Getting upset for my friend thinking I'm crazy for watching Alex Jones/David Icke?

[zenithfreedom]

So I have a very 'unique' YouTube history. I watch all sorts of random stuff. Doesn't mean I believe most of it but it's interesting nonetheless. From 9/11 conspiracies to prank calls to documentaries, and commonly conspiratorial figures like Alex Jones, David Icke, Max Keiser

I gave my friend who has been staying with me since lockdown my tablet to watch something since hers died and she couldn't find the charger. She saw David Icke and thought I was a bit insane and was worried about my mental health.

I said it's just entertainment but I also took a bit of offense to the fact that she thinks I'm mentally unstable for watching these guys. What do you think?

@user1470132907

I thought you meant Alex Jones from the One Show .

I would think nothing of it. I love a good conspiracy theory even though I don’t believe a word of them. The 9/11 ones floating around blew my mind! And the Covid ones

So did i I!

Yes. I’m kind of with your friend too. Not sure if it’s exactly a mental health issue, but it’s certainly odd and quite unattractive behaviour. The occasional click on something weird or out there; we have all done that. But this doesn’t sound like that. And you have said you don’t believe “most” of it. So you believe some of it? Icke is despicable. The really unreasonable bit of all this is that by watching them you are lending credibility to their awful and potentially dangerous views.

I wouldn't think much of a friend who watches that kind of crap. If you're really interested in offensive idiots like David Icke and Alex Jones, then why not watch videos from people who criticise them instead?

If you are interested in conspiracy theories, then you can watch investigative journalists debunking them or tracking down people who spread them. You could be watching videos about critical thinking etc.

Still the same subject matter but from a more worthwhile angle.

On friends side too.

This is how it starts and you are on a slippery slope. Genuinely.

Not to mention giving these chancers your clicks. They would sink without trace if no one paid them any attention.

Admittedly I had no idea what those particular people were representing! Hmm I think I would definitely wonder about your choices actually. But I wouldn’t check in about your mental health - that was patronising and unnecessary.

@cariadlet

I wouldn't think much of a friend who watches that kind of crap. If you're really interested in offensive idiots like David Icke and Alex Jones, then why not watch videos from people who criticise them instead?

If you are interested in conspiracy theories, then you can watch investigative journalists debunking them or tracking down people who spread them. You could be watching videos about critical thinking etc.

Still the same subject matter but from a more worthwhile angle.

Agreed. I'm interested in conspiracy theories and the thought processes of those who believe them. I listen to podcasts like Qanon Anonymous and other debunkers. Never go to the original sources, just in case it starts to seem credible.

I find conspiracy theories interesting but I choose to watch from a distance rather than funding genuinely nasty people like Alex Jones. I get where you’re coming from, but I think it’s understandable for your friend to be worried.

Put yourself in her shoes. You know how batshit and poisonous some of this stuff is so if you had a friend who was spending a lot of time on it and you weren’t sure whether or not they’d fallen for it hook line and sinker wouldn’t you be concerned for them?

We wouldn't stay friends. I've no time for people who support anti-Semites, racists, fascists and bigots whether that's agreeing with their viewpoints or giving them views online which results in revenue. People like Alex Jones don't give a shit whether you watch him for his views or for the lols, it's all cash to him.

Seriously I would be re-thinking this friendship if I was her. I find these people and their views despicable, not entertaining. Especially the harassment of the Sandy Hook parents

@donquixotedelamancha

I said it's just entertainment

I don't really understand why watching racist rants is entertainment but if you are into that sort of thing then Hitler is a better speaker than either and there are loads of his old speeches available.

I also took a bit of offense to the fact that she thinks I'm mentally unstable for watching these guys.

People can be really judgy about racists. She's just been brainwashed by the lizard people.

Maybe not insane, but unreasonable for giving attention and advertising revenue to vile, racist, homophobic, misogynistic men. Its not just harmless fun.

Although wasn't Alex Jones banned from YouTube?

I think people who fund cruel, nasty and potentially dangerous crack pots are not people I'd want to be friends with either.

The things we consume have consequences - even on the internet.

@goodwinter

I think it's good to be curious about all sorts of stuff, and it's also good to listen to/read things you don't agree with. So I get it.

That said, bear the quote in mind about staring into the abyss!

There's plenty of examples online of people who watch that sort of content out of sheer curiosity (and to better understand "that side") and end up getting slowly sucked in before they even realise. So just make sure you're keeping a critical head on at all times.

I came on to say exactly this. I think spending lots of time watching this batshit stuff gradually shifts your views, so your assessment of what is normal and acceptable and what is not erodes. Like the overton window concept in politics.

Definitely a slippery slope.

This is the last in a string of random threads started by the op. He/she has a habit of not returning to them and never posts on anyone else's thread.

I suspect this is a waste of everyone's time.

@Apeirogon

Seriously I would be re-thinking this friendship if I was her. I find these people and their views despicable, not entertaining. Especially the harassment of the Sandy Hook parents

Oh yes, that was the bottom of the barrel for all conspiracy theories and says a lot about who these people are. Despicable is indeed the word.

I think you can watch whatever you want and whatever you're interested in. Your friend can watch whatever she wants and is interested in. Who cares if they're completely different things? Falling out with people over their viewing choices seems childish and ridiculous to me. We don't all have to think the same way or have the same perspective and in fact it's really sad and a bit sinister that anyone would ostracise another person on the basis of what they watch on youtube, or who they follow on twitter and so on. I also think people are fully capable of watching a video on youtube without being brainwashed or becoming recruited into a cult. And on top of that, censuring and criticising people for watching what they watch is not going to make them think they shouldn't watch it. If anything, the opposite.

It's a good idea to control and limit what children view and what they experience on social media. Adults, being adults, should be free to watch and listen to whatever they want.

I said it's just entertainment but I also took a bit of offense to the fact that she thinks I'm mentally unstable for watching these guys. What do you think?

She's right. You are.

@knitting addict If you haven't listened yet, you'd probably enjoy the American Hysteria, New Conspiracist, How They Made Us Doubt Everything, and Q Clearance podcasts. Behind the Bastards has episodes about Alex Jones.

Ah knittingaddict, good spot.

It is some sort of weird product placement for these YouTube dickheads in the hope that a few of the people will look them up to see what the OP is talking about.

The world is full of wonder and awe. There isn’t time to watch or read more than a small % of it. Don’t waste your time with that utter bilge.

My YouTube viewing history doesn’t necessarily reflect my likes, nor does my internet search history. I read and watch things that challenge my thinking, it’s how we form proper opinions and become aware of what others think and why.

I'm with you OP. Unless you understand the basis of opposing views how can anyone counter them with reasoned argument? Just dismissing this stuff as 'crackpot' doesnt get to the heart of why people believe it and doesn't help change their minds!
Watch. Listen. Learn. Think. Try to understand. Engage, argue and dismiss with justifiable reason

Anyone who won't listen or engage 'because they is a nutter' is living in a bloody echo chamber.

Maybe not your sanity, but I'd judge you for giving them views and credibility.

This. You are literally funding and help spread their dangerous, hate filled rhetoric. It has never been more important to cut off the oxygen that fuels this shit.

I'm all for seeking out different opinions and trying to engage with people you disagree with using reasoned arguments. I do it in RL and on Twitter on a host of different subjects.

There is no reasoning with vile people like Alex Jones. They crave publicity and we shouldn't give them the validation they want by watching their output.