Comments on: Sandy Hook and Online Harassment

By: Christopher_NW

Christopher_NW — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 14:14:11 +0000

It made me sick reading about the Sandy Hook conspiracy theories, but even worse was the disgusting “memes” idiots put up.

By: BillyJoe7

BillyJoe7 — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 11:29:25 +0000

In Australia, Lindy Chamberlain was convicted of murdering her child essentially as a result of her blunted emotional response when talking in public about her daughter’s death. Everyone you talked to seemed to be convinced she was quilty and cited her lack of emotion as the reason they thought so. Nobody seemed interested in the lack of actual evidence. Lindy Chamberlain claimed a dingo took her baby. Many years later, her daughter’s matinee jacket was found by a tourist. This confirmed her story and eventually led to her conviction being overturned.

By: Bronze Dog

Bronze Dog — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 04:02:24 +0000

One of the biggest problems I see in conspiracy theorists JAQing off: They think reality is unrealistic. In this case, they think grief makes people behave exactly like academy award winners performing a tragic scene instead of being aware of the diversity of human emotional responses.

By: Sawyer

Sawyer — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 03:59:07 +0000

“In fact, if anything, if there were a real conspiracy out there, the rank and file internet conspiracy theorist would be completely incompetent to detect and expose it, and their clumsy conspiracy mongering would provide cover for the real conspiracy.”

Absolutely agree. This is the thing that utterly infuriates me about conspiracy theorists. Sometime in the next 100 years there will be a REAL conspiracy that’s worth getting pissed off about, and no one will notice thanks to their minefield of nonsense and noise.

By: rezistnzisfutl

rezistnzisfutl — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 01:56:47 +0000

Perhaps the reason why this conspiracy theory has gained more traction in the general public than, say, 9/11, is that it deals directly with gun control, which is anathema to much of the population. With 9/11, we already went to war and it didn’t directly affect most of the public. This, on the other hand, has the potential to directly affect the public. Combine that with the misinformation going around about what is being proposed in congress by pundits like Fox News and Alex Jones, and you’ll get more people who’ll accept it.

I also think there are a lot of people who just can’t handle the utter tragedy of this event. It’s too ugly and it involves subjects that are so taboo and heinous, that perhaps it’s easier for them to gravitate toward a more pleasant fiction (perhaps not dissimilar to the human impulse to think that a deceased loved one lives on in a supernatural paradise and they’ll reunite with them someday rather than accept a cold hard reality of the end being the end, forever).

It goes back to what Dr. Novella was saying about conspiracy theorists in general in a previous blog article, that the world is ugly, senseless, messy, and chaotic, and it’s comforting to think that there are actually reasons for these things occur (imagined or not), that they see the real truth, and if they can just get enough people to believe them they can do something about it and have control over the big, scary world.

By: ConspicuousCarl

ConspicuousCarl — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 01:32:53 +0000

I know someone who buys the JFK and 9/11 conspiracies, but then this nutty idea came along and suddenly it’s “how can anyone believe something so crazy?”

Yeesh.

By: HHC

HHC — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:47:45 +0000

We have in our society a lack of compassion to empathize with others, as shown by this evidence. No one can make a hater, or person who enjoys baiting to care about anything but their fantasy world. Guns linked to insane violence entertain these individuals. Gratefully, the FBI has been asked to look into these matters to maintain the civil rights we have in this country. We have not lost our ability to feel, to grieve in our own way and express our cultural identity.

By: wendy0962

wendy0962 — Fri, 18 Jan 2013 00:02:39 +0000

I have family in Bethel, CT and now because of a pendant that I designed I have many customers in other surrounding towns. These people are devastated. The massacre itself is bad enough but then these idiots with their conspiracy theories is just unfathomable.

I designed a unique pendant to honor the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook School massacre. After wracking my brain trying to come up with a way to show my support I created this design to remember the victims and to help the families. All proceeds (100%) are being donated to the Sandy Hook School Support Fund through the Western CT United Way.

So instead of supporting the conspiracy theorists support the community. It is not just about gun control. It is about caring about fellow human beings. If you are interested in the pendant you can learn more here: http://www.simplyremembered.com/index.php/jewelry/spirit-tree-pendant-detail

By: Karl Withakay

Karl Withakay — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 22:09:06 +0000

Steven, the emailer obviously didn’t realize that you’re just a very well programmed computer (Orac’s cousin, perhaps?) that is capable of passing the Turning Test (and responding to emails) that was built to help spread government misinformation as well as occasionally buying concert tickets via Captcha.

By: Steven Novella

Steven Novella — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 21:47:36 +0000

I once got a scathing e-mail from a true believer. I responded in my usual professional manner. The e-mailer then responded, embarrassed, something like, “Oh, I didn’t realize there would be a real person at the other end of my e-mail. I thought I was sending it out to the ether.”