8 years ago
16
These Pluto Truthers Insist NASA Images Are Fake
It wouldn’t be a monumental achievement in human history without some truthers on the internet calling it fake. And NASA’s historic Pluto flyby is no different. The conspiracy theory crowd has descended on the event as their too-good-to-be-true choice this week. Wake up sheeple! Pluto is just a dog at Disneyland!
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Can we stop calling conspiracy theorists "truthers?"
I am willing to compromise on "Idiots"
I am tired of the word as well, but it automatically conveys a snide derision. Conspiracy theorists sounds way too nice. Some conspiracies do exists and theory sounds vaguely scientific. Calling them truthers is a better way of calling them idiots.
I think some ideas are so ridiculous that they dismiss themselves, no need to kick a dead dog on the ground. But I understand your point and it makes sense.
Totally. I know the word has taken on a life of its own, but it still grates on me because it besmirches the word "truth" by association. If you want to know the truth behind something truly questionable, someone will probably label you as a wacky "truther" anyway, and your line of query loses all credibility. Look at what happened to all the people who early on questioned the 2003 Iraq invasion. Labeled truthers and traitors. But language is language, so truther is probably here to stay. Christ.
I'm pretty sure that the context of the two words leaves no doubt in people's mind that a "truther" is not someone who has a keen grasp on "truth."
We're talking about the same kind of people who attach "Gate" to any scandal out there involving politicians.
Specially on a Gawker Media owned blog.
Ninnies perhaps?
Two truthers are on a plane en route to a truther conference. On the way, the plane crashes and they die.
They get to heaven and are greeted by God himself.
One of them asks "I have to ask, what is the truth behind the 9/11 attacks?". God answers "Bin Ladden funded a terrorist group that hijacked planes they flew into the twin towers."
The guy turns towards his friend and says "This goes higher than we thought!"
Oh man, I'm so glad to have been shown the truth! NASA is just a coverup for the Illuminati-NWO-Lizardpeople from Zeti Beta Cerulean. And I think everyone knows just now nefarious they can be.
Now, let me tell you about contrails....
Seriously though, assuming NASA is stealing money from the US population under the pretense of going to space, what the hell are they spending it on?
The word truther needs to die and people that use it need to reevaluate their objectivity and attitude.
Using it is a great way to out yourself as an asshole who doesn't want to hear dissenting opinions.
It's one thing to have a dissenting opinion. It's another to pursue that opinion to the point that you become obnoxious and dismissive of any information that contradicts that opinion. Many conspiracy theorists cross that threshold when they argue so passionately about their favorite conspiracy ideas.
Oh, and skeptics aren't guilty of being closed minded and very self-righteous in the same way? Objective truth is a tough thing to have, and to assume that you're in the right on either side most if not all the time is ignorance and arrogance. Any reasonable person should accept that there's a chance that they're wrong and not be a dick about it, and its easy to see that neither side is like that.
Fact that many skeptics have to resort to name calling is childish, bullying, and does nothing to help discussion and only further polarizes subjects more, and even shuts people up for having different thoughts/opinions, which isn't right.
Subjects from 9/11, to UFOs, to really any other conspiracy show that both sides are almost completely immature and rude, and analyzing of either sides thought processes show aliments.
Its best to keep an open mind but a thoughtful, critical one at that, and to not resort to name calling when someone brings up a dissenting opinion, among many things. At the end of the day, if you have to resort to name calling to deal with passionate opinions, you need to reevaluate yourself and how you go about things.
Some can be. Being skeptical doesn't necessarily make someone better, just...skeptical. But skepticism isn't about making up your mind that you don't believe in something. A skeptic keeps an open mind at all times and is always willing to accept evidence that's commensurate with the claim. The key is that a skeptic isn't so open-minded that they'll accept any evidence claimed just because it conforms to their bias, which is the primary sin of conspiracy theorists.
Being a good skeptic is hard work.
Sometimes people resort to name calling because the people being called names have made themselves so obnoxious and have dismissed rational discourse for so long that they've earned the name. After a while, it just doesn't pay to keep banging your head against the wall and you have to fall back on other tactics to get your point across.
Jet fuel can't melt Pluto beams.