The OP
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
changed his name
Posts: 15,785
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Post by The OP on Dec 24, 2012 8:23:24 GMT -5
Is it just me or are people a lot more paranoid than they used to be? This is purely a question of perception, but I would say that it used to be when the topic of conspiracy theories came up in discussion the majority of people would laugh off and dismiss outlandish ideas and theories with varying levels of plausibility alike. There have always been people who like to try to "scratch the surface" so to speak and always regard any recorded history with a skeptical eye, but it used to be kind of a fringe thing routinely dismissed by the majority. Now it seems like everybody and their brother separated at birth due to a top secret experiment has some theory about how nothing is as it seems.
So is it my imagination or are people more paranoid/suspicious than ever? In observance of forum rules, please refrain from making reference to any specific political topics.
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kidglov3s
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Wants her Shot
Who is Tiger Maskooo?
Posts: 15,870
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Post by kidglov3s on Dec 24, 2012 8:27:42 GMT -5
I don't think as a culture we'll ever be as paranoid as we were in the 70s. We don't have huge mainstream movies about conspiracies anymore, it used to be a major genre in itself with such hits as Beyond and Back, The Lincoln Conspiracy, and all those goddamn bigfoot movies. Probably because of the internet and immediate access to validated sources for information our bullshit meters as a whole are a lot more finely tuned.
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Post by Non Banjoble Tokens on Dec 24, 2012 8:28:17 GMT -5
What? Who told you that? Were they talking about me? How did they know me? Why would they say something like that about me if they didn't know me? Why would they say that to you of all people?
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2012 8:30:06 GMT -5
I'd say that we, as a culture, are more paranoid due to having more exposure to everything then ever before. The internet and media in general contribute to all of our knowledge on things we'd never even know about.
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King Ghidorah
El Dandy
On Probation for Charges of two counts of Saxual Music.
How Absurd
Posts: 8,330
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Post by King Ghidorah on Dec 24, 2012 8:45:03 GMT -5
More people are smoking the grass now. Puts you on edge man.
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Push R Truth
Patti Mayonnaise
Unique and Special Snowflake, and a pants-less heathen.
Perpetually Constipated
Posts: 39,288
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Post by Push R Truth on Dec 24, 2012 8:49:36 GMT -5
Val's Theory of Wackonomics in the Internet Age:
No matter how crazy the bullcrap you believe, you'll find at least a dozen websites that agree with you. So it no longer matters what is true or untrue, you just keep looking until you find people that agree with you.
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Post by Feyrhausen on Dec 24, 2012 8:57:44 GMT -5
I'd say that we, as a culture, are more paranoid due to having more exposure to everything then ever before. The internet and media in general contribute to all of our knowledge on things we'd never even know about. 24 hour news networks play a big part in this, IMO.
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Bo Rida
Fry's dog Seymour
Pulled one over on everyone. Got away with it, this time.
Posts: 23,528
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Post by Bo Rida on Dec 24, 2012 9:07:00 GMT -5
Yes and it's understandable. In this country most of our major institutions have had some kind of scandal/cover-up in recent years so it's not outlandish to think there may be more of them even if some of the individual theories are crazy.
Then the news is full of things like trouble in the middle-east, war, riots, terrorism, weak economies, natural disasters and climate change (some legit news some scaremongering) and there are things like the 2012 apocalypse theories and shows like doomsday preppers to keep that paranoid feeling going.
Corrupt businesses effecting our lives is a mixture of the two.
Finally the speed of technological and scientific breakthroughs continues to increase at a scary level and could be used in the wrong way.
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Allie Kitsune
Crow T. Robot
Always Feelin' Foxy.
Celestial Princess in Exile.
Posts: 46,106
Member is Online
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Post by Allie Kitsune on Dec 24, 2012 9:08:15 GMT -5
Yes.
People are also much bigger assholes than they used to be, so it's somewhat justified.
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Post by YAKMAN is ICHIBAN on Dec 24, 2012 10:30:58 GMT -5
Spanish Inquisition.
That is all.
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Brood Lone Wolf Funker
Ozymandius
Got fined anyway. Possibly a Moose
James Franco is the white Donald Glover
Posts: 61,968
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Post by Brood Lone Wolf Funker on Dec 24, 2012 11:18:22 GMT -5
I do think people are more paranoid now than they used to be in part due to technology allowing us to isolate ourselves but also the fact we as people alienate ourselves and obsess over the little things in life.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2012 12:20:39 GMT -5
9/11.
I NEVER remember things being so paranoid batsh*t nuts on such a mainstream scale before then.
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 24, 2012 12:26:19 GMT -5
I think people are less reserved about expressing the paranoias they've always had.
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kidglov3s
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
Wants her Shot
Who is Tiger Maskooo?
Posts: 15,870
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Post by kidglov3s on Dec 24, 2012 12:38:33 GMT -5
I think people are less reserved about expressing the paranoias they've always had. I think this might be what people are seeing, I can't believe that people are more superstitious now than they were before, but our expressions have become more intimate with the changes in communication.
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Post by Hit Girl on Dec 24, 2012 16:07:29 GMT -5
Yes
It's a combination of post 9/11, economic collapse, access to information (much of it inaccurate) and the dominance of sensationalistic 24 hour news channels
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jagilki
Patti Mayonnaise
Nobody notices him; No, we noticed him
f*** Cancer
Posts: 33,594
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Post by jagilki on Dec 24, 2012 17:25:21 GMT -5
Spanish Inquisition. That is all. I did not expect that.
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The OP
Bill S. Preston, Esq.
changed his name
Posts: 15,785
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Post by The OP on Dec 24, 2012 20:08:31 GMT -5
Wow, I mean I knew I noticed it, but I didn't expect that basically everyone was gonna say yes.
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SEAN CARLESS
Hank Scorpio
More of a B+ player, actually
I'm Necessary Evil.
Posts: 5,770
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Post by SEAN CARLESS on Dec 24, 2012 22:40:34 GMT -5
I think it's the opposite, actually. More people turn a blind eye to things these days than any other time I can remember in my lifetime. I'm convinced that the powers-that-be finally figured out a way to mass control the populus to at least a level where few if any conscientiously object or question anymore. For centuries, "the haves" have used different means to control or manipulate the public: be it paranoia, religion, xenophobia, etc. But I think just the right sprinkling of each today, with a healthy dose of "Fat and happy" keeps John Q. Normal firmly stalled at a level of non-malicious apathy. Civilizations have always fallen or been retooled when the rich got too greedy, and the "have-nots" got sick of suffering. But we don't have that these days. Not truly. In fact, we don't really have any real problems in this part of the world to where a truly game-changing amount of people would even want to risk their well-being to rock the boat. Even our so-called Economic crisis is laughable in comparison to most poverty-stricken countries. We're pretty comfortable. We've lost our fight, because the need is gone. And we've been media-controlled since the paranoia of the 70's ended with people thinking the "government was ok again!" when Nixon fell.
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Demented
Grimlock
Puddin'
Quinn in a box.
Posts: 14,366
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Post by Demented on Dec 24, 2012 22:43:10 GMT -5
Spanish Inquisition. That is all. I did not expect that. I did!
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Post by DiBiase is Good on Dec 24, 2012 22:45:39 GMT -5
Yes. I used to walk back from School on my own when I was eight years old, even in winter when it got dark around 4ish. People seem to not want to let their kids do that now, in fear of paedophiles or whoever snatching their kids. I understand that but it's not as if those type of people appeared recently, they've always been around.
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