My dad is a massive conspiracy theorist and it's so frustrating

[patrilla]

Can anyone relate and how do you not make it drive you insane ??

He's visiting at the moment and it's just all doom and gloom constantly.

He's so extremely negative about literally everything and everything is proof that we are controlled by this elite group of people who just want to make sure we are controlled and destroyed.

Everything is a rip off and we have no liberties. We are all just sheep being ripped off and we are all really dumb apparently.

Say we need to pay for parking or we need to be careful not to drive in yellow boxes, as we can get fined- he takes all of it as a sign of control. If a place doesn't take cash, it's also a control thing and we are so dumb for going along with it all.

It's literally every little thing. Everything is so shit now and the world is ending. Don't even get me started on a nuclear war being absolutely imminent.

It's exhausting to be around.

Does anyone else know someone like this ? How do you deal with it ?

Don't even get me started on Covid. It's just everything. Everything is questioned, everyone is corrupt. Apart from the people spouting this stuff. They're the only ones telling the truth.

So he believes the really horrible racist/anti-semitic stuff? Can you reduce your contact with him?

@thepariscrimefiles he doesn't see it for what it is. He's not actually anti semitic, but doesn't realise that those theories are that.

We had a friend like this. He seemed to become worse since Covid. No longer any contact as he would dominate conversations with his views and it became too much.

As @Jewel1968 says, isn't the issue the fact that he keeps giving his views and ranting rather than the views themselves. It's interesting isn't it. There are many things in life that my views don't align with friends or family but we just accept it and don't bring it up. We certainly don't try to persuade others to agree. It seems the more niche the theory the more vocal the conspiracy theorist is.

It's really sad isn't it. Vulnerable people preyed on by conspiracy theorists spreading their weird rubbish.

Believing in bollocks because you're not bright enough to understand how things actually works is pretty common.

If one person believes in bollocks they're mad.
If a hundred people believe in bollocks they're a cult.
If a million people believe in bollocks they're a religion.

It's still just bollocks.

BIL is the same - each time a “theory” gets debunked (eg microchips inside vaccines) he moves onto the next one. Wayfair shipping toddlers for sale inside furniture was a particularly enlightening one! And all controlled by Hilary Clinton apparently.

It's just constant with the views. That's exactly the issue. You can't have a normal conversation without it coming up. Everything is a sign of the world being utter shit. He finds examples of it in everything we do.

Oh I love me a conspiracy fantasist! I find them fascinating and hilarious in equal amounts.

People like this think they are very very intelligent, and the rest of us are idiots. They are the “only ones” who have worked it all out. We are all “sheep”

Rather than they are easily led people, who interact within an echo chamber of other fantasists, who desperately want to believe they are important, but in reality, have very little personal power.

I have a friend whose husband is like this. He's racist, homophobic, anti-Semitic (an actual real life holocaust denier) and one of the most unintelligent people I've ever met. Why my friend is still married to him I will never understand.

I've got a family member like this. They won't drink tap water as mind controlling chemicals are being added to it, won't get their children vaccinated against anything, the illuminati exist and the day of reckoning is upon us. I've given up arguing with them. They 100% believe everything they spout. Sadly, friends and family are beginning to avoid them.

I suspect deeper rooted mental health issues.

@catin8oots but they're not house-trained. Can't have them indoors I'd rather have a dozen Witnesses at the door.

I still find it a bit sad. He had some good qualities, but his views became more extreme. Anger at Vaccines, other views revealed him basically as a misogynist. It has now caused issues in his own home

Yes you see loads of it these days. I think it started before Covid and was the Brexit/Trump era when it mainly ramped up.

The joke is, much of their 'research' is some mis/interpretation of something that's either been withdrawn (proof of conspiracy) or misquoted or utterly made up

All this via their favourite podcasters/websites

They aren't doing any 'research', just re-hashing and encouraging each other on some forum or other

They do do things though. Remember Jan 6th ?

It's like its replaced mainstream religious extremists. I knew a few of these growing up, genuinely believed this or that would cause you to burn in hell. Warning people that they were sinners and needed to repent, strayed from God's path etc. They were just as bad when you think of it. My Mum had to cut off a family member because of it.

It's slow dangerous when it's a million people who can be controlled

Oooh where can I buy one of these toddlers? I'd love one to brighten the house up and have checked the Wayfair website... nothing.

Spending a lot of time around other people in normal society and situations is a good thing. Especially for people who are predisposed/vulnerable to this kind of madness, because it gives them access to a wide range of opinions and not just YouTube conspiracy theorists who will say anything for attention because views = money.

Just play him at his own game and say the Trump cult is a propaganda conspiracy to hand political power to wealthy business men. Every time he brings up a conspiracy just say sorry that's a propaganda conspiracy to keep sheep like you from discovering the truth. Go sorry Dad I think you've been too brain washed by Trump propaganda and think we should spend less time together.

It is true though he's the one that's been brainwashed. Just keep reminding him of that fact.

Edit: also with vaccinations being control devices or whatever, why the hell would "they" be trying to control the people who are compliant? Surely it's people like him they would want to control? In which case they would want to actually save the people who took the vaccine and kill the rebels who don't, so maybe unvaccinated people are in trouble. Lol.

What on earth do they drink then? Surely ‘they’ would be adding things to bottles too?

So annoying on vaccinations they should watch videos of what damage the actual diseases do!

Except every one I know is also a devout Christian.

6th January 2021

Anyone using angle grinders on speed cameras and mobile phone masts

CT marches with Jeremy's loony brother Piers Corbyn and Kay Shemirani

Much of what they do is insidious, by bringing this ranting loonery to the mainstream, they are influencing public opinion - nearly a quarter of the general public thinks Covid may have been a hoax

This may seem trivial, but in the event of another public health emergency, compliance cannot be relied upon

We're seeing a massive uptick in the numbers of people with vaccine preventable diseases - measles, mumps etc and a marked decline in the numbers being vaccinated