• Home
  • Blog
  • Books
  • Bio
  • Appearances
  • Links
  J M Beal

They're coming for us!

2/28/2015

1 Comment

 
“The main thing that I learned about conspiracy theory, is that conspiracy theorists believe in a conspiracy because that is more comforting. The truth of the world is that it is actually chaotic. The truth is that it is not The Iluminati, or The Jewish Banking Conspiracy, or the Gray Alien Theory. 

The truth is far more frightening - Nobody is in control. 

The world is rudderless.” 



The quote up there is from Alan Moore, who wrote the Watchmen comics and V for Vendetta among other things. It's an interesting understanding of why we cling to the concept of some kind of shadow organization that controls us all, isn't it? 


There was a story in the news last week, that might have been somewhat eclipsed by the passing of Leonard Nemoy, but it caught my attention. Tom Schweich, State Auditor for Missouri and potential gubernatorial candidate, committed suicide on Thursday, among an 'antisemitic whisper campaign' and rumors that he was about to expose some sort of vast corruption between people in the higher levels of the local Republican party and the multimillionaire that funds them. 


Convenient, right? 



Picture
Skeptical monkey is skeptical.
I don't know how I feel about conspiracy theories. In a lot of ways I agree with Mr Moore, that it would be nice if the world was that clear cut and that organized. But I don't neccessarily think it is. 

Still, that little news bit up there got me thinking. Arguably if you throw enough darts at a board with your eyes closed eventually you'll hit it. And that made me think maybe for this Miscellaneous Monday we should talk about a conspiracy theory that turned out to be true. So, feast your eye-balls on:

COINTELPRO--A guide on how to be shitty by the FBI.

The Counter Intelligence Program was, in a quick nutshell, was the shit-show run by the FBI wherein they looked for new and inventive ways to discredit people in the civil rights movement and make them appear militant and dangerous to national security. 

It was started and largely run, at least in the beginning years, by Hoover. And this quote in regard to Martin Luther King Jr sort of...covers the whole uncomplimentary, crappy nature of it. 

"In the light of King's powerful demagogic speech. ... We must mark him now, if we have not done so before, as the most dangerous Negro of the future in this nation from the standpoint of communism, the Negro, and national security."

Just wow. Now I'm sure there's at least one person out there who will say something about the fact COINTELPRO also tracked and tried to disrupt less fluffy people, like the KKK. But really, just because you're looking at the obviously bad guys when trying to uphold the status quo, that doesn't make you're behavior any more laudible. 


In any case, there's your Miscellaneous Monday dose of random. Nothing like a random reminder of our less admirable cultural and governmental history. 
Picture
The suicide letter sent to King by the FBI
Come back Wednesday and see what I do for the part four of Chuck Wendig's four part fiction challenge!
1 Comment
Kate link
3/2/2015 02:43:01 pm

Stop lying. I know the truth. They *are* coming for us!

Which reminds me. I totally need to FOIA my FBI file one of these days.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    Picture

    Author

    There's a link to my bio at the top of the page, but for these purposes it's probably best to just say I'm strange.

    RSS Feed

    Archives

    June 2021
    August 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    August 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013

    Categories

    All
    Aliens!
    #atozchallenge
    Book Lover's Bazaar
    Book-Lovers' Bazaar
    Book Review
    Bunny
    Camp Nano
    Canyons
    Contest
    Cornucopia Conundrum
    Editing
    Fantasy Friday
    Goals
    Guest Posts
    I Don't Know How To Tag Anymore
    Kids Stuff
    Life
    Misc
    Miscellaneous Monday
    Movie Books
    Movies
    Nanowrimo
    Outlines
    Procrastination
    Pseudoscience
    Publishing
    Science!
    Sci Fi Friday
    Sci-Fi Friday
    Screaming Fits
    Short Fic
    Snowballs
    TerribleMinds Challenges
    That Title Makes Absolutely No Sense
    The OUTDOORS!
    Three Day Novel
    Unholy Vacuums Of Suck
    Weirdness
    Well Written Wednesday
    Wellwritten Wednesday
    Writing
    Year Of Creative Pursuits

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.