Sunday, May 10, 2020

The 'Simmering' Conspiracy Landscape

First, to be clear on the word....conspiracy is generally where you (the guy watching events) stand up and have the idea that a secret plan is afoot, and some secretive group is doing something harmful to society, or borderline unlawful.  Generally, conspiracies are never actually proven.  Although we could say that a fair number of them in the past....like Jack Ruby shooting Oswald have led to strong conclusions which cannot be put down.

So, in this case....since the ban reactions have occurred in Germany....affecting jobs, economic stability, and triggering personal stress....the conspiracy business in the past month has taken off.

Let us be clear too.....the internet and social media helped this to occur.

Dozens of demonstrations are occurring this weekend throughout Germany, with tens of thousands of Germans involved in what is a counter-ban situation, and conspiracies are close to the heart of these individuals.  Most all of the major cities are having unsanctioned and unapproved (by the police) demonstrations.

The news media?  They (especially ARD and ZDF, the public TV folks) have hyped that conspiracy 'nuts' are at the heart of the demonstrations.

In the Stuttgart episode, popular German conspiracy theorist Ken Jebsen is speaking.  For a number of years, Jebsen was a RBB (regional Berlin public TV network) employee.  Then Jebsen made a antisemitic comment or two, and in 2011....was 'let go'.  Who he works for now?  Well....Wiki says that he's under contract to a Russian media group.

Holy smoke....another Russian conspiracy?  Or could it be a fake hoax Russian conspiracy?

So what are the conspiracy ideas over Corona?  A lot of these are merely suggestions that this is all an attempt to destroy capitalism and the economy of western nations.  Some will go to the fringe and say it's a device to create strife and trigger a civil conflict.

The anti-ban chatter?  You could go back to early April and see frustrated Germans talking about this in-home quarantine type environment, and no place to blow off steam (bars closed, beer gardens shut down, kinos and theaters non-operational).  Vacations for 2020?  Likely not to happen.

Countering this?  The pro-ban groups are asking that protesters (illegal without a police approved situation) ought to all be put in a two-week quarantine because of lack of social distancing.  The other 'chatter' that you hear is that the pro-ban crowd people are smart, and the anti-ban crowd people are dumb.....risking their lives and triggering another outbreak.

On the other side of this....a lot of people were simply out and observed the protests (not part of it).  In general, their comments are that the protests were peaceful, without damage to property, and simply exchange of frustrations.

The suggestion that this is all right-wing?  These camera crews for WDR, ZDF and ARD....that have been attacked....seem to lead back to left-wing players.  Just an odd situation....where maybe both ends of the spectrum are cooperating in some weird way.

A society divided?  There's no doubt about this, and the Coronavirus period has simply sharpened that issue.

Over the next week, I'll predict various public forums on TV chatting about conspiracy 'nuts' and why you should only believe journalists and politicians, with the anti-ban people sitting at home and grinning.....that the show just proved their point about a conspiracy.

Yeah, we need soccer to start back up and get people occupied with useless crap, and the theaters to open the doors....with another Marvel movie, or a weird  Latino-female playing the Lone Ranger.

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