Conspiracy theories
Gentle reader:
Have you ever studied
conspiracy theories? Not, as an example, doing your research on how Kennedy died, or the chemtrails coming from Dear Leader Wayne Hill's mouth. But studying, at root, how they are created and why people follow them. The creation part is easy. We can sit in the Warrior Bunker and create a conspiracy. Example: Starbucks coffee turns you gay. We see lots of soy boys around Starbucks shops, but never see anyone but a straight male drinking the jet black hard stuff from Loves (owned by conservative Oklahomans). Gotta be honest, just being near a Starbucks makes us feel a little queer, so we immediately head for Loves for some tar black coffee on the way to cracker barrel for Momma's Pancake Breakfast (with pecans in the waffles). Look at the community around a Starbucks and compare it to the community around a Loves. The correlation is there, so it must be right! Many of you just read that, nodding along, and are growing the conspiracy for us and will actually buy into it. A conspiracy is born, and we take full credit for it when Charity Linch posts about it on Facebook.
This is the basis of a conspiracy. Correlations. If you can put together a few half-truths with enough correlations, mixed in with a little doubt, you have created fact. The movie 2000 Mules, for example, is based on correlations and doubt, but little fact. (Watch, Gaylene Stupic is going to send us another email telling us to apologize after that statement.) Notre Dame and Cambridge has studied conspiracy theory development and determined once you buy into a conspiracy, there is a low probability of changing your mind. The University of Oregon has found that "disagreeable people are more prone to conspiracy theories." Sound like anyone you know? Cameron Kay published the following findings (summarized):
"The traits of the Dark Tetrad are Machiavellianism (manipulativeness and cynicism); narcissism (vanity and self-obsession); psychopathy (impulsivity and callousness); and sadism (cruelty and abusiveness). Most people have elements of some of these traits, Kay said.
“In plain terms, it seems like disagreeable people, who score high in these traits, are more likely to believe in conspiracy theories,” Kay said. “They are prone to odd beliefs. They don’t feel like they are in control of their lives. They are robbed of their agency and have an innate distrust of other people and organizations like the government.”
To conduct his study, Kay recruited 500 undergraduate students at the UO to complete a one-hour survey designed to measure the traits in question as well as belief in conspiracy theories (26 students were ultimately excluded). The survey also measured tendencies to have unusual beliefs, to feel a lack of control over one’s future, to desire control, to trust others, and to feel a need to be unique.
In analyzing the results, Kay found evidence that aspects of all four of the Dark Tetrad traits are associated with conspiracist ideation. Nearly all of the associations were attributable to the tendency of those with disagreeable personalities to hold odd beliefs, be fatalistic and distrust others."
Again, sound like anyone you know? As Dr. Kay notes, all people have some level of each of these traits, but disagreeable people possess MORE of them than others.
Case study: Our Friend Karin Harding
Many of you sent us an article Karin Harding put out claiming that Team Warrior is embedded in the OKGOP HQ. Like any writer, we don't reveal our sources, but we can say that Karin draws half-truths, correlations, and played on your doubt to create the "fact" that Matthew Vermillion, Nathan Dahm, Ronda Smith, Stan Stevens, and A.J. Ferate are the masters of puppets playing you all. Maybe she's right, maybe she's wrong (secret: she's very very wrong) but the conspiracy is baked. Honestly, some of you we regularly email with have decided they don't want to know who we are because it's harder to attack our message other than for the words we write. That's exactly why the Federalist and Anti-Federalist papers were written anonymously. That's why anonymous speech is protected just as well as unveiled comments we make. Our Friend Karin is far too old to be going through menopause, so she likely just needs to get laid unless she exhibits high levels of the Dark Tetrad traits (most likely answer.) The end result of the dark tetrad traits Our Friend Karin possesses is that we live rent free in her mind, as well as the minds of so many others of you, in part because we write honesty, and because you can't attack the messenger. In other words: you lack control (another dark tetrad trait) and dwell on it. Go reread her article considering what we've written in this article and you won't be able to unsee it.
All of this is drawn out
from your reaction to Dr. Piper's wonderful facebook post. He attacks, point by point, example by example, each point of the dark tetrad that the Action Figures possess:
"It’s the destructive rhetoric of accusing battle hardened conservatives of being the enemy. It’s akin to a smug lieutenant who has never taken fire accusing General Patton of not being a true soldier. They treat people who have fought many more battles than they have as being sell outs. It’s the palpable arrogance of a millennial telling a WWII veteran he’s a coward. This divisiveness is destroying the Republican Party. Also a common thread is the dishonest messaging of this group. I’ve witnessed first hand how their incompetent leadership has effectively destroyed the Osage County GOP and now it appears they are determined to do the same to Washington County. I understand the frustration with “Republicans in Name Only” and share it. But these people are more the problem than the solution. Alienating and maligning the time-tested warriors is not a winning strategy." Thank you, Dr. Piper, for unveiling yourself for these important words!
Oklahoma County is fighting
internally. We could spend a LOT of time on this, but the short answer is that Vice Chair has verbally said that she opposes everything Ken Warner does, threatened Trump that many will vote independent if he doesn't get with her agenda, and is now calling meetings without giving proper notice or recognizing that Ken has already called a meeting. She definitely fits in the action figure mold, and has even been a successful business woman in the past, but she's not even an action figure. She's just stupid. It's shocking, but true. We'll write about this more if we need to, but hope we don't need to. Frankly, for as much noise as Cathy makes, she hasn't done shit. She was rushed into the county vice chair seat because she threw some money around that she hasn't given since elected. Now she's a waste of space.
Ok, enough for a Saturday. The pool opens this weekend in the Warrior's neighborhood and he has a speedo to squeeze into.
CANNONBALL! CW/CM/SC/BS
