Among the Truthers A Journey into the Growing Conspiracist Underground of 9/11 Truthers, Birthers, A

Came across this the other day on a radio show:

Thought you might be interested.

Among the Truthers A Journey into the Growing Conspiracist Underground of 9/11 Truthers, Birthers, Armageddonites, Vaccine Hysterics, Hollywood Know-Nothings and Internet Addicts By Jonathan Kay

Book Description

Millions of people around the world have convinced themselves that the actual perpetrators of 9/11 were not al-Qaeda terrorists but elements within the U.S. government seeking a pretext to launch wars abroad and enact draconian laws at home. These “9/11 Truthers” are not alone. They are part of a vast conspiracist subculture that is spreading like wildfire and beginning to influence mainstream politics. For two years, Canadian journalist Jonathan Kay has been researching the underground world of conspiracy theorists by immersing himself in their ranks. He has attended their conventions, infiltrated their Internet discussion boards, become a connoisseur of their propaganda videos, and engaged them in in-depth, revealing interviews. While many individual conspiracy theories seem harmless, even amusing, the phenomenon is doing real damage to the unity and health of North American society. Since the JFK assassination, conspiracy thinking has proliferated, and the Internet has fostered the growth of numerous alternate conceptual worlds in which traditional media and academia have no authority. 9/11 was a death blow to the older consensual view of reality, and as a result, North Americans no longer inhabit one cognitive universe. What this means for the future of politics, and for our society at large, is at the heart of Among the Truthers.

www.harpercollins.ca...

reply to post by incrediblelousminds


yup. earlier i had a family member tell me i "bought in" to the 9/11 conspiracy too much. when i showed them evidence, all they said was "i don't think we would do that". completely rejected logic for what they wanted to be true.

the msm are stepping up their propaganda against anyone who would question.

Great find..Here is another great truther...Scott, from Believers Underground.....Earth Needs our Help. Nuclear Plant Closed Japan.....California gives out Emergency bags, etc.....Don't laugh unless you to finished college at the age of 12 like he did....

reply to post by incrediblelousminds


Where are the reviews? If it's a hit piece, I would expect someone who's read it to say so. All the links I can find are simple endorsements, but who would care to read it other than conspiracy folk? Who is his audience? Friends and relatives of conspiracy nuts? the "mainstream"? It's a good idea for a book.

Originally posted by Pilot
reply to post by incrediblelousminds

 

Where are the reviews? If it's a hit piece, I would expect someone who's read it to say so. All the links I can find are simple endorsements, but who would care to read it other than conspiracy folk? Who is his audience? Friends and relatives of conspiracy nuts? the "mainstream"? It's a good idea for a book.

Th book isn't out yet, hence the lack of reviews.


But it doesnt really appear to be a 'hit peace'. More like an anthropological study of sorts. I heard him on this show the other day: www.abovetopsecret.com... www.cbc.ca...

He has a website here: amongthetruthers.com...

Salon interviewed him here:

www.salon.com.../politics/war_room/2011/04/30/conspiracy_theories_truther_birther

reply to post by incrediblelousminds


I wonder if he changed his mind about any official stories while he was "studying" the freak show. I think a bias might be at work however:

"To prevent conspiracy theories from flourishing, Mr. Kay urges that we arm students with "the intellectual tools that not only permit them to identify established conspiracist creeds, but also allow them to identify the common features that bind all conspiratorial ideologies." Sounds like a good idea, but conspiracy theories will probably survive all attempts to thwart them. After Mr. Obama released his birth certificate in April, Forgers came forward to claim that it was a photo-shopped fake. Mr. Trump has yet to join their cause."

This WSJ article:online.wsj.com... 303093865068646.html

reply to post by Pilot


here's a NYTimes review in pdf form from his website:

amongthetruthers.com...

ETA: bloomberg's review:

www.bloomberg.com...

and powells.com

www.powells.com...


more reviews at his website:

amongthetruthers.com...

reply to post by Bob Sholtz


I remember after 9/11 how everyone had flags on their flags and displayed from their homes, they cheered in Patriotism, they loved the idea of the Patriot Act.

A few years go by(soon for some), the same people who cheered and called Conspiracy Theorists- Anti Patriots, Aspiring Terrorists, American Haters, Misinformed, etc, were people who seen the country in another light. They questioned what was going on, they looked at the proposed facts of " maybe it really didn't happen the way you think it did"... If I am truly free, I have the right to question my Government!
Others; used the term Freedom Fries! because France was on the terrorists side, they said!

Argue a point as far as you can, give them time, often many "wake up"... if not I feel for them.

reply to post by dreamingawake


meh. i don't anymore. i can't feel bad for someone who is a fool. i have a bit of a vengeful streak, and i've been called a liar by people close to me over 9/11. and dispite me showing them that i was telling the truth, they still don't believe. when things start to go, and i'm prepared, and they aren't, they're not getting anything from me.

As far as I am concern, the book is an insult to people’s intelligent.
The book is Jonathan Kay opinion against conspiracy theorist, nothing more. The problem he doesn’t want to talk about is all the freaking lie the mainstream media spews daily. He doesn’t want to talk about Truth.
The internet is the only place the government and media cannot control information and they hate the fact that people are using it to find credible sources for their information, something mainstream News will not give most of the time.
His book is only for the ignorant who want to believe what television talking heads say. Perhaps we need to write a book to why so many people are ignorant and depend on mainstream media for their spoon fed lies.

Existing thread here - www.abovetopsecret.com...

Yeah, it's a hit piece.

reply to post by Asktheanimals


Thanks for that. I searched his name and got no results.

ATS Search= crap.

I disagree it's a hit piece, personally, although I see how many can come to that conclusion. If you read much of what gets posted on sites like this, or, say that one with 'god' in the name, you can see how a significant percentage of participants can color the rest of the more intelligent folks foolish by association.

To an outsider looking in, we all look the same. Its not their fault they see the saintly folks in the boondocks as crazy I do, too.