[palmotea]

> Unless you had access to unusual books they didn't really talk about conspiracy theories per se.

Definitely remember at least one mentioning "the men in black" (with a picture) and government coverups.

> They were very much treated as a modern version of the local villager swearing he saw a goat that looked like Satan... just random tattle, repeated for amusement more than as part of a coherent thesis.

IIRC, the tone was more "some people think." They weren't especially skeptical or judgemental.