Conspiracy Theory

Conspiracy Theories Can Be Dangerous

LAXShooting11-1-13It was reported last night that the LAX gunman was carrying hand-written notes which indicated that he held anti-government views but, according to a report from NBC News, that may have been an understatement.

The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the material recovered from Paul Anthony Ciancia, 23, after the shootout at LAX appeared to have been prepared by a group called “New World Order.” One source said it also expressed animus toward racial minorities. [...]

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti said at a news conference later Friday that the gunman had with him at least 100 more rounds of ammunition that “literally would have killed everyone in that terminal.”

We often poke, prod, and generally mock the world of the conspiracy, and I am guilty of this myself, but we shouldn’t forget that this ideology (or a lack thereof) can be very isolating and dangerous. People who feel isolated and hopeless, facing a world united in conspiracy against them, may be more inclined to act out.

And I’m not speaking abstractly, I’m speaking from experience.

When I was in my early 20s during the worst stretch of the Bush era that, in my mind, peaked with Hurricane Katrina, I too felt isolated and hopeless, and I would have believed almost anything you told me about the Bush administration. I was depressed and grossly disillusioned. It wasn’t until President Obama announced his candidacy and won the Iowa caucus that I felt as if I had a reason to look forward to the future again, and that’s when I began writing. I felt compelled to participate in society for the first time in years and doing so was a life-changing, perhaps live-saving, experience.

Much of what I believed about the Bush administration ultimately turned out to be true, but the prospect of being able to change things allowed me to move on. And for anyone who has been reading this blog for the past five years, the rest is history. We may be stuck in the mud right now, mired in the machinations of the Flying Monkey Caucus, but things have changed drastically.

According to multiple reports, the suspect, Paul Ciancia, told family members that he thought about killing himself, and while I can sympathize with that, It’s unforgivable that he (apparently) planned to do so by taking others with him.

(photo via AP)