confessions of a conspiracy theorist
“Pay no attention to that man behind the curtain.” - The Wizard of Oz
**The audio recording of this Morton Train is available to paid subscribers here.**
I attended my first March on Washington when I was eleven. My mother, sister, and I traveled to D.C. by bus along with other “peace and justice” folks from Louisville. The purpose of the march was stated as such: “No to Apartheid” and “U.S. Out of Central America.”
I remember being immersed in the enormous crowd and, with awe, taking in my surroundings. I must’ve asked my mom a dozen questions that day but there are only a few that I recall:
“Is that really the White House where the President lives?” And…
“Why are all those policemen holding billy clubs? Don’t they know that we’re here because we want peace? Don’t they know we aren’t going to hurt anyone?”
My mom responded with a conspiracy theory: “Sometimes the police instigate violence in a group of protesters so that the protesters themselves get labeled as violent and are thereby discredited.”
This explanation made me sad as a kid but it also made me feel empowered. Now I could understand the motivation of those intimidating policemen with their billy clubs. (Knowledge is power, right?)
The definition of conspiracy is “a secret plan by a group to do something unlawful or harmful.”
The definition of theory is “an idea or set of ideas that is intended to explain facts or events.”
There are conspiracies happening all the time, most especially within the realms of the most powerful. And, because conspiracies are inherently secretive, all we can do is theorize about them and gather evidence accordingly.
It bothers me that there is such public disdain for “someone who believes in conspiracy theories” or for “a conspiracy theorist.” That itself seems like a conspiracy! The public disdain insinuates that anyone who questions the status quo (i.e. a conspiracy theorist) is a fool. Well I believe it’s foolish not to question what we’re told by those in power.
Yes, some people are gullible and believe in conspiracies that are purposeful lies. (Like Pizzagate or climate change denial, for example.) So then I’d ask… Who conspired to manipulate those people and propagate those lies? Who benefited from the Pizzagate conspiracy theory? Who benefits from climate change denialism? In other words, I theorize that there are actual conspiracies to get people to believe in false conspiracies.
Again, conspiracies are happening all the time so why are we shunned for theorizing about them? My personal litmus test: If genuine questions are not allowed, something is amiss.
Here are some conspiracy theories from the past that were proven to be true:
The government cover-up of UFO activity in the United States.
The “acquisition of unwarranted influence by the military-industrial complex” mentioned in Eisenhower’s prescient 1961 speech.
The lies about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
The lie that JFK was killed by a lone gunman.
The lie that MLK was killed by a lone gunman.
The delay of the hostage release in 1980 to manipulate election results.
The real motivation behind the so-called War on Drugs.
The GOP’s convenient alliance with the Christian Right.
The decades-long coverup by the tobacco industry on the dangers of cigarette smoking.
The decades-long coverup by Big Oil on its impact on global warming.
The systematic corporate take-over of our government beginning with the Powell Memo.
The decades-long con job of the for-profit health insurance companies.
I could go on and on.
We have every right to question what is being told to us and to ask why. We have every right to ask “who profits from our collective ignorance” in any number of areas that affect public policy and human life. And, yes, any questioning of a power structure has a conspiracy theory baked into it.
Some questions on my mind these days:
Why is the United States ranked #45 in the Press Freedom Index when we proudly claim to have freedom of the press?
Why does any suspicion of the pharmaceutical industry automatically get someone labeled “anti-science”? When and why did the pharmaceutical industry and science become synonymous?
How are diversity initiatives being exploited by politicians and corporations to distract us from their actual agendas? How do billionaires exploit charity-giving in order to manipulate their public reputations?
What are the similarities between cancel culture and McCarthyism?
Why have we been told by the corporate media for two years that the 2024 election will be Biden vs Trump even though the vast majority of American voters don’t want that? Was it the corporate media that made it inevitable by declaring it to be inevitable long before a single vote was cast in a primary?
I have many more questions and theories… ones that I don’t feel comfortable stating here. Honestly, I have questions and theories that I don’t even feel comfortable discussing with some of my closest friends.
It can be terrifying to question the powers that be. It can be terrifying to have beliefs that ostracize you. And yet, we must keep asking questions.
That’s my theory.
Thanks so much, Elizabeth, for being open and clear about things that are covert and obscured.