Think of any of the world鈥檚 most horrible or evil atrocities to have ever happened.聽 It鈥檚 not hard, is it?聽 The Holocaust, the 9/11 plane crashes, the Sandy Hook school shooting; I could (sadly) go on and on.
So do you have one in mind?聽 Okay.
Because the chances are good that the particular tragedy you鈥檙e thinking of has a growing legion of people who believe it was 鈥渇aked鈥�, 鈥渆xaggerated鈥�, or even an 鈥渋nside job鈥�.
That鈥檚 preposterous, you鈥檙e saying.聽 Well, unfortunately not.聽 Conspiracy theories have permeated Western society for decades (Elvis may not be dead, folks!), but in today鈥檚 ever-digital world where lazy under-achievers can feel like well-read scholars as they spout jargon on their social media platforms, this eye-rolling practice of shouting 鈥淔AKE!聽 COVER-UP!鈥� from behind the safety of phones, tablets and computers is becoming far too hurtful and only helping to spread terror in the wake of terrible events.
For example, in the wake of the Manchester arena bombing over in the UK, online users that call themselves 鈥渢ruthers鈥� have started their own theories that claim the event, which left 22 people dead, was nothing but a hoax, pointing to 鈥榗risis actors鈥� being used to play parts in the concocted 鈥榮tory鈥� of the bombing.
"Funny after the Manchester hoax not one funeral was shown. All was forgotten," said one person online.
"The sound effects of screams and yelling, sound like people riding a roller coaster...so fake," another person said on YouTube.
One comment on the situation simply read, 鈥淲E KNOW THERE WAS NO BOMB.鈥�
Similar accusations rose after the events of the Sandy Hook school shooting in 2012, which left far too many young children and their teachers dead.聽 These 鈥渢ruthers鈥�, who are defined as people who don鈥檛 accept a general account of any specific crisis event, have said that the shooting was actually orchestrated by the U.S. government as part of an elaborate plot to promote stricter gun control laws.聽 Other conspiracy theorists, such as Alex Jones, deny that the massacre actually occurred, asserting that it was "completely fake."
As I鈥檝e said before, conspiracy theories have a long and storied history.聽 There are many people who believe the Holocaust didn鈥檛 happen, and Hollywood has made several films on this especially-touchy subject matter.聽 A few other conspiracy theories told through history include that Paul McCartney actually died in 1966 and was simply replaced, that Elvis Presley isn鈥檛 dead, and that comedian Andy Kaufman is still alive somewhere.
I鈥檇 like to believe that deep down inside, these darker conspiracy whackos are actually scared human beings who still feel for the victims of any given tragedy; that perhaps they鈥檙e just so scared and unwilling to believe that humanity can be so evil that they INVENT these theories as a demented form of 鈥渃oping鈥�.聽 That鈥檚 what I鈥檇 LIKE to believe, but sadly, I don鈥檛 think that belief holds much weight.
So here鈥檚 what I DO believe.聽 I believe there鈥檚 something sociopathic about anyone who can look at a horrific display of death and destruction, skip the sympathy line and go straight into how the whole ordeal is some backroom game of Snakes and Ladders, or that it鈥檚 a 鈥渕anufactured terror event鈥�.
I also believe this way of thinking by some in our society is not only failing to help in the wake of such horrors, it鈥檚 actually helping evil win by preying on people when they鈥檙e at their most vulnerable.
And the last thing we should do in this all-too-dark world we live in is help the evil win.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
