immediately much more relaxed in his company

he went on to spout a load of Covidiot nonsense about labs and 5g and all that shit. He definitely mean theorist, but his English wasn't perfect.