Comment

Hawaii Governor Pushes Back Against Birthers

140
Shiplord Kirel: From behind wingnut lines12/24/2010 10:40:11 pm PST

re: #134 ggt

Regarding the birthers: They’re concerns have been more than satisfactorily addressed. Anyone not convinced by now is not worth is a waste of time and resources.

I don’t think anyone’s concerns should be ignored, we just shouldn’t waste our breathe with those that prove to be delusional.

I think that’s wrong. If they persist and they aren’t challenged, people will forget about the contrary arguments. There are always people who have not heard the contrary side anyway. Nothing will shut them up, but it is possible to completely marginalize them. The Moon Hoax claimants have nothing like the status and general credibility they did in 2001, for example. That was the year of Fox TV’s loathesome mockumentary, Conspiracy Theory: Did We Land on the Moon?. Their nonsense was debunked within a few minutes of the program’s end, but it took years to beat them down. They never had the chance to lay low until the heat was off and start peddling their foolishness to a new crop of gullible citizens.

Even those who adhere to conspiracist claims for immoral reasons (self-justification, racism, etc.) may change their minds if they see that the conspiracy theorists are not invincible or widely respected.