Food for Thought

[Pat Speer]

I, like so many, am a student of human nature. When I see people with much in common nitpick and feud over slight disagreements and perceived slights, and end up questioning each other's basic decency, I learn from it. The squabbles on this and other forums show me that:

1) the antagonism of the mainstream media to the research community is more likely a knee-jerk response to the research community's questioning the quality of their (the media's) initial investigation, than a part of a plot. When you read the articles attacking Oliver Stone and the memoirs of men such as Jim Lehrer they are absolutely incredulous that the research community could question their integrity. They were so close to the big lie they just couldn't see it, and resented the heck out of those who kept yelling at them.

2) the constant bickering between members of the research community is most probably fueled by human nature, and not CIA "disinformationists". Passionate people bitch and scratch. That's just what they do. People who have the hubris to question the official line also have the hubris to question everyone around them, and trust their own instincts over the dedicated research of others. Bugliosi may have spent ten times more working on this than any of us, but how many of us are really gonna give him a fair shake? Conversely, how many LNers will trust anything we uncover or write about wound ballistics, when they have Lattimer and Sturdivan telling them what they want to hear?

3) the nature of many conspiracy theorists is such that they get off on questioning the official line. Never mind that the official line, in order to be sold, has to be right on most of the time. This is what allows liars to slip in a "big lie" every now and then. If you question everything, you effectively question nothing, since those in the presumably rational middle will never take you seriously. This should be the "Education" forum, not the "I really don't trust anything anyone tells me and I don't have time to figure anything out" forum.