# Sandy Hook a hoax? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [January 11, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528 "2015-01-11T06:01:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 6:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/1 "2015-01-11T06:01:58Z")
Hello Everyone, I have a neighbor who is a nice guy, but recently I found our that he is one of those who believes that 9/11 was an inside job. That opinion had always bothered me, but I’ve kept my mouth shut just to avoid an argument. Well, today he told me that he’s civics that the Sandy Hook shootings were fake, staged by the government in an effort to take our guns. I can’t tell you how irritated I got. So much so, I couldn’t say anything and walked away. My question is, this is the first I’ve heard of this belief. Are there a lot of people or there who believe this and what are the reasons they give? ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/2 "2015-01-11T06:10:21Z")
Of course it’s true. Look around. See any guns? ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 6:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/3 "2015-01-11T06:11:19Z")
civics = convinced and or = out. Sorry, old eyes, small screen. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 6:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/4 "2015-01-11T06:29:32Z")
Here’s a list of some of the many conspiracy theories that some Americans believe, and what percent believe each one: [http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/04/conspiracy-theory-poll-results-.html](http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/04/conspiracy-theory-poll-results-.html) With a little work, you should be able to put together an even crazier conspiracy theory that incorporates many of these elements. Show how people who don’t believe that anyone was killed at Sandy Hook are actually part of this conspiracy. When your neighbor begins ranting about his conspiracy theory, interrupt him and begin ranting about your conspiracy theory. Make yourself seem so obsessed that he will walk away because he considers you an obvious nutcase. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 7:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/5 "2015-01-11T07:26:42Z")
Sandy Hook certainly wasn’t a hoax but a very small percentage of people think it was because they are extremely mentally ill just like the shooter was. Like it or not, you have to recognize the simple reality that some people that walk among us don’t even have the most tenuous grip on reality and some of them are very vocal. That applies to 9/11 truthers and people that are actually serious about Bigfoot and UFO abductions. There is usually some overlap in those beliefs. It doesn’t mean that they are dumb or bad people. I have an aunt that firmly believes in 911 truthism, Bigfoot and UFO abductions to the point where she attends conferences about all of them. She is educated and sweet in general but has always been extremely mentally unstable (she married a psychiatrist and screwed up her kids badly). There is such a thing as real conspiracies and I can give you examples of lots of them but it is incredibly callous and despicable to claim that people that lost their kids in an idyllic Connecticut town were lying or were part of it. That is about the most offensive accusation that I can imagine and it makes no sense. I can’t even begin to comprehend why people would make such claims. You have dead children with forensic evidence at the site. Let’s be direct, where is the exact point of contention here? Is it that the kids never existed, they are still alive or the proposed shooter didn’t do it? Speaking as someone who has lost a child, all of those false claims are incredibly offensive. Real parents lost real children and they are dead and buried now. It isn’t theoretical, you can visit the memorials and graves if you go there today. ---
**Author:** ![Ranger\_Jeff](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranger_jeff/32/2065_2.png) [@Ranger\_Jeff](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranger_Jeff)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/6 "2015-01-11T07:42:48Z")
Once I got stuck having to listen to this guy blather on about the US Government’s campaign to murder US citizens it didn’t like. His proof? There is NO evidence. That’s his convincing proof of this conspiracy… there’s no evidence because THE GOVERNMENT IS COVERING IT UP! It seems to me that once you’re on the conspiracy bandwagon, you can start seeing everything as a conspiracy. And it’s really hard to get someone off it once they’re riding. So you can either listen to their prattling, pretend to listen to it, or ignore it. ---
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 8:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/7 "2015-01-11T08:17:42Z")
You haven’t heard of the Sandy Hook conspiracists before? They have made the news a few times for harassing the nearby resident who sheltered six children in his home after the shootings, they’ve harassed parents who lost children, and they’ve stolen memorial signs from playgrounds. It’s a special kind of sickness. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/8 "2015-01-11T08:26:19Z")
One of the most disturbing elements of these “truters” is that among them there is an anti-Semite component. > **[This man helped save six children, is now getting harassed for it](https://www.salon.com/2013/01/15/this_man_helped_save_six_children_is_now_getting_harassed_for_it/)** > > Gene Rosen sheltered six kids during the Sandy Hook massacre. Now he's become a target of conspiracy theorists > [@](#): > > - This man helped save six children, is now getting harassed for it\* > > Gene Rosen sheltered six kids during the Sandy Hook massacre. Now he’s become a target of conspiracy theorists. > > “I don’t know what to do,” sighed Gene Rosen. “I’m getting hang-up calls, I’m getting some calls, I’m getting emails with, not direct threats, but accusations that I’m lying, that I’m a crisis actor, ‘how much am I being paid?’” Someone posted a photo of his house online. There have been phony Google+ and YouTube accounts created in his name, messages on white supremacist message boards ridiculing the “emotional Jewish guy,” and dozens of blog posts and videos “exposing” him as a fraud. One email purporting to be a business inquiry taunted: “How are all those little students doing? You know, the ones that showed up at your house after the ‘shooting’. What is the going rate for getting involved in a gov’t sponsored hoax anyway?” > > “The quantity of the material is overwhelming,” he said. So much so that a friend shields him from most of it by doing daily sweeps of the Web so Rosen doesn’t have to. His wife is worried for their safety. He’s logged every email and every call, and consulted with a retired state police officer, who took the complaint seriously but said police probably can’t do anything at the moment; he plans to do the same with the FBI. I mention this only on the chance your neighbor is Jewish, just so he is aware of what he is getting into, and even if one is not Jewish everyone IMHO should be aware of this item. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 9:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/9 "2015-01-11T09:05:51Z")
There are people who have questioned the Charlie Hebdo attack, “why wasn’t there any blood when that cop was shot in the head?” they ask. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 9:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/10 "2015-01-11T09:25:46Z")
> [@Ranger\_Jeff](#): > > …there’s no evidence because THE GOVERNMENT IS COVERING IT UP! That’s the part about conspiracies that always make my head spin. One: Governments can’t cover up a harmless extra-marital affair that only two people know about, how do they manage to cover up such huge events that presumably involved hundreds or even thousands of people? And Two: If they’re covering it up, how does anyone, let alone Joe Sixpack down at the bar, know about it? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 9:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/11 "2015-01-11T09:58:03Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > Hello Everyone, > > I have a neighbor who is a nice guy, but recently I found our that he is one of those who believes that 9/11 was an inside job. That opinion had always bothered me, but I’ve kept my mouth shut just to avoid an argument. Well, today he told me that he’s civics that the Sandy Hook shootings were fake, staged by the government in an effort to take our guns. > > I can’t tell you how irritated I got. So much so, I couldn’t say anything and walked away. My question is, this is the first I’ve heard of this belief. Are there a lot of people or there who believe this and what are the reasons they give? Your neighbor is not a nice guy. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 10:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/12 "2015-01-11T10:02:20Z")
> [@Wendell\_Wagner](#): > > Here’s a list of some of the many conspiracy theories that some Americans believe, and what percent believe each one: > > [http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/04/conspiracy-theory-poll-results-.html](http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/main/2013/04/conspiracy-theory-poll-results-.html) > > With a little work, you should be able to put together an even crazier conspiracy theory that incorporates many of these elements. Show how people who don’t believe that anyone was killed at Sandy Hook are actually part of this conspiracy. When your neighbor begins ranting about his conspiracy theory, interrupt him and begin ranting about your conspiracy theory. Make yourself seem so obsessed that he will walk away because he considers you an obvious nutcase. You don’t need to do that work. Look at the comments section of that link you provided. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 12:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/13 "2015-01-11T12:13:40Z")
Are Americans more prone to believe in these conspiracies that other nationalities? I did an extensive poll at lunch time today (well I asked half-a-dozen people in the pub - all over 50) and not one of us agreed with any of them. Well - there was an exception, global warming - the group was pretty evenly split about that. The consensus was, as someone upthread said. If our respective governments cannot even keep an embarrassing scandal, known only to a few, secret, how on earth would they conceal something that involved hundreds or even thousands of people. many of those people would be old and poor now, so the ability to make money from their ‘secret’ would be overwhelming. ---
**Author:** ![sparky\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/77aa72/32.png) [@sparky\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sparky_1)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 12:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/14 "2015-01-11T12:31:25Z")
There are, indeed, dark corners of the internet where you will find people swearing that Sandy Hook was staged by the Government as a way to take our guns. On all levels, it doesn’t make sense. There are some very strange, scary people that inhabit this world with us. ---
**Author:** ![obbn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/d6d6ee/32.png) [@obbn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/obbn)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 12:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/15 "2015-01-11T12:40:41Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > There is such a thing as real conspiracies and I can give you examples of lots of them but it is incredibly callous and despicable to claim that people that lost their kids in an idyllic Connecticut town were lying or were part of it. \*\*That is about the most offensive accusation that I can imagine and it makes no sense. \*\* Thanks for using the word that describes what I felt when his theory came to light. I was actually offended. When I heard his 9/11 theories I couldn’t help but chuckle a bit, but this truly offended me. I remember being in tears while watching the news reports of this incident. My neighbor is a person who always helps when you need it and is truly an intelligent person, so how he can believe this is really beyond me. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 12:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/16 "2015-01-11T12:58:11Z")
> [@Monty](#): > > Your neighbor is not a nice guy. Quoted for truth. ---
**Author:** ![OldOlds](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a3d4f5/32.png) [@OldOlds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OldOlds)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 1:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/17 "2015-01-11T13:01:51Z")
> [@bob\_2](#): > > Are Americans more prone to believe in these conspiracies that other nationalities? > > I did an extensive poll at lunch time today (well I asked half-a-dozen people in the pub - all over 50) and not one of us agreed with any of them. Well - there was an exception, global warming - the group was pretty evenly split about that. > > The consensus was, as someone upthread said. If our respective governments cannot even keep an embarrassing scandal, known only to a few, secret, how on earth would they conceal something that involved hundreds or even thousands of people. many of those people would be old and poor now, so the ability to make money from their ‘secret’ would be overwhelming. I don’t think so. I never encounter these people in real life, and so I suspect that it’s a matter of the circles in which one runs. I doubt anyone that disconnected could function well in jobs that require a lot of critical thinking skills. I suspect that you’ll find a different set of CTs in different countires. For instance, I have heard that there is a Scottish CT that the oil fields (North Sea?) were kept secret from them. AND, I recently heard that there were more (by %) people in the UK who believe the moon landing was a hoax than in any other country. ---
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/18 "2015-01-11T13:08:16Z")
> [@OldOlds](#): > > I recently heard that there were more (by %) people in the UK who believe the moon landing was a hoax than in any other country. According to a survey in 2009. It was only 1009 people though so the results are pretty suspect. Apparently, _“Eleven of the 1009 people surveyed thought Buzz Lightyear was the first person on the Moon”_ [http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/5851435/Apollo-11-hoax-one-in-four-people-do-not-believe-in-moon-landing.html](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/science/space/5851435/Apollo-11-hoax-one-in-four-people-do-not-believe-in-moon-landing.html) I wonder if the respondents were just messing with the questionnaire? ---
**Author:** ![IvoryTowerDenizen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ivorytowerdenizen/32/17937_2.png) [@IvoryTowerDenizen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/IvoryTowerDenizen)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/19 "2015-01-11T13:24:16Z")
> [@obbn](#): > > Hello Everyone, > > I have a neighbor who is a nice guy, but recently I found our that he is one of those who believes that 9/11 was an inside job. That opinion had always bothered me, but I’ve kept my mouth shut just to avoid an argument. Well, today he told me that he’s civics that the Sandy Hook shootings were fake, staged by the government in an effort to take our guns. > > I can’t tell you how irritated I got. So much so, I couldn’t say anything and walked away. My question is, this is the first I’ve heard of this belief. Are there a lot of people or there who believe this and what are the reasons they give? The husband of one of my good friends is very, very high up in the CT state police. He was one of the very first people to enter the school in the aftermath. It was horrific, traumatizing and absolutely real. ---
**Author:** ![BOOM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c4cdca/32.png) [@BOOM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BOOM)\ **Post date:** [January 11, 2015, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528/20 "2015-01-11T13:36:03Z")
Isn’t it just indicative of a broader distrust. Most countires have a healthy distrust of what many/most individual politicians say. Perhaps what you have in the US is a more developed version - extending to all of Gov and media. After WMD … why not distrust the whole lot. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sandy-hook-a-hoax/709528.md?page=2)