What particular incident turned you into a Conspiracy Theorist?

reply to post by jimmyx


I don't need to read other stuff to know about government documents, I obtained my own (200+ pages) FBI files, on my previously hinted at incident. Plus I have my routinely issued discharge papers as well.

Nothing made me one I guess, I just always was into science, our history and the life on other planets thing and continued from there.

Not much else to say really.

I just came home from college and switched on the tv when I saw that the first plane had hit on 9/11, was glued to the tv most of the week when I wasn't at college or sleeping but not once have I ever questioned the Official Story. Too much evidence to deny the facts. Also with JFK, there's more to his assassination than we're led to believe but that nor any other theory got me into them at all.

I think what got me started on conspiracy theories happened when I was a very small child, not more than 5 or 6 years old. I heard my Dad say that Walter Cronkite was the most powerful man in the world because everyone completely believed every word he said when he reported the daily world news each night. I remember asking my Dad "But what if he's lying?" It was ON from that point!

the Kennedy assassination, the following murder of Oswald by Ruby....

then 26 months later when i started 3 years in the Army, i spent as a documents clerk in both a S-2 & G-2 in USAREUR, mostly around Nuremberg Germany

i've kept my head down all these years. so it wouldn't get blowed off like JFKs

What a fun question. I enjoyed reading everyone's "starting" points.

It's hard to say where it all began. There were small stages which brought me to this point. First of all I was born into Communism. When I was young I would hear my parents secretly talk about the West and how great it was out there. In school however, our authority figures proclaimed that Russia was the best place on earth, and that people in the West are starving. I believed them at the time. I sometimes heard my parents mention some singer who "committed suicide", but it was rumored among select people that the Communists assassinated him for singing coded anti-communist songs.

Second of all, I've had many odd experiences in the house where I was born. It started at an extremely early age. To this day the scientific part of me doesn't know what it was that I saw and heard. Some people would call them "ghosts" or "spirits". I remember being so terrified some nights, that even if I had to go to the bathroom at night, I'd rather hold it till morning than open the door and go down those stairs. Lights would go on and off in the hallway, footsteps going up or down the staircase, door knobs turning, voices saying hello and calling us by our name. My dad and I were witness to one of these episodes together, during daylight no less. Maybe we were all crazy, and maybe there was something more to it. It made me wonder if other people also had such experiences.

After we escaped Communism and settled in Germany seeking political asylum, I got to hear a lot more about communist deceit, and I got to see for myself that the West really was a great place to be. It was nothing as it was described by my teachers or communist neighbors. It was the opposite.

We immigrated (legally) to the U.S. some years later and my dad would have more conversations with me about this or that (theories about space, what's out there, new science, history, politics, etc.). These conversations always fascinated me. They were subjects I didn't get to talk about with my friends. One day he mentioned the Philadelphia Experiment, and it blew my mind. It sounded way out of this world, and I just had to find out the truth. I researched it on the internet and one of the places I was led to was ATS. When I clicked on the home page, a new world opened up to me. The topics were interesting, people were discussing odd subjects I enjoyed in a civilized manner, and I was hooked. Mostly I was happy to see that I'm not the only one who thinks about these things. I was pleasantly surprised when I found skeptics on board, because I felt it balanced out some of the threads. I'm still not convinced about a lot of things I read here, but I keep an open mind. Possibilities are endless, and sometimes the truth can be more interesting than fiction.

Since Im a kid, Ive had problems with the pyramids and sphinx. They just seem out of place somehow. Once interenet was around I used that to research topics like OOPARTS. UFOS, etc.. There is so much that is beautiful in this world and there is so much crap and manipulation of facts. Fun times to see it unfold

reply to post by Cobaltic1978


For me it was Waco. I remember being glued to the t.v. for a good portion of that summer watching the events unfold. I could not believe our own government would slaughter women and children over allegations against a leader of a small religious group. The longer the story progressed the more I started seeing our Gov. as the bad guys. It all culminated the day I saw news footage of a tank shooting fire into the compound, only to have the news tell me later that the Branch Davidians started the fire.
That truly opened my eyes and since that day I decided It would be wise to not believe anything the government and news tells me. It is always better to do your own research and come to your own conclusions based on data and facts, rather than swallow what anyone tries to spoonfeed you. The truth is out there but it seems to be as elusive as Bigfoot.

It was a gradual progression/off-and-on road to conspiracy theorism for me. But mainly, bits of information about 9/11, the War on Terror, civil liberties being curtailed left and right, and so on. I saw 9/11 Truth videos early on, but disregarded them for a while.

A major contributing factor had to be in University, when I was friends with the guy at the head of Montreal 9/11 Truth. He had a weekly/bi-weekly club where he'd show various movies. The one that really caused a light to "flick on" in my head had to be "Endgame: Blueprint for Global Enslavement" - I left the showing that evening with a feeling of shock and dread at the kind of people that could be out there. That basically
We did some anti-NAU/SPP activism on campus, back when Harper, Bush, and Fox where in charge. To coincide with some Canada-wide protests against the SPP, we circulated a petition calling for full public disclosure on the SPP agreement. Considering the size of our University (around 2000 students), we had a great response (about 40 signatures).

So yeah, it's been a number of things over the years, and it's been off and on. Getting bits of info, reading stories, and hearing things that confused/pissed me off until I finally got to the point where I just went "Okay, what in the hell is REALLY going on around here?"

I wanted to believe that the world could be a great place, and that the rich and powerful couldn't be as evil and corrupt as they are.
I wanted to believe that what I heard in the MSM would be the truth, and that I could get the whole story from them.
I wanted to believe that our political leaders/figureheads were truly good people and had our best interests in mind. And to some extent, I still do believe that.

But things just happen, man. I've seen, heard, and read things that just cause me to doubt and question much of what I find. And if that makes me a "conspiracy theorist"... oh well.

Shakira appearing on Wizards Of Wavery Place. I was new to pop culture, so I had no idea who she was. So after YouTubing her "She-wolf" video, I couldn't believe that someone that showed such sexy adult content appeared on a kids show.

That was more like the seed. I think the actual turning point where I blossomed into a full-fledged conspiracy theorist was finding Vigilante Citizen. I mean, I always felt that our society has had its flaws, but I always thought it was because of our selfish and undisciplined nature. I never dreamed the flaws were designed on purpose.

It was easy for me to accept though. I guess because I've enjoyed studying religions throughout my entire life, so the actual visual symbolism was easy for me to pick up on. I just needed the "why".

Buying a small camping/fishing radio with AM-FM-Weather and SHORTWAVE RADIO...

Oneday in 1992 or so, it was raining and I thought ..."Let me see what this SW1 and SW2 is all about."

Wow...I found a young Alex Jones going at it as hard as ever...proclaiming the NWO was around the corner and the UN was about to take my guns away.

I listened to the Michigan Militia, and Brother RG Stair, and a few other "patriot" shows that also sold gold and water purifiers... on good old WWCR...World Wide Christian Radio

Then came Ruby Ridge and Waco and all the dubious deaths associated with the Clinton Administration and Flight 800 "falling" out of the sky...

Then I really fell into the wormhole when i found Art Bell and C2C.. I still miss listening to Art over a hot cup of coffee and cinnamon frosted poptarts about 3am in the morning...lol

I would read and get the National News spin and then I would get the "truth" on the shortwave... I was a paranoid neophyte with a tinfoil hat and designing bunkers on notebook paper...

Thankfully, my views have matured and I take what I hear with a little more "thought" and skepticism and critical thinking... but finding the shortwave radio and the "truth" was as eyeopening as finding out what girls are really all about...

and every bit as exciting.

reply to post by Cobaltic1978
The Rendlesham Forest UFO sightings. I was stationed at RAF Bentwaters in 83-85. It was still big news then.

I never believed the cover-up.

Without a doubt the government admitting to the conspiracy that was the Gulf of Tonkin incident that got us into Vietnam.

This very clearly laid out how the government or entities within the government create the "political will" to pass prefabricated solutions to propagandized problems.

For me it wasn't UFO's or 9/11. It was a personal conspiracy. It was more like dealing with the "good old boys" network.

I think once you realize how much people in power are willing to lie and cheat for each other, you look at events differently.

A classic saucer shaped UFO hovering at low altitude over my head in broad daylight in the later part of the 1960's. No little meaningless lights in the sky. No balloons. Up close and personal. Still don't know what it was and likely never will. Probably military but I don't know.

reply to post by Cobaltic1978


It was actually a slow process for me. I guess it all started pretty innocently with things like michael moore films and the general vibe of corruption going on there which I was already pretty aware of although it prompted further interest. I had also been studying international politics and focused a lot of my energy and interest towards the cold war and conflicts post cold war, Iraq and the war on terror obviously being important. The whole situation basically stank and it seemed obvious to me that there were seriously corrupt elements in play in regards to the invasion and it's relation to 9/11.

This led into 9/11 territory which furthered my interest in global corruption and the suppression of information/fear mongering and it's use in pacifying the west. The more I researched these areas and discussed them with friends the more it made sense to me and I started to become far more open to the idea that we were having the wool pooled over our eyes in a many areas, not just in regards to illegal invasions, wars, weapons of mass destruction and terrorism.

ENTER ATS

I found my way here not long after this. While here I noticed a lot of other topics that interested me, UFO's being one that I was always open to but had not found anything compelling or convincing. I started researching UFO's a lot and this led into other areas of interest such as ancient civilizations, new world order stuff and all the rest.

If I was to put my being a conspiracy theorist down to one event or thing I would have to say that it would be researching and studying the war in iraq/war on terror and how it relates to 9/11. Realizing that that they lie, CONSTANTLY also did it. Nice thread.

Thats an easy one, the answer is, when i first found A.T.S. That is when i started being a skeptic and hearing other people raise thier opinions on here. The longer i stayed on here, the more i saw thru the lies. I congratulate you A.T.S for keeping my brain up to par. Now i can see thru the lies and know what the truth really is. You have widened my perspective on peoples and things in general. THANK YOU, very much.

No particular event turned me into a "theorist", but I'm inclined to believe that a conspiracy is there.
I guess I got it from being hurt or lied to by everyone I've ever known or trusted.
I guess I can say it comes to me naturally.
dta

i think it was when liveing in california a fleet of plains flew over my neiborhood and wer speaking words that stated the nazies have won reliquish your wepons or be shot when my eyes hit the ground i trucked wer there a gun was in my hand the next and i opened fight at the cloest plains i could judge to be shot i then emptyed my gun into the 2 trucks that wer looking nazi killing the hitting the driver and and a man exiting the russain truck i was about 7 i think maybe younger or maybe i was 11 ether way some man threw me into the back of a truck with won hand and but at the same time it felt like something larj and heavy hit me in the head so i went black

they droped me off in a fiel by my house andi walked home when i was awake enough to talk and they all drove away

all i know is im still alive

When Janet Reno and her Gestapo went after the Branch Davidians, that opened the door to a whole can of worms and the rest as they say IS HISTORY

When i was about 13 my dad and I were driving near Sea-Tac airport, we were driving somewhere and stopped at a red light. I was looking around, bored out of my mind when i noticed a tiny dot in the sky. Thinking it was weird to see a star out during the day i stared at it, that was when it started to move. I watched it for a few blocks as it would move in one direction, then stop and move in a different direction. I got my dad to stop the car and pointed out what i was seeing. It moved in all directions, and would change directions at speeds impossible by current technology, let alone tech from 18 years ago. We watched this tiny dot move around like this for about 10 more minutes before it disappeared. To this day neither me or my dad can explain what we saw that day.

That got my brain open to the possibility that things are not as they seem. I dabbled a little bit in JFK, Moon Landing, and other random stories i would come across, but never really got all that into it. That was until 9/11.

I got laid up a year after 9/11 happened due to a pretty nasty car wreck. I had a lot of time to watch the news and follow everything that was going on with bush, Iraq, and the frantic search for the WMDs. This sealed the deal for me. Any doubt i had that TPTB could, would, or did the things they were accused of was gone.

It has only become worse since then, and i fear for the country, and the world. The desensitizing of humanity is sickening.

DC