Why do 9/11 conspiracy theorists continue to live in the USA for the most part?

Great Debates
1

After the most recent 9/11 commemorative, the Truther loons were out in force at my Facebook feed and other internet fora.

Forget for a moment that every argument they make has been scientifically debunked.

Forget for a moment that common sense says that a conspiracy theory on the magnitude of 9/11, with members from the military, government, airlines, scientific community and the media, is supremely unlikely given the humongous number of people who would need to participate in the conspiracy and/or cover it up.

Forget for a moment that George Bush couldn’t magically get WMDs into Iraq and Clinton couldn’t get a blow job without being found out but we are to assume that Bush was able to pull off this terrorist plot.

Forget all of that because we all know that nothing will ever change their mind and any evidence that contradicts their view is met with shouts of “SHEEP!” and the like.

Instead, let’s assume that they really think they are correct. Notice I didn’t say that they WERE correct (because they’re not). But it’s safe to assume that they definitely feel they are correct in their finger-pointing and blame-gaming and pseudoscience.

Why the hell are they still here?

This isn’t an “America: Love it or leave it” screed because they are boring and ignores that changing the country for the better is a noble goal - dare I say, something that this country is supposed to encourage.

But 9/11 Truthers are not upset that this country has an unfair tax code or a view on abortion that they don’t share. Truthers actually feel that our government is capable of pure unmitigated evil - the slaughter of thousands of innocent people - and then covering it all up, placing the blame on some poor innocent Muslims who would never hurt a fly.

If I believed with ever fiber of my being that my government was capable of such an evil act, I would promptly do my best to get the fuck out of the country. I would refuse to live in a place so unspeakably evil. I would flee using whatever leans I could, legal or otherwise. I would sneak into Canada, apply for asylum in Europe, go to Africa and simply never return - anything other than reside in a place whose government was capable of such evil.

Yet, as far as I know, there has been no mass exodus of Truthers attempting to leave the country. None of the more high profile people in the movement have fled America for greener pastures.

This seems to me to be a serious hole in their beliefs. How do they rationalize believing with all their might that this country orchestrated the greatest terrorist attack on US soil but then continue to have federal taxes come out of their paychecks? It simply does not compute.

(Yeah, I know - Truther claims con’t compute! I dig that. But this is about ethical consistency. One can have that even if they believe some batshit ideas, right?)

2

A good number of them believe that America already controls the entire world and can get to them wherever they go, so why bother running?

Plus, all their stuff is there.

3

This is where they have their families, homes, and jobs. Where would they go? How would they live?
Plus most of them probably think that there have always been Conspiracies everywhere, so what would be the point of moving?

4

coughal-Awlakicough

5

You’re mistaken. The “truthers” are simply liars. They lie. They know they lie. And they thoroughly enjoy the reaction they get from touting their lies. It’s not truth they seek, but rather to make those who happen to be smarter than they (and, wow, that’s not a small number) turn into flustered fools by treating them as though their supposed opinions are worthy of argument.

Come to think of it, all of the nut-job CTers are simply liars.

6

The nut-jobs, not the non nut-job ones?

Which are those?

Maybe the ones that find it just a little bit suspicious that, just a couple of months after they got in power, the same people who needed a new Pearl Harbor to get their Project for a New American Century going, got exactly that.

Of course, yes, this could be just an enormous coincidence.

7

They’re similarly deluded about all the other countries in the world. I knew a fellow once, for instance, whose motto was “All governments are corrupt, but some are more corrupt than others”. OK, relatively harmless so far, though that’s still enough to make me wonder about someone. Except that the top of his list for “some are more corrupt than others” was Canada. This, coming from a guy who was born in South Africa.

8

‘Which are those?’… Q.E.D.

9

Even ignoring the practical realities that **tomndebb **brought up, OP, this is some confused thinking. How often do people leave their country not because of a direct threat to their own security, but because of some evil deed perpetrated by the government? Try to apply that logic to other countries. Or even if the USG *did * do 9/11 it’s not as bad as the Iraq War or Vietnam. Should everyone who criticize those as evil leave too? Didn’t the drone bombing campaign eclipse the 9/11 deaths awhile back? Should everyone who thinks that’s evil GTFO too?

Reminds me of people who think pro-lifers must not be serious about abortion = murder because they’re not all killing abortion doctors.

10

Still sounds nuts to me. Kind of reads like the blurb on a Dan Brown novel.

11

What exactly sounds nuts to you?
That what they wanted happened or that people find that suspicious?

12

It’s like with any other conspiracy theory that posits extreme evil and massive coverups by corporate and governmental entities.

Whether you believe in a Kennedy assassination conspiracy, 9/11 “truth”, anti-GMO hysteria, antivax drool, water fluoridation fantasies, chemtrail craziness or similar nuttiness, you’re positing a horrendous conspiracy involving massive numbers of governmental and business leaders (not to mention Internet commenters who are paid $$$ to make fun of conspiracy theorists), designed to control/sicken/kill the population.

But you can’t just flee the country - your school, job, favorite sandwich shop and NFL football are here. Besides, the NSA/Monsanto/Big Pharma have a global reach and can get you anywhere.

Best just to huddle over your computer or smartphone and bleat about the inevitable uprising of the sheeple over the Bilderberg/Illuminati/Skull and Bones/Jewish Councils of Evil.

13

Everything about what you’re suggesting sounds nuts to most rational people.

Please provide credible evidence that the Bush administration wanted a terrorist attack on American soil.

14

I could easily believe in a large overlap between Crazy and Lazy.

15

I think most CT-ers are still here because it’s their goal to change things. They think that swaying enough of the public will cause some sort of investigation to uncover the truth and hold those who caused the conspiracy to come to justice. It’s part of what makes them so annoying; if we could only convince them that they had to hide in order to survive, the rest of us could start enjoying dinner parties again. No, they have to proselytize until we all get together to bring down the man.

They may differ over how realistic this objective is, but they’ll all tell you something along the lines of “I still believe in the idea of America, it’s just been corrupted. We need to wake up and take back our country.”

16

They don’t want to change things, they just enjoy saying “Things gotta change!”

17

How far back do you figure they want to take it?

18

At least back to the gold standard. That seems like a common thread. Of course, I’m sure we can find someone longing for the good old days of cuneiform. Base-60 math is so under-appreciated nowadays.

19

Yep—leaving the country is a lot of hard work, and requires you to take responsibility for your stupid life.
Ranting about conspiracies and unproven theories is the opposite of taking responsibility for your stupidity.

20

Oh, both notions sound rather nuts to me. Especially since the non-nut-job (and suitably vague) argument you’ve advocated leans heavily on a deliberate and perverted interpretation of what’s actually written in Rebuilding America’s Defenses.