Why Can't Skeptics Discuss a Theory?

Audio version:

It's one thing to not believe in a conspiracy theory.

It's quite another to be unwilling to discuss the theory in the first place.

People who use the phrase "conspiracy theory" to avoid discussing a theory don't actually listen to the theory they purport to ridicule, and don't actually know what its supporting arguments are made of. They don't know what's in it.

It's not that they listen, and allow all of the evidence and arguments to be presented, and then make sure that they fully comprehend the theory and its reasoning - and then, once they're knowledgeable about it, pass it all through the lens of rational scrutiny, and THEN, finally, conclude that the theory is unsupported.

No, that's not what they do.

They simply refuse to listen to it at all. They don't hear the evidence or the arguments - they just reject it out of hand as "crazy", and label it a "conspiracy theory", and then exploit that label to avoid processing and understanding the actual theory they've just purported to reject.

What are they afraid of?

The most common answer is, "I'm not afraid of anything - it's just a waste of time to discuss it. It's too wacky, and I have better things to do with my time."

But this is clearly a bunk excuse, because the person who calls it a waste of time will still sit there and argue for an hour about why it's a waste of time - when they could have spent a fraction of that time simply listening to the theory.

They'll devote countless hours to reading about "how crazy" the conspiracy theories and theorists are, and "how they got like that", and "how dangerous they are", and "how to deprogram them" - like a minor hobby. But they'll adamantly refuse to sit still for 5 minutes of Socratic dialogue about the contents of those very theories - and then go on to spend many multiples of that 5 minutes arguing back and forth about why it would have been a waste of time to have done so.

So that's not their reason. It's not "just a waste of time." They got plenty of time.

Why are they afraid to listen?

Why are they afraid to discuss?

What harm could possibly come from a conversation?

There's only one explanation: They know, deep down, that it might be true. And they're afraid of their own realization of it.

It would mean they'd have to question a lot of what they're doing. They'd have to make a lot of changes to how they're living. They'd have to admit to having been fooled. To being duped and led along.

"It's easier to fool a man than to convince him he has been fooled."

-Mark Twain

Such an admission would clash with the ego. They'd have to explain to themselves how they were sucker enough to get so duped. It's embarrassing. It's humbling.

And they will not allow themselves to be humbled. They'll avoid any conversation that they can sense heading in that direction. And then they'll project their own aversion to humility onto others, by accusing the "conspiracy theorist" of arrogance.

"You think you know it all!"

Meanwhile, their very refusal to listen to the theory and its arguments is a literal admission of their own belief that they, themselves, already "know it all."

What irony.

And finally, they'll attempt to refute this argument by accusing the "conspiracy theorist" of thinking that we know it all, and that we're afraid of finding out that we've been duped, by the conspiracy theories - and that the Mark Twain quote applies to us.

But this can be easily disproved by the simple fact that we - the "conspiracy theorists" - are always willing to talk. Any time, anywhere.

It's the skeptics who aren't. It's the skeptics who shut down communication.

Any time there's a discussion about a conspiracy theory, in which one person is trying to have a discussion while the other tries to avoid a discussion, it's always in one direction.

The conspiracy theorist is always the one trying to talk, and the skeptic is always the one saying "I know it all and you can't convince me - now get out of my face! I'm busy!"

It's always the skeptic who hangs up the phone.

It's always the skeptic who hits the "block" or "ban" button.

It's always the skeptic who launches a litany of personal attacks and insults, and then storms off and threatens retaliation if the conversation continues.

It's clear what's going on here. They're afraid. Of learning the truth. Of learning that the world is different from how they thought it was.

If you're ready to buck the trend and open your mind... If you're ready to stop being afraid... and be brave...

...then try starting with the Earth Party's exposé on the real agenda behind the Covid scamdemic:

Covid: The Real Agenda

Or visit our general page on Conspiracy Theories.

Thanks for being open-minded!