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I'm a former conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter. AMA

Maccabee

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Title pretty much says it all. A quick back story about myself.

I used to be an advent conspiracy theorist and Trump supporter. In fact, you can see my pro Trump posts and some of my conspiracy theories on this forum. I used to believe in false flags, was skeptical of vaccines, and even lizard people to an extent.

I came out of the conspiracy theory movement a little before I stopped supporting Trump approximately two years ago. My journey towards reality started when I decided to pursue a career in law enforcement. One of the conspiracies I believed in was that Sandy Hook was a hoax. As I was going through the process of becoming law enforcement, I started to realize how ridiculous it is to believe that the same people sitting next to me were (a) willing to pull such an operation off and (b) keep everything a secret.

This led me down the path of asking myself "if I'm wrong about this, what else am I wrong about?" That path led me out of the conspiracy theory movement and led me to start questioning my political views. That's when I started to see what exactly I voted for back in 2016 and all the lies and misinformation I believed and defended.
 
Any idea how to open the eyes of others besides joining law enforcement? Was it hard to admit to yourself that you were mistaken?
 
What do you believe led you to start believing in those kinds of conspiracies? Was it social media or more of a conservative media thing like Infowars?
 
Did you like it when trump attacked the libs?

Insults, bullying?
 
switt said:
Any idea how to open the eyes of others besides joining law enforcement? Was it hard to admit to yourself that you were mistaken?
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Joining law enforcement, unfortunately, isn't a cure all to conspiracy theories. In fact, most of my fellow officers believe in at least one conspiracy theory. I think it really comes down to the mindset. Even as a conspiracy theorist, I always tried to either back up my claim, or admit I was wrong. I tried my best not to pedal theories that have been demonstrably disproven. This has kept me from believing in things like the earth being flat.


I think a start to getting someone out of the movement is by asking them if they compared their theory to opposing views. That's what gave me a big push out of the movement. One day I decided to sit down a watch a 9/11 conspiracy theory debunking video and see if I can counter any of his points. I really couldn't.
 


Yes, I do remember some of your past posting history.
Look, every time a conservative reasserts rationality and sanity, our democracy and our constitutional republic that it operates in become stronger.
So you deserve a round of applause, and it has zero to do with whether or not you move to a more liberal outlook or not.
Nobody needs to tell you that you are free to remain as conservative as you want.
The only real problem is that a growing number of people have sunk into the hole you just climbed out of.
And you forcing yourself to do the math on that represents a win for both cons and libs alike.

 
Excast said:
What do you believe led you to start believing in those kinds of conspiracies? Was it social media or more of a conservative media thing like Infowars?
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It started with watching Kent Hovind videos mainly. He would lightly touch on the subject and my curiosity went from there. I started "researching" theories like 9/11, Waco, OKC Bombing and that led me to listening to podcasts. Ironically, I never listened to Alex Jones because I thought he was a plant. Instead I would listen to smaller podcasts like The Power Hour, Josh Tolley, The Prophecy Club, etc.
 
While you were in the midst of your belief were there any questions or comments from people you respected that may have made you rethink your positions?
 
It appears that you sought out conspiracy "news" as I have never heard of these podcasts or even Alex jones.
 
switt said:
Any idea how to open the eyes of others besides joining law enforcement? Was it hard to admit to yourself that you were mistaken?
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I forgot to answer your second question. In some ways it was hard, in other ways it wasn't because I wasn't really attached to one particular theory, if that makes any sense. The ways it was hard, though, wasn't so much "this particular theory I believed in was wrong" but rather "if this particular theory was wrong, what else am I believing that is wrong?"

Another thing that helped me out of the conspiracy theory movement was asking myself "what knowledge I have on this particular subject makes me right over the hundreds/thousands of experts who say otherwise?"
 
I do think there is a "rush" from feelings of superiority that a person gets from discovering information that they think others don't know or are too ignorant to understand. Do you think that it is part of the attraction to conspiracy theories?
 
JMB802 said:
While you were in the midst of your belief were there any questions or comments from people you respected that may have made you rethink your positions?
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I respected the people who took time out to explain in detail why I'm wrong instead of just mocking my beliefs. It didn't even had to be a lengthy block of text. I was arguing with someone on a different forum about 9/11. One of my arguments for it being an inside job was the towers fell at free fall speeds. He posted a video by Myles Power explaining why that wasn't actually the case. I more or less conceded on that point but still maintained my position that 9/11 was an inside job.
 
Common Sense 1 said:
Quick question? Did you support the Biden/Harris ticket?

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No, I voted third party because I don't like Biden's gun control policy. With that being said, I'm still registered as republican because I'm in a closed primary state. I actually agree with a lot of Biden's policies otherwise.
 
Maccabee said:
No, I voted third party because I don't like Biden's gun control policy. With that being said, I'm still registered as republican because I'm in a closed primary state. I actually agree with a lot of Biden's policies otherwise.
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If you want give me a few of his policy's you support.
 
Common Sense 1 said:
If you want give me a few of his policy's you support.
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I agree with his take on COVID, climate change, some parts of the economy (I can't say all of it because I haven't really looked at it to say one way or another), and his proposal for $15 minimum wage for starters.
 

Wow, what a truly bizarre message. You completely changed all your domestic and foreign policy stances to the exact opposite because you decided that the Sandy Hook shooting actually happened? That's as bizarre as it gets.

You should NOT go into law enforcement in my opinion.
 
Way to oversimplify two-three years of my life story. BTW, law enforcement is about finding the facts and enforcing the law. If the facts don't match your theory then you reevaluate your theory. Probably the best attributes of a good cop is realizing and correcting yourself when you're wrong.
 

My point is how erratic your thought process seems to be in your message. What does you believing a conspiracy theory about Sandy Hook - or not - have to do with any economic, government, domestic or foreign policy issue?

In terms of law enforcement, if you first thought a police officer shot an unarmed black man murderously - then you would be certain all police are murderers. But then you see a video and the black man had a gun - so you go the exact opposite direction declaring all black men are armed criminals who must be shot by police in self defense. Only the most radical opposites are in your thought process.

Clearly, by your message, you can only think in terms of the most absolute extremes - and in opposite directions. The only question is which of the two most radical stances on everything will you take? Candidly, while your OP says you've changed, actually you appear to not have changed at all. You can only thing in terms of extremes and absolutes. One change about one thing runs you in 100% the opposite mental direction on everything.

I won't write out my counter thoughts in disagreement of how law enforcement personnel should evaluate incidents.
 
My hat is off to you. The path to knowledge starts by questioning your own long held beliefs but once you get started, it is all good. Getting on the journey toward truth, fact, and knowledge makes you a better person.

Congratulations for getting on the road and being man enough to mention it publicly. No one ever wants to admit they were wrong but when they do, it is the beginning of a worthwhile journey.
 
Yoko, you are the last person that should say anything. You will never know what it is to seek truth and therefore you can never understand anyone that does it. Your comments are only for blind people who will never see by their own will.
 
Luckyone said:
Yoko, you are the last person that should say anything. You will never know what it is to seek truth and therefore you can never understand anyone that does it. Your comments are only for blind people who will never see by their own will.
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I know you are, but what am I? LOL
 
joko104 said:
My point is how erratic your thought process seems to be in your message. What does you believing a conspiracy theory about Sandy Hook - or not - have to do with any economic, government, domestic or foreign policy issue?
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I used the same line of questioning and apply it to my political stance.

Did I actually researched this particular subject and came to the conclusions I believe in or did I only listened to one side of the argument? What does the other side have to say about this and can I objectively counter what is presented?

If I'm right, ultimately what difference does it make? What if I'm wrong?

What knowledge do I have on this particular subject vs what the experts or people in the field are saying?





That is wildly oversimplified and you know it. A lot of my views I've done a 180 on upon further research, some I've had to modify, while others I still hold to be true.
Again, you're speaking in hyperbole. Maybe it's the way I presented my 2-4 year journey, but there's a lot nuance on why I've changed my position on Trump, the economy, and conspiracy theories and it all revolves around actually listening to the evidence from both sides.
 
joko104 said:
I know you are, but what am I? LOL
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I will tell you what I know your are not.

You are not a seeker of truth. You are not a person that understands others. You are not a man willing to admit when he is wrong. What you are is stuck in a revolving rut, not growing, being a critic all the time, and mostly a loner except with those that agree with you 100%.
 
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