My boyfriend believes I'm a sucker for conspiracy theories

[laura888]

During a conversation today, when I told him that the Shiavo case was a manufactured story aired by the media to distract from the 2-year anniversary of the war, he said,

"yeah right - so all these news organizations call each other and agree on what to air?"

...and he laughed. How can I make him a believer?

[LynneSin]

1. withhold all sexual and other favors

Seriously - he's a man, give him a week and he'll be begging you to tell him more!

Ore better yet, find a better boyfriend

[seabeyond]

16. bah hahahaha i love it, you are funny n/t

[greenbriar]

2. watch outfoxed

with him


should open his eyes

[MsTryska]

10. good idea.

but withhold any and all sexual favors until after you've watched it together.

[jdj]

3. who does he work for?

who owns that company? who owns the company that owns them?

Tell him who owns the major stations, and how few owners there really are for the cable channels.

Ask him do he and his co-workers, (or fellow students) sit down with each other and agree what work they will and won't do that day?

No, they do what the hell they are told if they want to eat.

Same with the news.

[HEyHEY]

4. Run! He's in on it!

[bloom]

5. Educate him about Scaife and Co.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3324144

They are funding this, they funded the Clinton nonsense. They fund a lot of the nonsense that ends up being ridiculous news stories.

[TlalocW]

6. Maybe... he's one of "them"

Tell me...

Does he watch television?
Does he listen to rock music?
Is he an avid user of the internet?

TlalocW

[laura888]

7. all of the above

but he fails to make the connections

[cynatnite]

8. What do you mean a 'manufactured' story? n/t

[laura888]

11. A better word would be...

..."overblown."

Sure its a story - but the level of importance that the media is giving it is, indeed, manufactured.

[cynatnite]

12. I disagree

The situation of Terri Schiavo, her husband and her family isn't an uncommon one, but you have to look at the history dating back to the seven years since it's litigation to see what got it to this point.

Jeb Bush made national news when he got involved and the legislature went above the courts to intervene. It was overturned. Everything was going as it should up until congress got involved. That's what put this case at the forefront.

By Congress ignoring Florida state courts, inserting themselves into a private personal matter and making a law on one single person, this story is far from manufactured or overblown. It goes to show they will disregard over 200 years of constitutional history and kick the courts in the teeth when they don't like the decisions made.

Yes, there is a history of this, but it's never been as blatant. The public is witnessing it. The more assholes like Delay and Frist attempt to force their will on this woman, the more it works against the repubs.

As much as I loathe what they are doing to this woman and her husband, I'm glad the country is witnessing it.

[sandnsea]

21. It is overblown

But it isn't designed to take attention away from the war protests. If you think they would have been on otherwise, well, you haven't full developed your conspiracy theory senses. :)

Some of us encouraged peaceful protest throughout last year's campaign so as not to get a 68 style backlash.

Uhm, the campaign's over.

[libertypirate]

9. Tell him the truth that...

6 Corporation own most of the MSM, so there aren't many phone calls.

Also did you get the republican talking points...
http://rawstory.com/news/2005/index.php?p=202
It's such an emergency that they put a plan together on how to deal.

Here is my personal favorite tell him to read the timeline, and not the one page crib notes version presented by the MSM.

http://www.miami.edu/ethics2/schiavo/timeline.htm

Here is another: The bush hypocrisy angle.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/krwashbureau/20050322/ts_krwashbureau/_bc_braindamagedwoman_bush_wa

The law let the hospital pull the plug on a baby, against the wishes of the mother.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3084934

Now if he still thinks the issue is not meant to distract us from the real news, then tell him he is too stupid to be your BF.

After that google "Franklin Cover-up" and find out really how fucked up the media is that it did not report this story.


Good luck

[yankeedem]

13. An oldie but goodie

"Manufacturing Consent" by Noam Chomsky is out on DVD- remember to order it through the DU link. The scary thing about the movie, made 15 years ago, is that media is even MORE consolidated now.

[K-W]

14. The Republican Noise Machine by David Brock

or another of the many good books that explain the situation.

[applegrove]

15. Take a step back and breath deep. Could be a number of reasons.

I personally think it is just that the Repukes needed to reconnect to their freeper followers (since they were doing nothing on Abortion or gay marriage despite a huge powers and control of all three areas of government) and Terry was handed to them. Bush was not pleased his weekend was cut short. But there you go: a way to kiss the asses of the far right without actually doing anything. What nasty little bush would not jump at that (and his controllers would make it so). Bush was not happy as he got on or off the plane. I guess he isn't the one making the decision then - eh? But we knew that.

I think you cannot assume that you now exactly what is in the hearts of the journalist unless you know them. Chances are they would have only covered a bit of the demonstrations anyway - cause that is what they have done for the past 20 years. And the demonstrations were not that huge. And where they were they got a little coverage.

So - me... I know Bush & his ilk use the tools of sociopaths and want to destroy the middle class and use propaganda...but I do not thing the MSM is calling each other.

This Terry Schiavo thing was timed by the court decisions. And picked up by the right-wing religious as a bonding exercise. And it shows their complete hypocrisy because the laws George Bush signed about turning off feeding and air for people who could not pay bills in Texas .. has been sitting on the books in Texas for 7 years.

So the whole Terry Schiavo things show hypocrisy within the right to life movement itself. So we can now answer them with 'what about going after that law in Texas'.

The whole thing told a big truth to us all. And it was about Bush being a hypocrite and opportunist one more time. And about the right-to lifers being easily drugged. And about the right to lifer's ignore real problems in their own states (Texas). A good deal of truth about Bush & his followers. It was good Terry got so much attention. Sorry for her if she really would want to be dead. But good for us Liberals because it is truths like this that will win us people back from Bush. The hypocrisy and grandstanding was everywhere.

And the conservative (paleo) are horrified at this federal intervention in a private life. And pretty soon the freepers will be climbing walls when they realize that Terry could just as easily been a pregnant teen who wanted an abortion..but Bush will never solve that nut...because he needs that abortion wound open and sore in order to win the elections.

So I for one..think this whole Terry thing was a great exposition of Bush in all his horrid hypocrisy. And he has kissed off his followers one more time..and I hope they will get wise to the patterns. You better believe that there will be more grandstanding in 6 months when Bush needs to reconnect and drug his right-to-lifer voters: it will be a vial of stem cells this time. Always something that does not coast Bush anything really. That is what the right wing nuts are getting fed constantly. And they are a little slow...but they will soon see the pattern.

That is how it is with the predatory lot like the Bush WH. The devil is in the details and so you will not be finding much in the way truths in the details. That is why you may want to stop being a detailed oriented conspiracy theorits..and step back and look at the big picture and the long patterns of behavior. That is how you catch the sociopaths...not in details.. but catching them fucking with the greater truths (those they cannot cloak so much).

So my advice to you would be to stop back and stop making assumptions about the little details. Look at the big picture and the lies/hypocrisy and sociopathy will be obvious in Bush's patterns of behavior (I do not think Bush is a sociopath himself...just the pathetic vessel).

[Generic Guy]

17. You could tell him,

That the repubs are making this into a huge issue and by calling a special session they lured the media into ignoring what all else was going on. I think it would be straightforward and you wouldn't have to get into how the media is bought and paid for by bush and his cronies. You could convince him of that at a later time.

[NNN0LHI]

18. Ask your boyfriend if he ever saw videotape of John Kerry being heckled...

...on cable TV while giving speeches while he was campaigning. If he watches TV he had to see plenty of it just like we all did. Then after he says he did see it ask him how many times he seen those same cable stations showing Chimpy or Unca Dick being heckled. I bet he says he never saw that ever happen. Ask him if he thinks the reason for that is that no one heckles Republicans or is the media just not showing it. I am sure with his attitude he will say the Republicans must never get heckled. Then show him this and ask him why cable won't show the video of this?

Dustin Barnes, 25, left, is escorted from a town hall meeting while trying to shout questions at U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) at California State University, Monday, March 21, 2005, in Bakersfield, Calif. V.P. Cheney and Republican Congressman Bill Thomas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, used the meeting to discuss Social Security (news - web sites) reform.. (AP Photo/Ric Francis)

Tell me what he says after you show him this. Thanks.

Don

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/050321/480/carf10603212131&e=11&ncid=480

[Dude_CalmDown]

19. Call him a coincidence theorist - n/t

*

[femme.democratique]

20. tell him instead of....

"yeah right - so all these news organizations call each other and agree on what to air?"

reality is:

"the government calls the news people and tells them what to talk about. talking points memos. kkkarl rove earns his pay."

[kaitykaity]

22. Ratings, ratings, ratings, ratings, ratings.

Look at what's happened to GD. It's all anybody
wants to talk about in here is Terri this and
Terri that.

If we're like this, imagine what the general public
is like.

It's a fascinating story with a formerly pretty girl
at the center of it, i.e., Nicole Brown Simpson,
Lacy Petersen, Jon Benet Ramsey, and on and on and on.

It puts a twinkle in the eyes of the infotainment
industry (which is all our news is now anyway) because
people are fascinated by this story and their ratings
go up.

Hit him over the head with that and see how he
responds.

[Imajika]

23. You can't make him a believer...

..and if you harp on it he will probably only be less likely to accept your position.

Rather than try to make him a believer, just make you points when a conversation might call for it. He is your boyfriend, so he probably really does value your opinions and is likely interested in your thought process. Tell him what you think and why whenever the subject comes up, but let him come to his own conclusions. When he says something about politics that you even somewhat agree with, make sure you applaud his position - but add your additional thoughts to help guide him in the right direction. Your in effect rewarding good behavior which always encourages more of the same :-)

Imajika

[libodem]

24. I don't know how to make him a believer

but it is like the all have a script of what topic they want the talking heads and radio pundits to rant on. They must have some topic committee.

[JohnnyCougar]

25. Tell him he's a sucker for government manufactured propaganda.

And then tell him how loony and naive it is to believe that a government this powerful wouldn't produce any sort of propaganda to control the minds of its people. Propaganda is nothing new or uncommon. It is a fact of everyday life in every country, at every time.

[lonestarnot]

26. Tell him to read! And if he won't you better get another friend...n/t

[Just Me]

27. You could have pointed out how the media PROFITEERS from poor Terri.

You could have asked why the media, the REPUKES or anyone else would intrude into this ONE PERSON'S LIFE, HORRIFIC EXISTENCE,...and all those who have their own incredibly passionate positions exposed.

You can't MAKE your boyfriend "a believer" in some undefined "thing" you fail to even make clear in your OP.