[jamesmp98]

> any profit generating device is to be a a bit distrusted and treated with somewhat skepticism.

Yes, but I feel that these days, at least on the internet, speaking with skepticism about medicine and pharma companies will have people equating you with anti-vaxxers, given the arguments are often similar

[ecocentrik]

Conspiracists are not skeptics. Skeptics question commonly accepted beliefs to arrive at a deeper understanding of those beliefs, while conspiracy theorists replace commonly accepted beliefs with less commonly accepted alternatives with only superficial scrutiny of either. The conspiracists takes a dogmatic stance of opposition while the skeptic sees adherence to dogma as a pitfall to be avoided.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skepticism

[mcshay79]

How about, instead of putting derogatory labels on people to belittle their efforts to understand truth, we all simply strive for truth?

> The conspiracists takes a dogmatic stance

What, all of them? And who are the "conspiracists"? Those who disbelieve the 9/11 myth, who question the long-term health effects of drugging water systems, who question the safety of wireless transmitters installed in every cubic inch of the world, who see through war propaganda and manufactured history? There are a thousand more "trigger topics".

All of these people are the same, huh? Dogmatic dolts who can't do research? Dummies who don't accept official narratives simply because they're trouble-makers?

The power system maintains its stranglehold over the population because our implicit slavery has been normalized. Is there any earthly reason why we should have billionaires next to people starving to death? We accept this because it has been normalized. There has always been a war on information, but we finally have the means to take back control. But in order to do so, we have to want it.

[fwip]

Conspiracists will always tell you they're skeptics, though.

[ecocentrik]

I've found that individuals in physical or psychological pain tend to have limited capacities for criticality while also searching for solutions to their pain. 9/11 and anti-vax conspiracies can be attributed to this. Having two skyscrapers fall on your neighborhood has to be traumatizing and finding out your child is not what you expected her to be is no walk in the park.

The largest source of trauma in the country right now is school gun violence. The gun control movement being led by the traumatized victims of gun violence, regardless of it's ultimate effectiveness, is the healthiest response to trauma I've seen in the US. It took suburban middle class children access to therapists, to start moving that conversation towards a place of sanity. If their pain never subsists, what kind of adults do you think they'll be?