The coming attack on ATS by MSM

Originally posted by swdecord
Oh...And y'all are just attacking each other, rather than furthering the discussion...

You are right, I apologize to anyone attempting to contribute to the discussion.

I don't believe the mainstream media would want to attack, more specifically bring down, ATS and conspiracy theory websites.

Just imagine the number of hits that story got from conspiracy theory websites. Believe me, that was their only intention.

reply to post by americandingbat


Being a business owner, I tend to see the relationship between businesses and the government as more antagonistic than even the relationship between the average voter and government is. First and foremost I see the MSM as businesses.

I will admit I could be being a bit blind to the MSM's relationship. I think where the conspiracy in this may be the most egregious is where individuals in the MSM are concerned. Control I think comes from an individual executive officer or board member more often than from the reporters themselves. In the "behind the scenes" is where the danger lies. Nobody is going to stand up at a board meeting and proclaim the US Government wants the conspiracy boards shut down.

I think if it ever comes it will be through government regulation forced on them. Look how they react to nudity and profanity on TV. The laws are there but mostly ignored by both the producers and the government. If and when it comes it will be due to its impact on children or the fact so much fraud is taking place by those inventing conspiracies to sell books and tapes. We all know that takes place. My fear is that they will give the ammunition to those who do want this stopped.

reply to post by angel of lightangelo


"Does not play well with others."

"Belligerent"

Well at least you are up front about it

This is the classic "Are too" - "Am Not" argument heard in households all over the world.

reply to post by angel of lightangelo


You want facts?The facts are clear in the undercurrent of fear...
This is your power of media.
Nothing less will sell..

lightangelo...

I am definitely not attacking...I have Bi-Polar illness...I am just trying to assert that the MSM "WILL" attempt to discredit us because our beliefs are different than their beliefs...

Do you relalize, that in NJ, I am unable to obtain a gun permit now that a medical doctor diagnosed me with Bi-Polar illness?

So, I am banned from ANY gun permit in NJ...Just because a doctor said "hey, he's bi-polar"...

NJ statute states that a "mentally ill person" may NOT obtain or own ANY firearm in the state of NJ"...

Guess what? To the state, I am mentally ill...So, knock one more person off the books of those who can own firearms...I can vote, though...

Originally posted by Blaine91555
This is the classic "Are too" - "Am Not" argument heard in households all over the world.

True. You cannot prove an opinion after all.

I would like to take a moment to point out a section of the article which in my opinion is hilarious and very true.

A man standing on a street corner with a sign reading "the lizard people rule you all," or, "my neighbors are spying on me for the government" isn't likely to get many supporters.

But give that man a Web site template, or let him produce some slick videos on YouTube and, lo and behold, he may have thousands of people across the world supporting him.

Those YouTube videos get me every time. They sprout up from all over the place, and people believe their legitimacy merely because it is a video. Often times YouTube is given as supposed credible evidence in many of our debates, when it is just as easy now a days to slather together a video and post it on YouTube as it is to write down your opinion.

Originally posted by Yoda411

Just imagine the number of hits that story got from conspiracy theory websites. Believe me, that was their only intention.

Excuse me if I don't just take you at your word on that... unless of course you have inside information and can testify as to their actual intentions?

reply to post by Yoda411


yup

but, you're a good sport Yoda

and, apparently impossible to wear out

:-)

Originally posted by Resinveins

Originally posted by Yoda411

Just imagine the number of hits that story got from conspiracy theory websites. Believe me, that was their only intention.

Excuse me if I don't just take you at your word on that... unless of course you have inside information and can testify as to their actual intentions?

This stuff sells like hotcakes. Just look at the outrage in this forum, prison planet, and elsewhere. Let alone the article receiving 205 comments mainly from conspiracy theory supporters..

I realized it while searching in Google. They managed to get a link on almost every conspiracy website there is.

Edit: Couldn't post the search link, but type in "ABC conspiracy websites". This retrieved some good results.

[edit on 12/16/08 by Yoda411]

Originally posted by Blaine91555
reply to post by angel of lightangelo

 

"Does not play well with others."

"Belligerent"

Well at least you are up front about it

I thought that was fair.

This is the classic "Are too" - "Am Not" argument heard in households all over the world.

Not at all. What we have here is people supporting, reporting, and believing a supposed news story. Reported by a legitimate mainstream outlet as an actual news article, it failed to meet any of the standards of journalism. I feel that in a place where "deny ignorance" is the slogan, starting with tossing out news articles based on nothing is a good start. I would also love to have this conversation but I need to call a spade a spade. Yoda outright lied to try cover up for not admitting her was proven wrong. I don't care much for that. So, take the first half and you have your legitimate reason I care about this matter. Take the second half and that is why I am who I am.

Originally posted by Yoda411

Originally posted by swdecord
Oh...And y'all are just attacking each other, rather than furthering the discussion...

You are right, I apologize to anyone attempting to contribute to the discussion.

I don't believe the mainstream media would want to attack, more specifically bring down, ATS and conspiracy theory websites.

Just imagine the number of hits that story got from conspiracy theory websites. Believe me, that was their only intention.

Yoda,

I agree...dude or dudette (sorry, but I don;t know your sex and don;t want to offend )...you are correct...I am very skeptical, and only visit posts that I "personally believe in"...

So, the attack from MSM regarding alernative views, with mental illness, pisses me off...

So, I added to this post...

It is BS...

Originally posted by Yoda411

Originally posted by swdecord
Oh...And y'all are just attacking each other, rather than furthering the discussion...

You are right, I apologize to anyone attempting to contribute to the discussion.

I don't believe the mainstream media would want to attack, more specifically bring down, ATS and conspiracy theory websites.

Just imagine the number of hits that story got from conspiracy theory websites. Believe me, that was their only intention.

Yoda,

I agree...dude or dudette (sorry, but I don;t know your sex and don;t want to offend )...you are correct...I am very skeptical, and only visit posts that I "personally believe in"...

So, the attack from MSM regarding alernative views, with mental illness, pisses me off...

So, I added to this post...

It is BS...

reply to post by Yoda411


Ahhh well then, I find it unlikely they went to the trouble of trying to blatantly discredit an online community just to drum up some publicity and some web hits.
But maybe that's just my paranoid schizophrenia kicking in

Originally posted by swdecord
lightangelo...

I am definitely not attacking...I have Bi-Polar illness...I am just trying to assert that the MSM "WILL" attempt to discredit us because our beliefs are different than their beliefs...

Do you relalize, that in NJ, I am unable to obtain a gun permit now that a medical doctor diagnosed me with Bi-Polar illness?

Yes I do. Believe me, this is not about a slap fight with yoda. This is about mainstream news spreading bad info about mental illness. That really really bothers me.

Much of what goes on within threads on ATS is a perfect example of Hegel's dialectic in real-time mode. An OP posts a thesis, members propose an antithesis, and hopefully, from that a synthesis is arrived at. Sometimes it actually works that way, and when it does, then that advances socialization and the search for reality. However, when the third stage, the synthesis, does not occur, it is usually the result of failure to listen to the other party's arguments, and attempt to reconcile them with their own.
The American two-party system has failed because the synthesis rarely results. Instead, we oscillate back and forth between two extremes that have no desire to synthesize.
Conspiracy theorists, in my humble opinion, rarely listen to those proposing an antithesis, and their counterpart does likewise. That, in simple terms is why people like David Icke can hold his Reptilian thesis. In my opinion, the theory is ludicrous, but delusional people are people that cannot and will not see the other side.
When I first joined ATS, it wasn't long before I encountered the "Reptilian" threads. Needless to say, I was quite shocked, to see people actually believe in such a wild thesis. I perused several of the threads, because, quite honestly, I was interested in finding out how people could hold such ideas. It became quite evident that they were delusional, in the sense that they did seem to draw "strength" in their beliefs from others on the thread that also "believed". I also thought of how similar such behavior was to people that joined cults.
Well, to tie my thoughts together, in summary, I believe that those disposed to wild conspiracies may be strengthened in their paranoia on conspiracy websites, just as those that watch some TV science fiction shows, begin to believe what they see, not as fiction, but as fact. I don't believe that ATS or TV create these disillusions, and therefore, neither medium is one to be feared as a causal agent. However, the potential is there for charlatans to take advantage of those that are predisposed to paranioa, and that should be a concern for all.

I know the majority of the argument regarding the article itself has died down, but I would just like to point out a topic on here that I feel is an example of the delusions and paranoia that may be brought on by conspiracy theories.

I Think I'm Being Followed

Here is a person that is clearly suffering from some form of paranoia. Furthermore, others are buying into these delusions and supporting them. Now, some of you may argue that I have no proof that this person is suffering from a mental disorder. However, is it more believable that this person is being followed by the government for having done nothing other than post on this site or that their suffering from paranoia? Occam's Razor would say the latter. On top of which since the poster says that this started after discussing conspiracy theories with a co-worker one can naturally assume that that was in some way a stressor that helped bring on their current condition.

EDIT:

That has already been established. Are you a danger to yourself. Are you a danger to others.

This is not the criteria for a mental disorder. There are plenty of people out there suffering from schizophrenia that are a danger to nobody, yet they clearly suffer from a mental disorder. Personally I suffer from social anxiety disorder. It does not put myself or others in danger, but it can inhibit normal functioning. In fact I have had a number of psychologists tell me that the only disorder where a person will be a threat to themselves or others at one time or another if the disorder is left untreated is bipolar disorder.

[edit on 16-12-2008 by Xcalibur254]

reply to post by Xcalibur254


So you think that we have a responsibility to determine which claims made on ATS are true and which are delusional, and provide treatment for the delusional ones?

I can't help myself. It's so far off topic it's in another county, but really.

Originally posted by americandingbat
reply to post by Xcalibur254

 

So you think that we have a responsibility to determine which claims made on ATS are true and which are delusional, and provide treatment for the delusional ones?

I can't help myself. It's so far off topic it's in another county, but really.

I don't think there is a proposed solution, just providing evidence to back up the original claim.

Originally posted by Xcalibur254
Now, some of you may argue that I have no proof that this person is suffering from a mental disorder. .

I will argue that even if you can prove she does, and you may, you cannot prove that conspiracy websites had anything to do with it in any way shape or form. They did not make it worse, bring it on, whatever else ABC is trying to say would happen. This is the problem, people are looking at mentally ill people and seeing some truth to this argument when there are not facts whatsoever to back up this claim. Unless anyone can show some stats or case studies or even one example of how a conspiracy site contributed in any way to anyone's mental health issues, this argument is pointless.

reply to post by Max_TO
Its a fact of life that sometimes the TRUTH is disturbing!