Conspiracy thinking: “special knowledge”

This quote that a friend posted to social media last week really made me do some thinking about behavioural psychology. (It was attributed to Neil DeGrasse Tyson, but I like to double-check sources and I’m having a hard time finding proof of attribution.)

“How sad it must be believing that scientists, historians, scholars, economists, and journalists have devoted their entire lives to deceiving you, while a reality TV star with decades of fraud and exhaustively documented lying is your only beacon of truth and honesty.”

I mean… that goes against all common sense. How does anyone get themselves into a position where they think that way? And this goes further than 🍊🤡🧩💩 and the MAGA cult; it’s applicable to any kind of conspiracy theory (“all the experts are wrong and/or are lying, and only I and people like me know the truth”).

Here’s how I’m attempting to make sense of it. In short: people like to feel special. Feeling special equates with secret power and is its own kind of high.

The MAGA cult and others who have been deceived by 🍊🤡🧩💩 (who, I think we can all agree by this point, is an expert at manipulative speaking — it’s his only talent) believe that they have NOT been manipulated, and instead they have been granted special knowledge about the way things REALLY are, and that this is knowledge that only their specific in-group or identified tribe has. That feeling of being special, the only ones “in the know,” provides them with a sense of security and power, and that feeling of power and security can be incredibly addictive.

They are certain that their special knowledge will save them and their in-group at the expense of everyone else, for in a world where they are led to believe that resources are scarce and fighting is the only way to survive (cue Old West/manifest destiny/pull-self-up-by-bootstraps tropes), they are prepared to take the word of this proven charlatan, thief, fraudster, pedophile, felon, rapist, liar, con-man, over millennia of common shared knowledge.

And why are they willing to believe these easily debunkable lies over a vast proven history of science, facts, and common sense? Because every word out of his big fat orange asshole-shaped mouth confirms in their minds that they are good and righteous and The Chosen Ones, and everyone else is the enemy: evil, or misled, or a bunch of stupid sheep. They’ll be saved; the “others” won’t, and that is fine with them.

Maybe they have an inkling somewhere in the back of their brains that things don’t completely add up… but admit they are wrong? Oh hell no. It’s amazing to watch them dig in on their positions when presented with facts to the contrary. Much easier to dig in and double down than to feel the shame that comes with acknowledging that you have been bamboozled.

I have to wonder if there’s a way to assist these folks in realizing and accepting that they are wrong without having to feel that kind of shame. I mean, frankly they SHOULD be ashamed of themselves, but if the fear of shame and humiliation are what is keeping them dug in on astoundingly racist, sexist, cruel, heartless, absurdly illogical positions… then geez, let’s use kindness to help bring them back from that hell-hole they are in. It’d be better for all of us in the long run.

I don’t know. Maybe that’s a bad idea. Just, you know, not being an asshole to them in return might go further in moving the needle to where we need it to be.

I don’t mean that people who act violently in the name of 🍊🤡🧩💩/MAGA should go unpunished — but if your average everyday cult member starts showing any signs of possessing a capacity to change, maybe it’s more productive to tell them, “That’s great! You’ve really come so far, and I’m so proud of you for changing your mind and growing!” rather than, “SEE? You idiot! You were wrong! Jeez, glad you’ve FINALLY pulled your head out of your ass.” Even if that’s what we are thinking on the inside.

It’s like the thing you do with toddlers while teaching them to be people: you praise the behavior that you wish them to continue, even if it feels like you shouldn’t have to.

I fully realize that this “maybe being kind to the assholes is the way to go” goes COMPLETELY against what I wrote in my last post about fighting them dirty on their own level. I think this is something that might work on an individual level, on a case by case basis, rather than en masse.

I don’t think I’m saying anything new or earth-shattering here. This all feels like common sense to me. But working through it like this helps me cope.