I originally thought about naming this thread "Is ATS full of dangerous irrational paranoia". However after giving it more thought something hit me. Like many Alternative systems out there one thing is for certain, you can not deny the gravy train and the profitability of this genre. I can not present to you a scientific study all I can do is present my own observations. Lately those observations are that the UFO/Conspiracy/Anti-Government arena is BOOMING. So how does this happen? Fear and paranoia, that's how. Think about it... you are making stacks of cash on this gravy train. You either have a website, radio show, products, books, magazines, pills.. whatever and you want to maintain profitability. What better way than to have accounts on popular sites like this whipping people into a frenzy of irrational paranoia. Soon they are breaking down the door paying YOU for the answers and YOU are laughing all the way to the bank. It is easier than taking candy from a baby. Some of the wild paranoia I have witnessed recently:

-a swine flu vaccine will kill you on the spot

-The Total Takeover Of America Enters Its Final Phase !

-The Anti-Indigo Agenda: human insurgency in progress!

-The Second American Revolution Has Begun!

-We don't have much time left at all. Days maybe a couple weeks.
This will be our last few weeks of this internet before it's shut down.

-I come with a message, A world disaster will occur causing a cataclysm event on the horizon

-Obama Depopulation Policy Exposed! Red Alert!

-The moon is artificial. It's a containment cell. NASA you must not send your probe into the moon for it may break the seal and doom us all.

-He told us that him and a few other where called into the office and the boss sat them down and told them that they must be prepared to use the furnaces to burn the bodies of dead swine flu victims

-Obama's Healthcare Plan = Nazi Eugenics Plan?

-Why are they tracking every American household by GPS?

The threads themselves are generally tame and stoke the furnace it's the comments within that I find disturbing. People leaving ALL reality at the door and whipped into a frenzy of paranoia. This is what I call the perpetual gravy train conspiracy. If I had no ethics I would jump on this and make some damn good money like everyone else. It churns my stomach, not sure how much I can handle.

Now if only 10% of conspiracies are true, which ones would you prefer to be true?

I'm not sure that I disagree that fear is profitable. I've gone short on stocks more than once. However I don't think its fear, I think it's anxiety of certain impact right before the car hits the 18 wheeler.

I gotta say that akes a good point
sometimes you dont even realize the fear mongering at ties..but ya gotta see through alotta stuff...and trust your instincts...
Man that list alone looks about just as bad as soething the MSM would put out

The fear and paranoia don't have to be bred. People are inclined anyway, particularly these days.

The first year college student worldview has spread to the population. Big government, big corporations, intelligence agencies, are doing all the bad things.

Parental rebellion, contempt for authority, distrust of institutions, resentment of the rich and powerful, etc.

Meanwhile the real villains are free to roam wild doing whatever they want, grabbing resources, undermining foreign regimes, taking even more money out of your pocket.

Islamic extremists attack the US causing wide scale carnage, death and destruction.

The US admin takes advantage of this by empowering themselves. A few million Americans are more engrossed in Youtube videos showing how the already destroyed building were in fact blown up with some secret devices.

Serious political analysts, writers, reporters, are ignored in favour of fear mongers peddling wild conspiracy stories.

The much criticized mainstream media starts to resemble tabloid papers more.

Somewhere in the process truth and intelligent analysis is sacrificed.

Mike

There is many possiblities

1/ believe the listed conspiracy and get looked from above and get called wacko

2/dont believe nones of thoses and get called disinfo agent

3/believe in thoses listed ones BUT dont say anythings about OR talk about it and select your sources

4/you really like scaring yourself and enjoy the deep feeling of paranoia and it make you feel more concerned in events because your life is after all....empty

5/dont believe thoses listed ones and call believers in the conspiracies "wacko" and when the day the Illuminatis come to bust you, you gonna be totaly defensless and not prepared

[edit on 5-7-2009 by OTTOKARMA]

There's plenty to be paranoid bout even if you only follow the MSM.

Total financial collapse, impending environmental catastrophe, nuclear war, diseasew wipeouts, etc.

If there were online conspiracy sites 20 years ago you would be able to read archives full of End of the World scenarios scheduled for the imminent future.

I was reading the books, magazines, articles back the. The military alarmists were right about a major terrorist attack on America. All the other stuff from the Nostradamus set, the New Agers, prophesiers, UFOlogists, has not come to pass.

It was 95% bunk back then, and I expect this generation's End of the World as We Know IT scenarios are as likely to ever happen.

Pity optimism and looking forward to the future aren't as popular as they once were. It made being young, broke, still learning, a positive experience and fun.

Now self-pity, hopelessness, despair, are the main vibe.

Whole online communities become support groups for the paranoid.


Mike