I was thinking about conspiracy theories a little bit trying to get ideas for a blog post and I remembered this story (I wonder if there is some theory that says that all topics have some This American Life story related to them, because I would believe that). It aired a few weeks ago and basically, it's about a guy who was shot seven times in his living room by the FBI in May 2013. Supposedly right before he was shot, he confessed to having committed a triple murder in Waltham, MA (a little weird because I was there a few weeks ago -- it's this small, sort of rundown looking suburb of Boston) with one of the Boston bombers. The story is super weird and I'd really recommend listening to the episode or reading the article. There aren't a lot of solid facts and that + fishy government activities obviously leads to conspiracy theories.
I was thinking a little bit about how I don't find conspiracy theories intrinsically interesting -- personally I like Occam's Razor because it keeps things simple -- but I will concede that a particularly interesting one can be pretty fun. I also got pretty caught up in the This American Life episode -- just the unanswered questions themselves sucked me in. Right now I'm just finding Libra a little confusing but I'm hoping I'll get more sucked into it as I get further into the book.
I think I share your opinions on conspiracy theories. I really don't want to hear some person's explanations on how 9/11 was clearly an inside job or whatever because I think they're right, or what they're saying is in any way worth thinking about. If I choose to listen, it's purely for the fun in trying to look at something that has a reasonable, if insufficient explanation, and trying to figure out zany alternatives to that. It's a fun thought exercise, if nothing else.
ReplyDeleteThis story about the FBI shooting was interesting for a number of reasons. I remember hearing about it when it first happened, and immediately all kinds of things sounded fishy--anytime you have an alleged confession followed by a shooting of the suspect, there are going to be questions. But the story did a good job of actually offering a plausible account of how this guy got himself shot, a plausible scenario where the agent was surprised by the sudden attack and shot in self-defense (and I'm not one who's automatically inclined to take the cop's side in such stories). The "cover-up" reflects agents not wanting to deal with the messy questions that follow such an event, not necessarily an effort to conceal a conspiracy to frame this guy or the alleged bombers.
ReplyDeleteWe see something similar with the FBI tampering with evidence after the JFK assassination. Perhaps they know more than they're letting on, and there's a cover-up. Perhaps elements within the FBI are actually involved in the plot. Or, somewhat less excitingly but every bit as plausible, maybe some agents screwed up and are trying to cover their own asses. Who knows how many conspiracy theories were launched simply because some agent or bureaucrat just wants to cover up a routine screwup?