What’s with the Fear?

An Examination of the Motives behind Fear Mongering

I’ve been tripping out lately on all the fear-mongering and paranoia that has been percolating up on the internet and elsewhere. It’s easy enough to disprove a lot of the whacked out nonsense you hear, but ultimately it had me asking the question: Why?

Why are there people out there who are hell-bent on spreading fear and generating an climate of distrust and paranoia? Well I think some people probably do it just for kicks, for the ego stroke, for the challenge of writing a story that becomes accepted by a segment of the population. I’m a writer of fiction myself. I’ve made false documentaries; I’ve published phony news stories. My work is generally tongue in cheek and, even if the falsities are not detected, more of a goof than a nefarious tool of chaos. But still, I can understand the mentality of the creator of fiction who gets their rocks off by spreading falsehoods. It’s fun and satisfying to write a piece that is constructed well enough to be believable.

But there is a more pragmatic motive behind some of the misleading information out there: loyalty. If you monger in fear, and paint yourself as the shining ray of truth in a sea of lies, and if you do it well enough, you will eventually attract an audience of people who trust you, and only you.

This loyalty can be used for a variety of different ends. If you are the host of a radio program that purports to tell its audience the truth behind conspiracies and weird phenomenon, that loyalty manifests itself into an audience that boosts your ratings, and allows you to sell advertising to your sponsors.

If you are a self-proclaimed health guru who exposes to your audience the schemes and cynicism behind modern health care, you can use the loyalty of your audience to sell health supplements and books.

If you are a government, you can use fear of insidious enemies lurking in the shadows to foster loyalty to a police state, all in the name of “security.”

The problem with loyalty is that it comes at the expense of freedom. You trade your free will when you pledge your allegiance to a figure or cause. You lost your rights when you give into fear. Not just your government guaranteed rights, but your ingrained human rights – your right to be in harmony, to be at peace, to be happy. Fear destroys those rights.

The truth will set you free – because the truth is the truth. It is not disputable, it only is. Seek the truth and you need pledge no other fealty.

madbob@madbob.com

Is Bill Gates Aspiring to be the Greatest Mass Murderer In History?

Misconceptions and Paranoia in a Culture of Fear and Doom

I have been hearing a variety of vicious and insidious rumors of late regarding vaccinations. Three recent conspiracies have been proposed to me for consideration.

The first is the idea that Bill Gates is using vaccinations around the world as some sort of plot to either sterilize, or exterminate, 10 to 15% of the world’s population.

The second is that vaccinations are being used to intentionally spread cancer, and were used to introduce AIDS to the population.

And the third is that citizens of Maryland are having their children rounded up and forced into sort of vaccination detention camps, complete with armed guards and “attack dogs” to ensure that the populations receives their shots.

I am pretty well convinced that all three of these theories are completely bogus, and are being peddled by the fear mongers who are bent on fostering an atmosphere of paranoia and chaos. I will take them one at a time:

Is Bill Gates a Mass Murderer?

This one makes me shake my head. The fuel for the fire is a quote, clearly taken intentionally out of context, from Bill Gates regarding the effectiveness of vaccinations in helping to curb population growth. Here’s the quote:

“If we do a really great job on new vaccines, health care, reproductive health services, we could lower that by perhaps 10 or 15 per cent.”

People have interpreted this phrase to mean that Bill Gates is either actively sterilizing, or actively euthanizing, poor people around the world.

Here’s another idea. Preventing childhood diseases lowers infant and child mortality. Reducing child mortality means families don’t have to have a dozen children in order to ensure that three of them make it to adult-hood. The downward pressure to procreate reduces population. Do you really think people in poor countries really want to have large families with extra mouths to feed?

Do Vaccinations Cause Cancer and AIDS?

The only “proof” I saw of this claim came in the form of a dubious article from an “alternative news” site, and a hackneyed YouTube video. The reason I even clicked on the video link is because the article said there was proof of vaccinations causing AIDS in the form of a vaccine scientist actually admitting as much “on camera.” The video was typical paranoid drivel – a series of still photos with the ominous underlying music: gruesome photos of dead bodies and mayhem. The doctor “speaking on camera” was voice only, and a scratchy recording at that, running underneath the still photos. At that point, any credibility the article might have had was already dashed – but don’t let the facts stand in the way of a good rant.

Are Unvaccinated Children in Maryland being Herded into Detention Camps?

God, enough with the detention camps already. I don’t know who started this stuff, but give them credit, they sparked a real wildfire in the fringe communities on the far left and the far right.

In this twist on the story, unvaccinated children are literally being herded into camps staffed by armed soldiers and “attack dogs,” where they are then forcibly inoculated.

As with any good conspiracy story, there is a germ of truth to this one. A sheriff in one county of Maryland did indeed issue subpoenas targeting the parents of unvaccinated children. These parents are meant to have their children vaccinated within a certain time frame, under threat of a fine, or possible jail time.

First, it isn’t state wide. Second, I’m pretty sure it’s not legal, and that under legitimate legal challenge, these subpoenas will likely be dropped. Still, makes for some good fear mongering.

My Thoughts on Vaccinations

Look, I think there is plenty of room to question current vaccination policy. I think we likely over-vaccinate. My understanding is that some of the vaccines administered routinely are for diseases that rarely manifest. I think it is important that we critically examine the connection between vaccine administration and “Big Pharma.” Do I think vaccines can cause autism? Maybe. It seems to me that most studies say no, some studies say possibly. Intuition tells me that giving an infant or a child 40+ doses of vaccine at once could have harmful side effects. So the amount we vaccinate, and how we apply those vaccines, is ripe area for debate.

But do I think vaccinations are an insidious form of population control, that spread cancer, sterilize people, kill people, cause AIDS? No, I think that’s ludicrous. Vaccines have staved off incredibly destructive childhood diseases: Polio, mumps, measles, rickets, and more. Why would you target those diseases for eradication, only to replace them with cancer or AIDS? It makes no sense.

That’s the thing with all of these conspiracy theories; they  start with a theory in mind, then use circular logic, twisted logic paths, innuendo and conjecture to bolster that theory. It’s bad logic, junk science – it preys on the innate desire of the human mind to make connections. The conspiracy theorists peddle fear and confusion; they seek to make chaos out of order. They seek to spread fear and loathing through the population.

madbob@madbob.com

Ho Ho Horror...

Why is there Never a Decent Panic Room Nearby When you Need One?

Okay, okay, let's see. My mind is a spinning whir of mud and mash right now. Between the insane political and economic phase we are in, and the manic holiday climate, it is wine wine wine for me. I hate this time of year - I really do. The holidays freak me out. I mean, I'm limping through the year, barely making the bills, the weather turns cold, I'm drinking more, trying to stay warm, getting desperate for some reprieve. I find myself wandering through the aisles at the 99 cent store looking for anything that will substitute for comfort food, and then the goddamn Christmas music starts playing – so fucking happy, joyous, maniacal. Bells, and choirs, and BELLS. I'm staggering and lurching, knocking over the damned Tupperware and wrapping paper in a panicked frenzy trying to get the HELL OUT OF THERE!!!

Deep breaths - I feel it coming on. I should be listening to calm, soothing music on the radio, but I can't turn away from the endless babble and chatter about the politics. Herman Cain, Herman Cain, Herman Cain. Jesus, the funniest thing I've heard in weeks was Herman Cain saying he was looking forward to “getting back on message.” Jesus. Europe is collapsing. Stock market down, stock market up. Jesus Christ.

OWS Blues

I feel like I'm on the outside looking in with this OWS stuff. I support the movement, for the free exchange of ideas it has generated, if nothing else. I get the general idea – people are fed up with a government that caters to special interests at the expense of the people. I've been upset about that for shit, as long as I've been politically aware. But the OWS movement also disturbs me. It seems like something of a Rorschach test in that it can mean anything to anyone. There are those who simply want to reform the current system of representative democracy, and those who want to abolish everything and start over. I can respect both of those points of view.

And then there are the doomsayers and conspiracy theorists who have latched onto the movement. They offer no solutions, no way forward, simply a myriad of demons and bogeyman that are enslaving us all in insidious, self-defeating webs of deceit and mysticism. These folks will make your head explode. I frankly don't get their way of thinking. If they are right, if we are all pawns in the game of some unseen caste of mystics who have been controlling events since the middle ages, then what the fuck is the point? I'm sure they've got it figured out; or else some tripper hero like Neo from the fucking Matrix will sort it out... or maybe we all are inanimate, living in pods, and being kept alive for feed? Again, what's the point?

I can't let myself believe that kind of stuff. I like solutions, I am a fan of action, and recourse. I like to feel like there is a way forward, a way up, a way out.

But on a serious note, how the hell am I going to get my Christmas shopping done this year?

madbob@madbob.com