Here in Mexico there is zero trust in elected officials, hence there are no conspiracy theories. They are called events. Whereas in the US, there is a percentage that has trust in government, and a percentage that has little or no trust in government. Naturally the latter gives birth to conspiracy theories. But what gives life to these theories is there are people who trust the government. Maybe this explains Americans addiction to conspiracy theories. What think ye?
Who paid you to say this?
I’m amazed that some people still trust the US government, but CTists don’t trust the government, so I guess you’re saying the CT is result of their feeling of betrayal or dillusionment when they stop trusting. Similar to true believers who become fundamentalist atheists, or smokers who quit and become smoking nazis. It could be, but I think there’s a psychology to it that may not show in the same way in Mexico due to socio-economic differences.
Dude! The OP must had lived in a Mexican cave to not be aware of how many Mexicans saw the assassination of Colosio in the 90’s
Anti-government conspiracy theories only came about since around the 1920s with the growth of the federal government. Before that most conspiracy theories were against the “other”: masons, illuminati, Catholics, etc.
For example, recently an elected official died in a helicopter crash here in Mexico. No one thought the crash was due to pilot error, faulty part, or faulty maintenance. Everyone knew it was an assassination. When a subsequent investigation turned up nothing their view was reenforced.
This happens in the US, and those trusting (in government) think pilot error, etc. The CT’s claim assassination, and when the investigation turns up nothing, they claim coverup. These theories exist because there is trust in government. When there is no trust in government they are called events. It might appear to be semantics, but I feel it is a little deeper.
No, this looks backwards, after looking the recent examples, it is more clear that conspiracy theories thrive because there is distrust with the government on the CT circles.
What you’re saying is that everyone in Mexico is a CTist. You don’t believe pilot error, faulty parts, or faulty maintenance was involved in a helicopter crash because you trust government. You believe it because it is likely to be true, and lacking evidence to the contrary you don’t believe in an alternative. The alternative in Mexico may be more likely than here in the US, so they may tend to get swayed more in that direction, so you will have more CTists there.
I think what the OP is saying is that CTers have trust in the power of government rather than trust in the goodwill of government.
To believe, for example, that the moon landings were a hoax, you must have enormous faith in the ability of government to fabricate evidence and coerce the total and complete silence and cooperation of thousands of people.
I wouldn’t use the word “trust” in this context, but I think that’s what the OP means.
As already stated there are two groups: Those who have trust in the government, and those who don’t. Those who have trust, refer to what comes out of the mouth of the CTist, as a theory. Whereas the CTist probably refers to it as the truth. Therefore, CT’s can only exist because there are people who have trust in the government.
That makes no sense.
Not logical at all, it looks like an Association Fallacy.
Conspiracies can happen outside of government, like the conspiracy the Church of Scientology committed against US author and journalist Paulette Cooper.
Also, there was the one the same Church attempted against the government, Operation Snow White
There are no accidental helicopter crashes in Mexico?
So if I understand it right, the OP is saying that when the public as a matter of course will reject right off the bat any non-nefarious explanation, it’s *not *a “Conspiracy Theory”? That it can only be a “Conspiracy Theory” if there exists a significant faction that does accept the official story?
:dubious:
And believe me, Latin America is rife with people who believe in Conspiracy Theories, grand and petty alike.
I think harmonicamoon is saying that Mexico is so overwhelmingly corrupt, it is not possible for any act of violence or other societally unsettling occurrence to be anything other than a conspiracy to benefit Them, therefore everyone just knows it was Them, so they aren’t really conspiracy theorists. Whereas not everyone in the U.S. is that cucamonga, so conspiracy theories can exist.
The only defect with this compelling logic :dubious: are that plenty of people in the U.S. view all such events through the prism of conspiratorial thinking (just like in Mexico), and regardless of what percentage of the populace subscribes to nutbar conspiracies, they’re still nutbar conspiracies and not reality unless proven to exist.
If Mexicans embrace fewer conspiracy theories, it’s because they have a limited palette of events to choose from compared to the United States.
Are you using some alternative definitions of the words “trust,” “government,” “CT,” and “two?” Because I cannot make heads or tails of what you’re saying.
In any case, the number one area of the world (IMHO) for conspiracy theories is the Middle East. There are tons of people there who simply believe crazy shit – if it floods somewhere, it isn’t an act of nature, it’s that the Zionists have a weather control machine. Every new strain of the flu is a sinister plot for a genocide of Palestinians. The sun rose today, and that’s because the local government has the goods on the god that pulls the firey chariot across the sky. The whole region is lousy with nutty beliefs that are taken seriously.
And governments are much less popular there than the government is in Mexico.
Therefore, you’re wrong.
Having re-read the OP, I’m now interpreting it to mean that EVERYONE in Mexico is a conspiracy theorist. No one believes the government, any mundane explanation it makes about events is universally disbelieved, so naturally all these explanations are parts of conspiracies to cover up the truth.
So the conclusion by the OP is utterly wrong, by the OP’s own logic.
Gracias Jackmannii for understanding my less than perfect English. I am just trying to understand the addiction for CTs that seems to exist in the US.
I think there are probably a cultural factor involved in conspiracy theories. As far as I can tell, they’re far less common and widespread over here than in the USA, while, for instance, urban legends (which share some similarities with conspiracy theories) seem equally common.
What could be this cultural factor? I wouldn’t know. But it’s not confidence in the government, since amongst western nations, Americans are probably on average those who trust their government the less.
No, because if everyone is a conspiracy theorist, there’s no outside group to condemn them for being such. Since conspiracy theorist is a term of derision, it can’t exist without to do the deriding.
It’s not that complicated–it’s the same basic idea of the yin and yang–that good needs evil to know that it is good.