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.

My dad told me there's a video where Hillary Clinton kills a child - apparently it's clear as day and the fact she's not in prison is because she's part of the elite.

everything is proof that we are controlled by this elite group of people who just want to make sure we are controlled

That's not exactly a mystery is it? I mean let's face it, they could stop a lot of suffering in a heartbeat but they don't. It's easier to control the downtrodden. I can see why conspiracy theories are gathering pace because social mobility is being eroded.

I think it's just the result of the system we live in ( capitalism ). And I agree with you in the sense that it's not a great mystery that money talks.

That's the other thing that frustrates me with him. He thinks because I don't buy into his extreme theories, that I completely agree with everything the government says. Which is also not true. Just because I don't believe some rich Jews are pulling all the strings, doesn't mean I agree with absolutely everting that goes on.

Gulp ...my brother. Although he is fairly easy going in person , online he comes across as a real Grassy Knollington. We literally don't have time to watch or read all the stuff he shares. You need to interest your dad in some hobby or activity that gets him off the computer. Because I've learned there is no use arguing 😱 with people who are emotionally invested in these theories.

I don't understand the anti-5G stuff. I can't even get National Rail Enquiries to load in a main station with 5 bars of 5G signal, so it's clearly not that good

They spend their time in their social media echo chambers where they talk to the other enlightened ones, who know what's really going on because they are so smart while the rest of us are dim, but will eventually realise the truth and become enlightened like them. There is absolutely no reasoning because they know they are right, Fred Bloggs on the internet said so, so it must be true.

patrilla · Today 15:08

My dad told me there's a video where Hillary Clinton kills a child - apparently it's clear as day and the fact she's not in prison is because she's part of the elite.

Oh dear. People like that can never show you the video, even though they've seen it, as it keeps getting taken down, before anyone can see it. Except them and other conspiracy delusionists, who also never manage to show anyone.

Yea the government and evil corporations and capitalists like Soros and Zuckerberg are all out to get us.

Luckily Trump and Elon Musk are coming to the rescue! For no apparent reason....

Very true. Conspiracy theorists are very fearful people. Mental health seems fragile in many and their echo chambers of the 'ones that are awake' don't help.

They would rather believe that someone 'they' are controlling everything rather than believe that bad stuff can happen randomly to a lot of people!

Yeah. I do think evangelical Christians and conspiracy theorists recruit from a similar group of people. Except Christians have a much more positive message that someone good is in control and all will be right in the end, and conspiracy theorists have a miserable message that very bad people are in control for undefined nefarious reasons. I guess they meet similar psychological needs in the people who believe ( to think things aren’t random and someone’s in control), but the Christian message is much more positive and makes people happier.

I think that’s completely believable.

Isn’t it already fairly well known that tobacco companies played down research about the dangers of smoking?

A friend has a dh like this..bores the tits off me
I just tell him I'm not interested and if he won't shut up I start talking to someone else or leave.
It's like the fanatical vegans..they feel compelled to tell you why they are vegan and why you should be too.
I'm a woman on the menopause so fuck off to the far side of fuckery and then fuck off some more

They are often one and the same. I grew up with Evangelical Christians and many are full-on conspiracy theorists, especially where it concerns Trump, Democrats, Covid, and so on.

Ahh, that's because it's not for phone signals but frequencies to infiltrate brains to control..😉

How on earth do Evangelical Christians justify supporting Trump when he is a proven adulterer and adjudicated rapist?

Setting aside all the racism, attempts to overturn the election and his complete unfitness for the office of President, surely Evangelical Christians are hot on chastity and faithfulness in marriage?

Do Jewish people never fall for these conspiracy theories then? I wonder if the antisemitism exposes them as rubbish before they get sucked in? What about people of other races? I only know white conspiracy theorists. Were the Jan 6th mob all white?

Because they don’t believe it. They think it’s all lies made up by the Democrats. They believe Democrats want to destroy America and are actively working towards that goal. Many believe God saved Trump’s life re: the assignation attempt because he is God’s chosen one to lead America. It was ‘providential’ when the bullet missed his head and hit his ear instead. He turned his head at exactly the right moment, because God intervened to save him.

Sounds like he is not swallowing whatever the bbc are feeding the public - good for him.

Alternative media is needed.

I mean Jacob Rees-Mogg claims to be a Catholic but clearly hates refugees and the poor. I've heard it say he would really hate Jesus, a refugee who could walk on water. 😀

Here in solidarity. My dad has disappeared down conspiracy rabbit holes. It is just like losing someone to a cult. He's living on a completely different planet to the rest of us, and it is really difficult to make a connection with him. I deal with it by changing the subject ASAP if he starts to go on one of his rants.

I’ve lost a relative to this. She smokes masses of weed and can’t string a sentence together without ranting. I’m so sad to have lost her but she literally wouldn’t talk about anything else.

Channel 4, 10pm tonight.

Are you American? The British evangelical Christians I know are not like this.

I know some Pentecostalists @gladrefrain . One of them was in the US when Trump won. He was gushing about the wonderful Christian inauguration ceremony. Nice Welsh lad , I've never pressed him on the incongruity to be honest. Because I expect the explanation would depend upon God's plan and Armageddon etc?

Remember you can't talk to stupid.
Nod and say "quite" is a good tactic. Don't engage with them. It's just a waste of breath.

Have you ever considered there might be a small nugget of truth in what he's saying? I mean, it's not completely beyond the realms of possibility. Particularly when it comes to corruption in govt, business and big pharma.

What I find really frustrating is when people dismiss such concerns as outright nonsense just because they disagree.