The Paranoid Style - always in vogue

[Nathaniel Heidenheimer]

Look again. Bailyn and Gordon Wood do write about the colonists "paranoia" in thinking the English parliament was out to get them. Hit the texts O glib, filmy one!

[Terry Mauro]

Mark, cant tell if you are a fan of Hoff. or not. Probably you will take this as a complement, because this is what we are taught is "objectivity" these days.

I am very distrustfull of the label "parnoid style" unless this description involves annalysis of the communications environment of politics.

Those who agree with government narratives (any governments, but ESPECIALLY ours during post war global uptic) have a tremnous ease provided them. They are always provided with facts connected to more facts on all channels, so that when they go to the watter cooler at work they KNOW that Joe "knows" the basics, and that is the basis, the starting point, for discussion.

Almost any challenge to these state sanctioned views is subject to scattershot quotation, straw-dog treatment and simply being ignored by the practically-state-sponsored-treatment. If the proponent of these views is very lucky this treatment will rise to corporate villification and mockery.

To define anything as "Paranoid" or "Conspiratorial" is very problematic, unless one includes a discussion of how democratic-- as in open to dissent, and disagreement with the river-like flow of governement narrative-- the media is in that particular country and historical period.

In most cases oposition views are destroyed by the media doing their job: NOT MEDIATING a potentially enlightening discussion between various viewpoints.

Any description of a "paranoid style" that does not take into question this epistomological crap, is, in the end, higher namecalling.

It is an intrinsic human trait - the desire to know. And the more a subject is considered "secret" the more some people become obsessed with it.

Dan Brown is astonishingly popular because of that very need. Harvard psychologist Daniel Wegner says that if you ask people not to think about white bears while they talk into a tape recorder, they will make a reference to white bears about once a minute. This is because we, as humans, when trying to keep things secret, become obsessed with that very secret.

Also from the Wahington Post article: :"In another experiment exploring the allure of secret relationships, Wegner found that if four strangers sat around a table playing a card game, couples asked to play footsie with each other under the table were more likely to find each other attractive when the other couple did not know what was going on, compared with when they did. And volunteers asked to follow a person around in secret were more likely to find the person attractive compared with volunteers asked to openly keep tabs on someone.

Chip Berlet, who studies such theories at Political Research Associates, a think tank in Somerville, Mass. Notions that common people are being kept in the dark about important secrets by a small group of elites are shared by partisans on the left and right.

"The U.S. is more prone to conspiracy theories" than other countries, Berlet argued. From the Salem witch trials to tales about the Freemasons, from theories about the Kennedy assassination to the popularity of "The X-Files," America has had a long love affair with conspiracy theories.

In part that may be because such theories have a populist, even democratic, tinge to them -- they claim to let everyday folks in on the secrets of the powerful. But Berlet and other scholars said these theories usually do a disservice to the people they purport to side with.

"Conspiracy theories explain disturbing events or social phenomena in terms of the actions of specific, powerful individuals," said sociologist Theodore Sasson at Middlebury College in Vermont. By providing simple explanations of distressing events -- the conspiracy theory in the Arab world, for example, that the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks were planned by the Israeli Mossad -- they deflect responsibility or keep people from acknowledging that tragic events sometimes happen inexplicably.

And for all their populist flavor, conspiracy theories usually end up attributing more power to elites than they actually have, said William Domhoff, a sociologist at the University of California at Santa Cruz who studies power and social change.

Because nothing ever happens by accident in the world of conspiracy theories, believers wind up assuming that the hidden hand of the puppeteer is everywhere. When every event is assumed to be caused by powerful manipulators, people end up feeling "there is nothing we can do about it," Domhoff said. "They attribute too much understanding to these people, too much cleverness."

But like the Wizard of Oz, the seemingly all-powerful often turn out to be not that powerful. A sad fact of history, Domhoff added, is that those in power are regularly "incompetent and shortsighted."

I tend to agree with this theme on the whole. LHO obviously had nefarious connections to individuals or groups with an axe to grind. Clearly there was a dictionary-definable conspiracy.

But there's a line that the Paranoid Postulaters cross - repeatedly - with no regard for the damage they do to the serious researchers who've nobly stood up against the Powers That Be for decades.

When they're proven wrong, they rarely if ever acknowledge it. They just keep coming up with more half-baked theories. And their acolytes are just as bad. They parrot, they echo, they cheerlead and keep the fires burning. It's an inbred, unhealthy circle.

Dick Russell, Mary Ferrel, Waldron, North - and many more - they are heroes. When they are lumped into the CT category along with the deluded, all research suffers. That is why I try to draw a clear distinction.

MV

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"Chip Berlet, who studies such theories at Political Research Associates, a think tank in Somerville, Mass."

You needn't go any further, Valenti. We know exactly where you're coming from, now.

[Terry Mauro]

**********************************************

"Chip Berlet, who studies such theories at Political Research Associates, a think tank in Somerville, Mass."

You needn't go any further, Valenti. We know exactly where you're coming from, now.

Ooh, Terry, brilliant, ya got me. You lasered in on the one salient bit of information that informs my entire world view. Now you can sleep peacefully knowing you figured it all out.

I hope you live your life with more due diligence than that.

Ya cotton-tailed Clyde.

*********************************************

It only goes to show you what kind of company you're into keeping, Mikey. But, that's perfectly O.K. now, isn't it? After all, the more the fascists rear their ugly heads, the more fun it is in making mincemeat out of them. Which, unfortunately, is how it's all become of late, what with the arrival of a few of your more beligerent types.

I sure miss the days of Tim Gratz' presence, and dare I say some of his pearls of wisdom, as well? At least he was a gentleman and a scholar, which is more than I can say of you, and your whiz kid pal.

"Born 'n' bred in the Briar Patch"

sung by Brer Rabbit in "Song of the South"

Welcome to The Education Forum, Mr. Valenti. "How cha' do, how cha' do, how cha' do!"

[Nathaniel Heidenheimer]

Look again. Bailyn and Gordon Wood do write about the colonists "paranoia" in thinking the English parliament was out to get them. Hit the texts O glib, filmy one!

Thank you for the advice.

It is interesting how an organism can morph from one substratum to another, notwithstanding its middle class derivation. You don't have to be a clinical paranoid to grab a megaphone and rant in a public square, you don't even have to play one on TV, but it helps. It's all about the commitment one brings to the role, you see.

Mark-- any supplements for your snideness or is it organic?

[J. Raymond Carroll]

This review of a biography of Hofstadter appears in todays New York Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/06/books/re...6tanenhaus.html

[Terry Mauro]

It only goes to show you what kind of company you're into keeping, Mikey. But, that's perfectly O.K. now, isn't it? After all, the more the fascists rear their ugly heads, the more fun it is in making mincemeat out of them. Which, unfortunately, is how it's all become of late, what with the arrival of a few of your more beligerent types.

I sure miss the days of Tim Gratz' presence, and dare I say some of his pearls of wisdom, as well? At least he was a gentleman and a scholar, which is more than I can say of you, and your whiz kid pal.

Cotton-Tail Ter,

You made a ridiculous statment and you got jizzed. You know "exactly" where I'm coming from? Dream on, Bunny Girl. That kind of small thinking is exactly the reason why CTers are held in low esteem by most people. Get hit with a hunch - it's an instant fact - carve it in stone!

And your fascistic approach to 'making mincemeat' of people with diverging opinions tells the world you're not terribly secure in your own. You think some "new" people are beligerent? I'd suggest that you go back and read the posts and see who was cruel first, who was mean-spirited first, who was rude first.

What you seem unable to understand is that if you strike first, you will be struck back three times. That's why this place can seem unpleasant at times. Yes, there are some people who have nothing but vitriol to offer, and that's too bad.

But when you diss a good faith effort to wade past the obvious bullxxxx and get to the real meat, you can't expect not to be called for your behavior. You were snide first for no reason. You don't like the tone around here, then make sure you patrol your own behavior and don't be so quick to be rude. Clyde Award my ass. You don't even realize how much you enjoy being rude, that's the sad part.

Love, Mark

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"But when you diss a good faith effort to wade past the obvious bullxxxx and get to the real meat, you can't expect not to be called for your behavior."

Excuse me, but quoting Chip Berlet is not what I consider using "a good faith effort to wade past the obvious bullxxxx." And, if you're looking to get at the "real meat," I suggest Harold Weisberg, Donald Gibson, James Di Eugenio, L. Fletcher Prouty, Dick Russell, Peter Dale Scott, and some lesser known people, to you, such as Lloyd Miller and Carroll Quigley, for starters.

Berlet is obviously nothing more than an extreme right-wing syncophant, which is what you're beginning to sound like more and more, each time you post. Too bad someone of your obvious intellect has been led to promote the more superficial stance of the modern day, 21st Century, cut-throat "conservative" agenda of the robber-baron mindset presently infesting both houses of government to the detriment of the majority of Americans, who have absolutely no idea what kind of economic fiasco has been foisted upon them and their future progeny.

And, your defense of that John Bircher Whitehouse wannabe page, Slattery, is beyond belief! Why align oneself with someone so beneath one's stature as a communicator? BTW, have you ever seen that movie, "Bullworth?" Slattery reminds me of those two idiots who were assigned to shadow Bullworth's every move.

As far as "wading past the obvious bullxxxx," take care you don't end up dropping any more along the way, regardless of however unintentional, in your attempt to traipse through the "obvious."

Terry Mauro aka Cruella DeVille

Playboy Clubs, International

Itinerary:

New York

New Orleans

San Francisco

New York

1964 - 1967

FWIW, Wiseass.

Edited August 6, 2006 by Terry Mauro

[Brendan Slattery]

This post has been edited by Terry Mauro: Today, 11:03 PM

Keep editing 'til you hit zero words, Terry. It's for the best.

[Terry Mauro]

This post has been edited by Terry Mauro: Today, 11:03 PM

Keep editing 'til you hit zero words, Terry. It's for the best.

*********************************************

Jeez, you must be hanging onto my every word, Dinny. How flattering!

[Paul Rigby]

Excuse me, but quoting Chip Berlet is not what I consider using "a good faith effort to wade past the obvious bullxxxx."

MV: I'm not sure we're talking about the same Chip Berlet. The guy I'm talking about has confronted many right-wing extremists over the years. I know he's not particularly fond of Prouty but do you really consider Chip Berlet a right winger?

For the benefit of the uninitiated, Chip Berlet is what G.K. Chesterton termed, in The Man Who Was Thursday, a "philosophical policeman." He attacks conspiracy theory and conspiracists in defence of rich people. The latter never engage in such things, you understand. But where Hofstadter attacked de haut en bas, Berlet proceeds de haut en FBI, ADL et al.

Try this link for some well-informed and intermittently amusing stuff on his nonsense. He was memorably filleted by the late Ace Hayes in the mid-1990s. You should find Hayes' work among it.

www.oilempire.us/berlet.html

"The work of the philosophical policeman is at once bolder and more subtle than that of the ordinary detective. The ordinary detective goes to pot-houses to arrest thieves; we go to artistic tea-parties to detect pessimists."

And in Berlet's case, cure them, courtesy of those kind men and women at the Ford Foundation.

[Brendan Slattery]

"The 9/11 conspiracy movement exploits the public's anger and sadness. It traffics in ugly, unfounded accusations of extraordinary evil against fellow Americans."

-- Sen. John McCain

Not just 9/11, Senator.

[Robert Charles-Dunne]

"The 9/11 conspiracy movement exploits the public's anger and sadness. It traffics in ugly, unfounded accusations of extraordinary evil against fellow Americans."

-- Sen. John McCain

"In a story worthy of front-page coverage, the Washington Post reported today that many members and staffers on the 9/11 commission considered the testimony given by military and aviation officials to be criminally misleading."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6080101300.html

Not just 9/11, Senator.

How true. The same verdict applies to past conspiracies.

"Significantly, The Warren commission's conclusion that the agencies of the government had cooperated with it is, in retrospect, not the truth.

"We also now know that the Agency set up a process that could only have been designed to frustrate the ability of the committee in 1976-79 to obtain any information that might adversely affect the Agency.

"Many have told me that the culture of the Agency is one of prevarication and dissimulation and that you cannot trust it or its people. Period. End of story.

I am now in that camp."

G. Robert Blakey - Chief Counsel to the House Select Committee on Assassinations.

Sen McCain will awake with the same hangover that Blakey did, as will all others who prefer drinking the "patriotic" KoolAid to doing their own thinking, based upon fact rather than flim-flammery.

[Paul Rigby]

"The 9/11 conspiracy movement exploits the public's anger and sadness."

Sooo unlike those principled neo-cons who seized the pretext to attack Afghanistan, Iraq, now Lebanon...

"It traffics in ugly, unfounded accusations of extraordinary evil against fellow Americans."

-- Sen. John McCain "

Goodness , this the same guy the draft-dodging little simian, Rumfella and the Defibrillated Man smeared as a Commie leadswinger? I feel chastened.

By the way, great spot on the Asters! You've found your niche. And redefined YAF: Young American Florists.

One man's filet is another man's palate-cleansing sorbet.

MV

Sorry, Mark, but after that outstanding summary of the meandering thread about, oh, ROFLMAO, or somesuch, this represents an unacceptable dip in quality. Pseud's corner, sir, for the duration.

[Brendan Slattery]

"The 9/11 conspiracy movement exploits the public's anger and sadness. It traffics in ugly, unfounded accusations of extraordinary evil against fellow Americans."

-- Sen. John McCain

"In a story worthy of front-page coverage, the Washington Post reported today that many members and staffers on the 9/11 commission considered the testimony given by military and aviation officials to be criminally misleading."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...6080101300.html

Not just 9/11, Senator.

How true. The same verdict applies to past conspiracies.

"Significantly, The Warren commission's conclusion that the agencies of the government had cooperated with it is, in retrospect, not the truth.

"We also now know that the Agency set up a process that could only have been designed to frustrate the ability of the committee in 1976-79 to obtain any information that might adversely affect the Agency.

"Many have told me that the culture of the Agency is one of prevarication and dissimulation and that you cannot trust it or its people. Period. End of story.

I am now in that camp."

G. Robert Blakey - Chief Counsel to the House Select Committee on Assassinations.

Sen McCain will awake with the same hangover that Blakey did, as will all others who prefer drinking the "patriotic" KoolAid to doing their own thinking, based upon fact rather than flim-flammery.

I'm supposed to be shocked or surprised that incompetent people who made mistakes on or before 9/11 are in CYA mode? You're equating that to intentional mass murder? Bill Greer lied thru his teeth to the WC, but that doesn't come close to proving he was part of a conspiracy.

[Paul Rigby]

You're equating that to intentional mass murder? Bill Greer lied thru his teeth to the WC, but that doesn't come close to proving he was part of a conspiracy.

Non sequitur of the year award - with bouquet - goes to Mr. B, the Artie Fufkin of neo-con apologetics

[Brendan Slattery]

You're equating that to intentional mass murder? Bill Greer lied thru his teeth to the WC, but that doesn't come close to proving he was part of a conspiracy.

Non sequitur of the year award - with bouquet - goes to Mr. B, the Artie Fufkin of neo-con apologetics

Paul, get off the computer. Your mom needs to use the phone.