Conspiracy Theorists in class...

[Glockmatic]

So I'm in my 4th semester of college and I have to take an elective so I chose a history course. The first day of class (today) goes fine until we get into modern warfare. Theres discussions about WW2 and than Afghanistan and Iraq. A hand bolts up into the air, the teacher acknowledges the student, and the words that came out of his mouth and i shuttered.

"Bush is like Hitler, i mean they attacked their own people to start a war!" and the guy beside him (a former soldier who toured Afghanistan) agree'd with him and said "The day before 9/11, our commanders told us to get ready because we're going to go to war soon." Another hand goes up, "There were bombs in the world trade center! Theres no way an airplane could topple a building like that!"

The teacher did a good job in fending off these theories, telling them to watch Discovery Channel once in awhile or actually do their own research, but now I'm going to be in a class where these conspiracy theories will be constantly rehashed in later discussions, AND I FUCKING HATE THAT SHIT. DO YOUR OWN RESEARCH YOU DOUCHEBAGS.

Anyone else ever have this in their classes?

 

[Tru Principle]

You need to respect other people's opinions whether you think they're absurd or not. The whole point of being a college student is to be taught how to interact with people of different races and social backrounds , accept new ideas and understand another person's opinion with out having to accept it.

Trust me, what these people are saying are not created from nothing... even if it that something is twisted and misinterpreted evidence, they still have a reason to say things like that. Understand them before you get mad.

 

[Glockmatic]

You need to respect other people's opinions whether you think they're absurd or not. The whole point of being a college student is to be taught how to interact with people of different races and social backrounds , accept new ideas and understand another person's opinion with out having to accept it.

Trust me, what these people are saying are not created from nothing... even if it that something is twisted and misinterpreted evidence, they still have a reason to say things like that. Understand them before you get mad.

Theres a difference between a race/background and an absurd idea that has been debunked, especially in a post-secondary institution. 9/11 conspiracy theories should stay in highschool.

Oh and BTW I didn't go mad and explode on them in class, I'm just using this message board to vent this anger because I'm expecting to hear more conspiracies this semester. Serenity now....

edit: Now that I think of it, there would be no way that in a college level math class, if the teacher says "whats 2 times 2?" and a person says 5, should you accept his answer or would you correct them? Would you even try understanding where they're coming from? I have a passion for the truth as Dawkin's said, and if these people are waisting my time (which i paid for) with debunked theories than i have a right to be angry about it.

 

[Synful*Luv]

You need to respect other people's opinions whether you think they're absurd or not. The whole point of being a college student is to be taught how to interact with people of different races and social backrounds , accept new ideas and understand another person's opinion with out having to accept it.

Trust me, what these people are saying are not created from nothing... even if it that something is twisted and misinterpreted evidence, they still have a reason to say things like that. Understand them before you get mad.

I wish we could still rep people! Great statement!

 

[Jokerman]

You should debate them, without getting mad, whenever these conspiracies get brought up. After all, you have the teacher on your side.

 

[hizzle?]

You need to respect other people's opinions whether you think they're absurd or not. The whole point of being a college student is to be taught how to interact with people of different races and social backrounds , accept new ideas and understand another person's opinion with out having to accept it.

Trust me, what these people are saying are not created from nothing... even if it that something is twisted and misinterpreted evidence, they still have a reason to say things like that. Understand them before you get mad.

you need to respect their opinion, but they have to respect yours back.
I'm pretty sure if Glockmatic here said anything to contradict them, they would've said "I have the right to my own opinion" which is a cowardly way to answer someone's argument.

I agree with Glockmatic... I hate it when people think that they are smarter than the teacher.

 

[PuffnScruff]

i feel you. i've had classes with these people. i even had to sit through a presentation where someone spent 20 mins on this shit and it was a person i'm actually cool with. the funny thing was to sit back and to hear all the responses from the people who had never heard of this shit before and down right believe it right away.

do what jokerman said. debate them and then make them feel like shit when you pwn their ass. then again they will probably just use the typical conspiracy line "you are a sheep to the illuminati"

 

[S O F I]

edit: Now that I think of it, there would be no way that in a college level math class, if the teacher says "whats 2 times 2?" and a person says 5, should you accept his answer or would you correct them?

This example doesn't back up your opinion. There's a difference between a math problem and a causality.
Still, though, Jokerman got it.


My advice is, I'd ask the person, "Who the fuck wrote your personal statement?"

 

[Fataldawg]

You need to respect other people's opinions whether you think they're absurd or not. The whole point of being a college student is to be taught how to interact with people of different races and social backrounds , accept new ideas and understand another person's opinion with out having to accept it.

Trust me, what these people are saying are not created from nothing... even if it that something is twisted and misinterpreted evidence, they still have a reason to say things like that. Understand them before you get mad.

Good post. Very well-worded..

 

[Rukas]

edit: Now that I think of it, there would be no way that in a college level math class, if the teacher says "whats 2 times 2?" and a person says 5, should you accept his answer or would you correct them? Would you even try understanding where they're coming from? I have a passion for the truth as Dawkin's said, and if these people are waisting my time (which i paid for) with debunked theories than i have a right to be angry about it.

2 plus 2 does equal 5 for large enough values of 2.

So perhaps you should listen to other peoples opinions with an open mind, you may learn something new; even if you believe what they say is wrong, at least you will delve into that grey area, and college is all about the grey areas in my opinion.

 

[Glockmatic]

2 plus 2 does equal 5 for large enough values of 2.

So perhaps you should listen to other peoples opinions with an open mind, you may learn something new; even if you believe what they say is wrong, at least you will delve into that grey area, and college is all about the grey areas in my opinion.

I did have an open mind on 9/11 years ago, until I looked at the evidence and it was all complete bullshit. Its like if someone spread the lie about how the 9/11 hijackers were from Canada in your classroom, would you let someone just spread that or would you say "Well, thats a differing opinion, and I'll acknowledge it with an open mind!"? College isn't about the grey area for me, I want to learn facts, if i wanted to learn about the "grey area" I would've went to Liberty University

 

[PuffnScruff]

i'm all for being open minded and respecting others opinions but when ct's arent opened minded enough to look at the real facts that debunk their theories then they are not worth the money they spent on their text book for one class. the only thing you can learn from people that believe in ct's and take them to heart is that people can be manipulated way too easily


ewwww look someone took a few pictures, took some comments out of context, and distorted a few things. its must be true!

 

[ImmortalTech]

... u said u looked into all that shit too, so let em grow and mature with their knowledge. I know ppl get annoying throwing around conspiracy theories, but they're learning. You may have some opinions that are based on what u have assessed as "facts" but ur opinions may be wrong and those 'facts' may be complete bullshit. None of us our knowledgeable in every aspect in life. So we all learn, and we all mature with knowledge. Maybe u should debate them, and u probably wont get through to them (right away), but atleast the rest of the class will hear both sides of the story.

And we all get our knowledge from somewhere, and trust me, just because a source is 'credible' doesnt necissarily make it all true. Look at history for example.. almost everything we know about it, is told from the victors point of view. Don't u think that alot of that information is flawed and biased? Yet thats the information found in our encyclopedias, text books, and all types of legitimate sources of knowledge. So personally I've come to a point in my life, where facts do not exist in things such as politics, and history (unlesss your stating something like "9/11 took place on September 11th 2001") the rest is persepctives, speculations, and point of views.

But for real, let them mature with their knowledge, we all need to. And plus on the bright side, some of those conspiracy theorist are a great source of entertainment.

 

[Tru Principle]

... u said u looked into all that shit too, so let em grow and mature with their knowledge. I know ppl get annoying throwing around conspiracy theories, but they're learning. You may have some opinions that are based on what u have assessed as "facts" but ur opinions may be wrong and those 'facts' may be complete bullshit. None of us our knowledgeable in every aspect in life. So we all learn, and we all mature with knowledge. Maybe u should debate them, and u probably wont get through to them (right away), but atleast the rest of the class will hear both sides of the story.

And we all get our knowledge from somewhere, and trust me, just because a source is 'credible' doesnt necissarily make it all true. Look at history for example.. almost everything we know about it, is told from the victors point of view. Don't u think that alot of that information is flawed and biased? Yet thats the information found in our encyclopedias, text books, and all types of legitimate sources of knowledge. So personally I've come to a point in my life, where facts do not exist in things such as politics, and history (unlesss your stating something like "9/11 took place on September 11th 2001") the rest is persepctives, speculations, and point of views.

But for real, let them mature with their knowledge, we all need to. And plus on the bright side, some of those conspiracy theorist are a great source of entertainment.

another thank you , one love

 

[Sebastian]

And we all get our knowledge from somewhere, and trust me, just because a source is 'credible' doesnt necissarily make it all true. Look at history for example.. almost everything we know about it, is told from the victors point of view. Don't u think that alot of that information is flawed and biased? Yet thats the information found in our encyclopedias, text books, and all types of legitimate sources of knowledge. So personally I've come to a point in my life, where facts do not exist in things such as politics, and history (unlesss your stating something like "9/11 took place on September 11th 2001") the rest is persepctives, speculations, and point of views.

What?lol. Of course facts do exist and its not just about a specific date.

I can fully understand what Glockmatic said. Its somehow like reading posts in WoW in the past years. Imagine someone talking about in college makes it seem to be funny...in a sad way.

Trust me, what these people are saying are not created from nothing... even if it that something is twisted and misinterpreted evidence, they still have a reason to say things like that. Understand them before you get mad.

Understand them before they get mad? The problem is Glock knows where they are coming from. They heard some shit on the televison or read something on the internet, immediately accepted it as the truth without questioning it and now they are telling this shit infront of the class.

If there is something which makes me mad (besides the female species) its stupidity.

 

[Jokerman]

I want to learn facts, if i wanted to learn about the "grey area" I would've went to Liberty University

But, see, those students are hopefully there to learn facts too, and debating someone like you is part of their learning process. It's also part of yours. Facts can be gotten from books. What you need to get out of school is critical thinking skills. Good schooling should involve a great deal of discussion, interchanges of questions and answers between teacher and student and between students.

Educationally profitable discussions will engage you in agreeing or disagreeing, arguing when you disagree, and giving reasons for disagreements. Making and defending generalizations, or challenging generalizations made by others. Judging by weighing evidence pro and con, or by examining the validity of reasons for making one claim or another concerning what is true or false, more or less probable. Asking and answering questions about the consistency or inconsistency of things asserted or denied, about their presuppositions and their implications.

You might have gotten a lot of your thinking skills by doing those things all these years on this board and other forums or chat rooms. And you've learned by example. You've watched others having debates and judged who had the better argument. You need to be that example for others in class. Plus, you will be learning from it too. This is how we learn critical thinking skills. Not by having teachers give students "the facts" about something and everyone accepting it. Because many teachers have the wrong take on things too. (They are called liberals.

Now I know a lot of people are somewhat shy to speak up in class. I mean, it's barely done by anyone in high school. Also, some ppl feel they know the truth but they can't always find the right words when they're speaking among a group. If you feel some of that, well, that's a skill you're also supposed to get from college too. By engaging in classroom debates.

Remember, as strange as this sounds, you are not going to school to learn anything. You are going to school to learn how to learn.

 

[yak pac fatal]

You need to respect other people's opinions whether you think they're absurd or not. The whole point of being a college student is to be taught how to interact with people of different races and social backrounds , accept new ideas and understand another person's opinion with out having to accept it.

Trust me, what these people are saying are not created from nothing... even if it that something is twisted and misinterpreted evidence, they still have a reason to say things like that. Understand them before you get mad.

im sure alot of ppls response will different than that post^^ if it was about muslims