Alex Jones admits he's only joking & should not be taken seriously

[Faith No More]

He'll survive this with ease.  The same way Jon Stewart always said "I'm just a comedy show!"  It's not like that kept anyone from treating him just like real news.

Yeah, because a liberal giving his opinion on actual news is totally equivalent to a conservative that just makes up crazy shit.

[AceBoogie]

If you're dumb enough to give your money to Alex Jones... um... yea... your fault.

While ignorance is often willful, rarely is stupidity. It's pretty closed-minded of you to blame the victim for being stupid.

 You can call it whatever you like. No cult would ever trick me out of any money. I would never give my money to infowars or any other organization for that matter if it's not somehow benefiting me. You're calling people "victims" because they're willingly paying money for merch from infowars (assuming Alex Jones is lying of course)? A bit dramatic, don't you think?

Doesn't really matter if Jones believes it. Conspiracy nuts do and if they're willing to pump money out of their bank accounts and into Jones' pockets for t shirts and other bullshit, that's their choice.

edit: Also calling it "close-minded" is a bit pathetic on your part. Grow up.

i.e. You're close minded if you don't agree with me.

second edit: If you legitimately think Alex Jones lying makes people who buy his merch a victim, I have a great deal for you on some ocean front property in Arizona.

[Faith No More]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2017...ce=copyurl

And now it's been disclosed in open court that he has been diagnosed with Narcisstiick Personality Disorder

Just that? I'd have thought that were would have been a smorgasbord of diagnoses.

[henryp]

He'll survive this with ease.  The same way Jon Stewart always said "I'm just a comedy show!"  It's not like that kept anyone from treating him just like real news.

Yeah, because a liberal giving his opinion on actual news is totally equivalent to a conservative that just makes up crazy shit.

But it wasn't solely his opinion.  It was also jokes.  Jokes that often deliberately misrepresented actual news for comedic effect, which was the point of the show.   That's why Stewart was correct in saying "It's just a comedy show."  It was more at times, but the jokes took priority over any journalistic aspects.  Contrasted with Last Week Tonight, for example, where the journalism takes precedence over the jokes (my impression, anyways)

I think the same thing that keeps people from differentiating "A man giving his opinion on actual news" and "comedy" will keep people from differentiating from A "man giving his opinion on current events" and "sensationalist nonsense."

[Rev. Rye]

http://www.thedailybeast.com/cheats/2017...ce=copyurl

And now it's been disclosed in open court that he has been diagnosed with Narcisstiick Personality Disorder

Just that? I'd have thought that were would have been a smorgasbord of diagnoses.

Jesus. My mother was diagnosed with narcissistic personality disorder. And there were actually times when she tried to get help for it, but those went south when her therapist did. I can't imagine how fucked up it must be living under Alex Jones' roof.

[The Grand Nudger]

 You can call it whatever you like. No cult would ever trick me out of any money. I would never give my money to infowars or any other organization for that matter if it's not somehow benefiting me. You're calling people "victims" because they're willingly paying money for merch from infowars (assuming Alex Jones is lying of course)? A bit dramatic, don't you think?

That's one of the things working in those cults favor.  Everybody feels that way, and it reinforces the cultists certitude. This couldn't be a bullshit cult, because I'd never fall for it.  Look at all these people, it certainly can;t be the case that everyone here is the kind of idiot that falls for a cult?

Therefore, Brother Lem really -does- need all my monies!

Never say never.   


They're victims because common and predictable ticks in human behavior have been manipulated - doesn't mean they aren't assholes, ofc..but still..to some extent or another the people roped in by a conman have been victimized.

---

With Jones, personally, I wouldn't worry too much about tshirts that his fans buy.  His program has been informing their political identities..........


-and here we are, now,  in Trumps America.

[rexbeccarox]

While ignorance is often willful, rarely is stupidity. It's pretty closed-minded of you to blame the victim for being stupid.

 You can call it whatever you like. No cult would ever trick me out of any money. I would never give my money to infowars or any other organization for that matter if it's not somehow benefiting me. You're calling people "victims" because they're willingly paying money for merch from infowars (assuming Alex Jones is lying of course)? A bit dramatic, don't you think?

So, because you wouldn't give your money to the likes of Alex Jones, those who do, and who maybe don't have the brain capacity you have, their stupidity is their fault?

Doesn't really matter if Jones believes it. Conspiracy nuts do and if they're willing to pump money out of their bank accounts and into Jones' pockets for t shirts and other bullshit, that's their choice.

Sure, giving money is their choice, but do you really think their ignorance is their fault, and therefore they are to blame for the action? I mean, I'm sure there are the willfully ignorant; the assholes; the nutjobs...

... but do you really think the "dumb" should be held accountable if they really, actually, are dumb? And I said nothing about my opinion on whether AJ believes it or not.

edit: Also calling it "close-minded" is a bit pathetic on your part. Grow up.

i.e. You're close minded if you don't agree with me.

Agree with me or not, faulting dumb people because they are dumb is kinda closed-minded, dude.

I'm pretty grown up, too. Today was my 40th-and-a-half birthday!

second edit: If you legitimately think Alex Jones lying makes people who buy his merch a victim, I have a great deal for you on some ocean front property in Arizona.

Holy mother of effingham.

Nuance, dude. Nuance.

I think some people are victims of Alex Jones. Some people who follow him are just assholes.

[AceBoogie]

That's one of the things working in those cults favor.  Everybody feels that way, and it reinforces the cultists certitude. This couldn't be a bullshit cult, because I'd never fall for it.  Look at all these people, it certainly can;t be the case that everyone here is the kind of idiot that falls for a cult?

Therefore, Brother Lem really -does- need all my monies!

Never say never.   


They're victims because common and predictable ticks in human behavior have been manipulated - doesn't mean they aren't assholes, ofc..but still..to some extent or another the people roped in by a conman have been victimized.

So by that logic, we're all susceptible to being completely taken advantage of by someone who can simply manipulate our predictable 'ticks.' We're just lucky enough that we have not run into such a conniving, intelligent conman.

I'm sure you don't believe that.

It seems to me that there's a very small portion of the population that would actually fall for stuff like that. Though I am much more willing to use the word 'victim' for a cult type situation than something like people buying merch off of infowars without knowing that Alex Jones has been putting on an act for years.

[The Grand Nudger]

So by that logic, we're all susceptible to being completely taken advantage of by someone who can simply manipulate our predictable 'ticks.'

Um, yes?

We're just lucky enough that we have not run into such a conniving, intelligent conman.

Wouldn't rally have to be intelligent, the good thing about cons, is that they show themselves to be effective no matter how dumb the operator might be.  
Most of us have run into people (or many people) who've worked us over...it's just that most opf those people aren't conmen. The girl at the bar works you for a better tip. The ads know what color makes the public more likely to purchase an item x. Jones sold bullshit "news" to people who then used that information to make decisions in their lives..up to and including our president.

Or he didn't I guess, and he's earnestly insane - whichever is better for whatever conundrum he finds himself in at the moment.

[Rev. Rye]

So by that logic, we're all susceptible to being completely taken advantage of by someone who can simply manipulate our predictable 'ticks.' We're just lucky enough that we have not run into such a conniving, intelligent conman.

I'm sure you don't believe that.

It seems to me that there's a very small portion of the population that would actually fall for stuff like that. Though I am much more willing to use the word 'victim' for a cult type situation than something like people buying merch off of infowars without knowing that Alex Jones has been putting on an act for years.

It's called politics, Ace. That's kind of what politicians do.

In all seriousness, it seems that people have different ticks, and some are a lot easier to manipulate than others. Remember, Trump ran for and won the highest office in the land (and by extension, the world) using an election platform built on faerie dust and an impossible 2000-mile wall, and stubbornly refusing to go away. And he got so far because he managed to manipulate some people with some very sensitive and very predictable ticks.

And if they really find themselves trusting you after they've manipulated you, it can be shockingly easy for them to get you to believe anything, even if they've had a history of being totally full of shit.

Of course, this could be coloured by my being on my second History of the Third Reich book this month, but I don't think he's totally wrong. He might not be totally right, but he does have a point.