2008-05-04 Tell Me Again Why "Conspiracy Theory" is a Dirty Label

2008-05-04 George Washington's Blog \conspiracy theory http://georgewashington2.blogspot.com/2008/05/tell-me-again-why-conspiracy-theory-is.html Tell Me Again Why "Conspiracy Theory" is a Dirty Label &ldquo;Whenever any claim is made that the government has done anything wrong, government apologists say "that's a conspiracy theory!" ... conspiracies are committed all the time in the U.S., and many of the conspirators are caught and found guilty by American courts.&rdquo;  Whenever any claim is made that the government has done anything wrong, government apologists say "that's a conspiracy theory!"

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In other words, conspiracies are committed all the time in the U.S., and many of the conspirators are caught and found guilty by American courts. Indeed, conspiracy is a very well-recognized crime in American law, taught to every first-year law school student as part of their basic curriculum. Telling a judge that someone has a "conspiracy theory" would be like telling him that someone is claiming that he trespassed on their property, or committed assault, or stole his car. Its a fundamental legal concept.

So tell me again why "conspiracy theory" is a dirty label... Because in common usage, it implies a conspiracy among powerful or influential people in particular, and apparently that never happens. Or is too scary to contemplate, so we prefer to pretend everything will be okay regardless.   