re: #352 Lidane

Well, there’s that too.

I guess I just don’t understand that mentality. Why would anyone want to operate under constant fear and paranoia? IDGI.

Some people enjoy being afraid. Part of the pull of conspiracy theories for their adherents is that it gives them the sense of being part of a select group or club— the only ones who know ‘what’s really going on’.

There’s also a substantial benefit to the politics of fear, for the people in power who enjoy manipulating others by deliberately frightening them. Look at the healthcare fearmongering, or the teabaggers. The teabaggers have a lot of inchoate rage and fear, and groups like FreedomWorks are cynically manipulating that fear.

A good peasant is loyal, simpleminded, and full of misdirected anger. (matt taibbi article on the tea parties )