My dad believed a lot of the same stuff and it all started after he read a book by Bo Gritz
Wow. I haven’t heard of that guy in years. I remember seeing Bo Gritz bumper stickers on cars when I was younger. In one of my (very few) perceptive moments as a kid, I noted which cars, and which drivers, had those stickers and figured Bo was likely a total nutjob. Never really though any more of it, or him, until just now.
Yup. That’s one of the authors he reads. Absolutely nutty stuff.
Another vote for number 7 here (as being probable).
Could you tell your dad that a ‘limey’ british guy also suspects his mainstream choice in politics come voting time is just a puppet show.
The ‘limey’ suspects corporate interest to be the defining factor (as opposed to true democratic freedom) in our political choices, and sees america as a much easier to understand example of this, and is thankfull for the lense that america presents to better understand this danger to democratic freedom in general.
Also during the industrial revolution (that took place in the uk first, even before america existed), average people were treated like slaves in vast factories, families were broken up, whole villages and towns had their communities destroyed for the profit generation of the factory owner. The victorian ‘poor houses’ were a terrible result of this early industrial, capitalist enterprise.
Much like when the american people rose up as one against the british empire to take their independence, the workers in these new industrial factories did the only thing they could do in the face of such mistreatment as they often underwent, they formed unions to defend themselves and their families. That is all a Union is, like the founding of America, when a group of unpowerful and oppressed people join together to become stronger and look out for themselves when no-one else is going to. A Union is just a word, like the union between a man and women. It can be exploited off course in the work environment, but really if he understood what life was like before Unions existed, or what the history of the Union movement has meant to all our lives (Paid holidays, health care at work etc), he should understand a Union is only a threat to a cruel tyranical master, that would prefer you as a proper slave.
I am quite left-wing in the american context though, which translates as ‘middle of the road’ in the british sense, but i’m not gay. And ex-military also. Also he should watch less Fox News, as Rupert Murdoch really owns and controls it, so it shouldn’t be trusted.
He may also get some good mileage out of Umberto Eco’s “Foucault’s Pendulum”.
My dad started with more mainstream Kennedy Assassination stuff by guys like Mark Lane, but after he read Gritz it all took a weird turn. He subscribed to “Spotlight” and started talking Clinton’s CIA/Drug connections all the time. After 9/11 my dad escaped to talk radio 24/7. listening on headphones in his room for years. I wish I had tried to do something about it then, but I was too busy working and raising my kids. Before I knew it, he lost his ability to live in the real world, and soon after developed dementia where he lived for 4 years before he died.
Wow. Thanks for that sage wisdom. That never occurred to me. I’ll recommend that right away.
Sorry to hear that. My condolences.
My father isn’t quite that bad yet. He reads a lot of nutty books, but he has a fairly healthy social support system of friends that he regularly meets. All a bunch of vets, of course, but none of them seem to have the extreme opinions he does and they have polite (if lively) discussions about it. They natter on politics landing somewhere between “illegals are the problem with everything” to “support the troops” being the common causes. They keep him (FOX News level) grounded. He really only goes on about his fruitcake NAU theories when he’s feeling ornery.
Yeah I buy that too. Over here in the UK, give or take a handful of personalities, the only thing that distinguishes our politicians is the colour of their ties. They all fiddled their expenses, they all obfuscate the Members Register, they all sit as non-executive directors of the same companies, and when they are no longer politicians they will all accept large consultancy fees from the same companies they helped when in power.
I’m sure you told him already, but i thought the shock of hearing it from a ‘limey’ ex-military guy might help him understand his dilema, if he hates Rupert Murdoch he must know Fox news is not for him. It makes no sense to get all influenced by Fox propoganda (cause that is what it is) when you know the guy in charge is bad. Even a limey knows this.
Centralists and Right Wingers, all Stateist. We haven’t had a major left-wing party in England since the 1970’s, sadly.
That’s quite different from their being a conspiracy theory, it’s a natural result of FPTP where one of the major parties abandons it’s core voting base as Labour has. (The “lost” 5 million)
Of course, my Uncle is a LibDem councillor :/ (the degree of self-delusion you need to stay a LibDem these days…)
I’m sorry, Telefrog but your father knows too much.
The black UN helicopters have been sent. I’m sorry for your loss.
49A9B encoded (he’ll understand)
This is what happens when you let the Krogan win.
True fact: I’ve done web design work for American UFO Cultists.
Also true: It was a pretty bad website.
But hey, I wasn’t a “FBI plant”, like all those evil American web designers.
At some point I realised I might as well just take their cash.
Don’t you mean the Kurgan (the Highlander villain)? Wrex from the Mass Effect series is a Krogan.
As the son of a political person, i’ve been told a lot of the british establishment is run on old methods, pre-democracy stuff, but not exactly monarchist (except where that intertwines naturaly). Fighting to expose that led to a life long (but comfortable) exile at the ends of the earth for my parent. So yeah our shit is slightly different to the american ‘follow the money’ system of democracy, but still not exaclty democracy in the spirit of the word either.
The popularity and influence of Fox News in american politics (in terms of the radicalization of the Republican movement) completely blows my mind though. Seriously, you have to look at germany cirica 1940 for that same level and method of indoctrination. Scary stuff (that it is so effective given the ‘historic mirror’).
Nope. Korath. Brad knows what I mean.
(Either that or he’s a dirty Drengin!)
My mistake, then–I guess the Krogan are so cool that no one game can contain them.
Rather like the Kzinti?
Thanks for this thread. Makes me amazed, want to facepalm and horrified at once. My horror is this would be almost the same list if I went and sat with my step-father with maybe one or two rearrangements in the list. Since I’m married to a hispanic (which he frequently forgets), I tend to avoid those talks. Though, I can calmly have them and my husband and I mostly laugh afterwards.
His version has more religion and stock-piling weapons and food, the deep south variant. Military family too. It should not come as a surprise that the deep south “militia” movements are now cooperating with many of the north-western ones. These guys see “existential threats” everywhere. They have to band together to “be ready” since they are also sure the real military won’t help them but they hope most would “disobey orders” aka the Oath Keepers movement (just google it if you haven’t heard).
One word for your dad - if he doesn’t know it, and more importantly, when to use it, he is truly lost.
Principia Discordia
Fnord