Think of any of the world’s most horrible or evil atrocities to have ever happened. It’s not hard, is it? 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? Okay.
Because the chances are good that the particular tragedy you’re thinking of has a growing legion of people who believe it was “faked”, “exaggerated”, or even an “inside job”.
That’s preposterous, you’re saying. Well, unfortunately not. Conspiracy theories have permeated Western society for decades (Elvis may not be dead, folks!), but in today’s 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 “FAKE! COVER-UP!” 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 “truthers” have started their own theories that claim the event, which left 22 people dead, was nothing but a hoax, pointing to ‘crisis actors’ being used to play parts in the concocted ‘story’ 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, “WE KNOW THERE WAS NO BOMB.”
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. These “truthers”, who are defined as people who don’t 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. Other conspiracy theorists, such as Alex Jones, deny that the massacre actually occurred, asserting that it was "completely fake."
As I’ve said before, conspiracy theories have a long and storied history. There are many people who believe the Holocaust didn’t happen, and Hollywood has made several films on this especially-touchy subject matter. A few other conspiracy theories told through history include that Paul McCartney actually died in 1966 and was simply replaced, that Elvis Presley isn’t dead, and that comedian Andy Kaufman is still alive somewhere.
I’d 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’re just so scared and unwilling to believe that humanity can be so evil that they INVENT these theories as a demented form of “coping”. That’s what I’d LIKE to believe, but sadly, I don’t think that belief holds much weight.
So here’s what I DO believe. I believe there’s 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’s a “manufactured terror event”.
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’s actually helping evil win by preying on people when they’re 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’s been the Ruttle Report.
