The sixth anniversary of the September 11th attacks should have inspired remembrance and gratitude, since so far we've been spared the horrors of another terrorist assault on American soil.
But unfortunately, commemorations this year were marred by a disturbing trend in our culture: polls show more than 30% of our fellow citizens believe 9/11 was an "inside job." The so-called "9/11 Truth Movement" obsesses on a range of ludicrous suspicions about Building Seven, a missile--not a plane--striking the Pentagon, dynamite charges at the base of the twin towers, and so forth.
Aside from the poisonous impact on public discourse of such lunatic notions, the people who focus on these theories do incalculable damage to themselves. Someone who entertains the idea that his own government is part of a mass-murdering conspiracy will not only destroy his political effectiveness, but also make success in career and marriage far less likely.
Normal, productive individuals would prefer to avoid long-term association with paranoid nuts.
Emphasis mine. 30 percent? That's too many to ignore. Not that I know what to do about people that buy into this stuff. If only the human brain could be rebooted....
Meanwhile, guess who has joined this "truth movement"? Yes, Fidel Castro! This puts him at odds with OBL who claimed that he actually did plan the 9/11 attacks, not the CIA or the President's grandmother or whoever. But there is probably some beard-envy toward Osama on Fidel's part. From the article:
"What is most dramatic is the affirmation that the truth about what happened may never be known," he said.
Castro has not been seen in public since undergoing intestinal surgery in July 2006. He has appeared in photographs and eight videos, the last of which aired on June 5.
It's great to know that Castro is so concerned about the truth.
These 9/11 delusions are the equivelent of Holocaust Denial.
ReplyDeleteAside from the poisonous impact on public discourse of such lunatic notions, the people who focus on these theories do incalculable damage to themselves. Someone who entertains the idea that his own government is part of a mass-murdering conspiracy will not only destroy his political effectiveness, but also make success in career and marriage far less likely.
ReplyDeleteNormal, productive individuals would prefer to avoid long-term association with paranoid nuts.
Hi Pauli,
Medved absolutely nailed it. I have the misfortune of having a least a couple of these truther dummies in my family. One is an in-law. These people are not what you would call successful people. (And of course, their lack of success is always someone else's fault.) Anyway, these people know better that to speak this trash in my presence or in my home.
Medved is the one doing the poisoning of discourse, by implying that 9/11 "truthers" are all smelly losers who can't get laid or make it in life. This is sheer ad hominem, not a deflation of any of the "truther" positions/arguments.
ReplyDeleteIt reminds me of when George Carlin made fun of pro-lifers by saying "Have you ever noticed that the people who are against abortion are the ones you wouldn't want to f___ in the first place?" Medved's only slightly less obnoxious here.
My comments here shouldn't be taken as an endorsement of the "truther" movement, of course. I don't think the American government was behind the attacks on Sept. 11. But ad hominem invective masquarading as argument (such as Medved's here) always annoys me.
Oh, sheesh...
ReplyDeleteMedved is the one doing the poisoning of discourse, by implying that 9/11 "truthers" are all smelly losers who can't ...make it in life.
Only problem is, this has a tendency to be true.
People that believe this crap are spitting on the graves of those who died that day and are tormenting the families of victims. (Implying the last phone calls were faked and that their loved ones faked their deaths.) They are vile losers and deserve every bit of contempt they get.
As do those who defend them.
Also, if I may point out one more thing, Medved's point was more that people like this marginalize themselves with their kookery, rather than saying, "what a bunch of smelly losers."
ReplyDeleteAndy, I re-read the commentary and saw nothing about how Truthers smell. I think you sort of read that in. One can shower or bathe daily and remain a paranoid nut.
ReplyDeleteMoreover the ability to be successful goes beyond "getting laid" or landing a job. I'm sure a lot of these folks are the life of the party and do great during low-level job interviews. But if I have a Truther working in receiving he's probably not going to get promoted to Buyer anytime soon. I don't need company funds funneled toward a purchase of the Brooklyn Bridge or authentic alien embryos from Roswell. Stay on the dock, buddy.
As Susan implies, there is no centralized effort to discriminate against these people -- they self-marginalize via their vocal insistence. Many of the people I know who are into conspiracies are struggling in their life in different ways -- marriage problems, job-jumping, multiple addictions, etc., and they all see themselves as victims of phantom foes. Furthermore, no one I know whom I'd call successful indulges in these kinds of conspiracies.
So what MM is saying rings true to me. I'd need to be given substantial contrary evidence to adjust my thinking. Being wrong has consequences, and it follows intuitively that being really badly wrong has really bad consequences.
Many of the people I know who are into conspiracies are struggling in their life in different ways -- marriage problems, job-jumping, multiple addictions, etc., and they all see themselves as victims of phantom foes.
ReplyDeleteExactly...same here. While Medved didn't say they were smelly, I must add that the in-law I mentioned is indeed hygienically-challenged. ;-)
I don't agree with the "truthers" because their ideas sound preposterous to me, but I don't see how they are spitting on anyone's grave or mocking relatives of those who died by promulating their beliefs. If you disagree about who a murderer was, it doesn't follow that you don't sympathize with the victims or the victims' families.
ReplyDeleteI would also add that Medved seems to take it as a given that the U.S. government would never be a part of a "mass-murdering conspiracy." Is our government really that good and pure? Is any government?
ReplyDeleteThe reason I disbelive in the 9/11 conspiracy theories isn't because I believe our government would never kill innocent people to futher its agenda-- it's more the elaborate details of the alleged conspiracy (bombs planted in the towers, etc.) that strike me as preposterous.
Um, Andy, did you read what I wrote at all? One of the major tenets of the "troofer" faith are that the frantic phone calls from people on the planes (particularly the one that hit the Pentagon and Flight 93) to their relatives were fake. That means they are calling the relatives liars. And that means they are saying the people on the planes aren't really dead. If you can't understand how that would be insulting to the victims and their loved ones...well I better stop before I say something I shouldn't.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any encyclopedic knowledge of what the truthers think, but it's my impression that most of them acknowledge that the passengers on the planes are dead. I'm sure there are some who think that they are still alive and that their relatives are in on the conspiracy-- claiming that they're dead when they really arent-- but I hadn't come across that particular scenario before.
ReplyDeleteSomething truly shocking happened on Friday's "Real Time" on HBO.
ReplyDeleteHost Bill Maher called 9/11 truthers "lunatics," and demanded they stop requesting him "raise this ridiculous topic on this show and start asking [their] doctor if Paxil is right for [them]."
I kid you not.
During Maher's "New Rules" segment, he actually stated (video available here, relevant section begins at 1:46):