MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
I made the mistake of going for a ride today with some old riding mates. The riding itself was fine, really enjoyed it, but i remembered why i stopped going out with them!
They LOVE the weed and not having seen them for years it's really changed them....they still have a smoke at the top of most climbs and post ride they skinned up none stop!
We got talking about the current situation and was amazed at the drivel they were talking....the usual nonsense about it being to do with teh secret 5g roll out, i pointed out that it cant be that secret as there are ads all over the TV for 5g handsets!!
They went on and on about it being one big conspiracy and that 'they' want to control us, but they cant tell me exactly who 'they' are and where they get there info from to back up these nonsensical claims! It was stuff like that there is a microchip in the vaccine, so i asked if they could prove it and of course they couldn't! When i asked, do you not think someone would say something, think about the number of people involved in an operation to microchip the whole world via vaccination there would surely be someone who would say hang on a minute.....the same with the whole chemtrails bollox! They wont have it though...the sad thing is that they are parents so god knows what other shite they come out with and expose their kids to! It was all a bit cringeworthy.
So much for it chilling you out, they seemed totally angst ridden and i felt like the calm one!
I've known a few like this, they start smoking weed and their whole perception of the world turns into some bizzare contorted version!
In the words of that fella from South Park - drugs are bad!
Anyone else seen mates change due to weed?
I know a few people who believe all that shit, and more than a few who smoke weed. Overlap of one.
Most of the conspiracy theorists I know enjoy the weed as well. I am not sure if there is any causal link between the two though. Mrs D is convinced there is, I suspect it might just be we know a lot of people who smoke weed and some happen to be 'woke' (their words not mine).
Suspect it might be the other way around.
Most folk that maintain a healthy weed habit beyond their formative years instead of the society approved/legal stimulants either enjoy being non-conformist, have a healthy (or unhealthy yvmv) cynicism for conventional thinking and officialdom or like to market themselves as a bit edgy. There will be a sizable venn diagram overlap with this outlook and those that enjoy a good conspiracy theory.
A guess a bit of THC generated paranoia would not help either!
Noticed the same trend and likewise not sure if it is correlation or causation.
I think there is some evidence that THC use can contribute to paranoia in some people, and I guess you have to be fairly paranoid to believe the elite are actually interdimensional lizards and the moon is a hologram and/or hollow and/or a spaceship.
The few stones I know don't believe all the conspiracy theories. The people I know who do are all generally intelligent, law abiding people. They are left wing Labour voters (ex now with Corbyn out) who also wanted loony right wing Trumptard to win
I suspect the world has reach a tipping point (ok, I hate myself for saying that) where real life is more complicated that some imaginary shit so it's easier to believe in lizard overlords
The few stones I know don’t believe all the conspiracy theories. The people I know who do are all generally intelligent, law abiding people. They are left wing Labour voters (ex now with Corbyn out) who also wanted loony right wing Trumptard to win
Read Eric Hoffer "The True Believer" - all political and religiously motivated lunatics have relatively interchangeable beliefs. There were plenty of Nazis that were ex communists for example.
Sounds like you met someone like my BIL.
Don't do drugs kids.
I think it's because conspiracy theories seem more seductive and are just more fun when you're rocking the ganj.
I went to see David Icke give a talk at my Uni in the mid-90s, he was bonkers then but I never dreamed he'd gain such a high profile.
FWIW I used to partake then, but still thought he just needed professional help.
Its all down to tiny mind-control chips that BigGanja are putting in the skunk. I've been doing the research (on YouTube) and I'm currently colouring in a huge, complicated diagram showing how BigGanja intersects BigChocolate and Big24hourpetrolstation to control our appetites too.
the only person I know who is full into the Qanon stuff is totally anti weed or drugs, she doesnt even really drink much
I'm going to suggest that "stoner" and "recreational weed smoker" are not necessarily the same.
The former is going to be into some counter culture and bizzare world view by definition, whether that's Icke, or end capitalism hippies, or NWO or whatever.
The latter - who could well be getting though more of the stuff - can just be a regular bloke/lass whose chosen vice happens to be weed.
I'd have to say most of the 'stoners' ( all generally law abiding working people ) I know, and (clue in the username) there are a good few , don't believe any of the conspiracy bollox that's doing the rounds these days and most of them also don't do social media to any great extent. The nutters who believe in the crackpot stuff have always been out there, the difference is now that Facebook algorithms actively connect these people with others that share their views, even if it is absolute bulls**t, they more inclined to believe it as those views are reinforced. Social media has the power to manipulate the thoughts and views of massive numbers of people who are all blind to the fact they're being fed misinformation and in my opinion has done/will do far more damage to society in general than any drugs ever have
real life is more complicated that some imaginary shit so it’s easier to believe in lizard overlords
I suspect this. The only folk who spout conspiracy theories on my Facebook feed are those who have no education. As in skived off school as a teenager then left at 16.
I suspect it's a combination of being dissatisfied with where they find themselves as adults without two qualifications to rub together, shit job prospects/future and want someone other than themselves to blame.
It's easy to watch some random bloke coining it on on YouTube saying 5g=Covid and vaccine = population control therefore "it's all 'their' fault my life is shit".
What sort of jobs do your bong-addled riding mates have? Because the one big thing that torpedoes all conspiracy theories is control - anyone who has worked in a large organisation, or done anything complicated involving many people, can see first hand how hard / impossible it is to control situations with even the smallest levels of complexity.
The sad thing about this is we may never get to explore the stars, not because we fail to advance our physics, but because our gantt charts don't work.
Most stoners I knew (including me) couldn’t be arsed with anything remotely approaching conspiracy theories. Sitting around playing instruments, a round of California Games on the Mega Drive to determine who was going to the shop/making a brew/ringing for a takeaway/answering the door etc was as complex as it got.
The two I know who still partake of the jazz woodbines are both well rounded, intelligent people. They didn’t vote Brexit, think Trump is a dick and Covid is definitely real.
I’m going to suggest that “stoner” and “recreational weed smoker” are not necessarily the same.
The former is going to be into some counter culture and bizzare world view by definition
Wha? They could just listen to Stoner rock and do quite a bit of skateboarding. What do you think a stoner is?
I’m going to suggest that “stoner” and “recreational weed smoker” are not necessarily the same.
This^^^^ is also true, and most of the 'stoners' I know are probably better described as recreational weed smokers
The former is going to be into some counter culture and bizzare world view by definition
Very did definition.
I've been a marijuana connoisseur for over 20 years and unfortunately with the strength of today's weed (skunk) this issue seems to be the case amongst the majority of my friends who smoke the stuff. I myself only use it in a vaporizer or in cookies and only use mild strains, not the dangerous skunk that everyone is smoking.
That’s a good point. Might be related to the crazy skunk strains nowadays. I’ve not smoked for over twenty years now so out of touch with it all.
Road ride or MTB ride OP?
I suspect not a road group! But to follow the idea of correlation, what I really want to know is what bike brands these dudes are drawn to. I mean, Sick never delivered that many actual bikes did they? I just can't visualise someone saying all that stuff whilst sitting on a Trek. Dunno why.
The war on drugs is a real conspiracy, largely played out in America to oppress certain segments of society and suppress protest, and unfortunately exported to the rest of the world. If you start looking online into the history of it, it will send you down the deep black hole of conspiracy theories, because that is how the internet works.
Regarding the education thing the people who I know who are believers are generally otherwise highly educated; computer scientists, engineers, doctors etc. Really quite bizarre that they believe such nonsense.
The disturbing thing is, It's not so much young naive people you'd expect. It's people who should know better, who are spreading the bullshit around.
A bloke I know (runs his own public facing business) believed all this shit about the rona, heard it from a nurse apparently (yeah course you did mate). Funny thing was, after I debunked one after another of his conspiracy tropes, he looked deflated like all the fun had been drained out of his life.
Have seen the people he discusses this shit with. It's a thrill in their boring lives, there being some clandestine evil forces behind everything. Almost like the housewife fantasy in True Lies!
What sort of jobs do your bong-addled riding mates have? Because the one big thing that torpedoes all conspiracy theories is control – anyone who has worked in a large organisation, or done anything complicated involving many people, can see first hand how hard / impossible it is to control situations with even the smallest levels of complexity.
This x1000
BUT
You need to be absolutely clear conspiracy theories are beliefs. They don't need facts to support or sustain them. See continued belief in God by supposedly rational, intelligent people as another proof of this.
Our brains are not wired to deal in objective reality. They take shorts cuts and join things up where they shouldn't.
Wanted: Broader brush for sweeping along lots more generalisations, assumptions, prejudices and misconceptions 😂
Willing to exchange for alcohol of your choice 😉
As you were.
Cannabis-induced psychosis is real. Some people can manage regular weed smoking, some can't but do it anyway. Would be helped if it was legal and people could choose high CBD/low THC strains.
I suspect this. The only folk who spout conspiracy theories on my Facebook feed are those who have no education. As in skived off school as a teenager then left at 16.
There was a study which showed that the most powerful predictor of whether someone believed misinformation was their level of numeracy.
They are also the target of populists such as Trump and Farage and the number of people in that group is sadly a lot higher that would be ideal.
Social media is the main thing that has made all the bullshit readily available to everyone and before social media we probably didn't realise how widespread complete idiocy is.
I am terrible at maths, left school at 16, don’t have any real qualifications to speak of and was the very definition of a stoner in my teens and early 20’s. Guess what though? I don’t believe in any conspiracy bullshit because I’m capable of critical thinking. There are some stunning sweeping generalisations going on in this thread.
See I like a good conspiracy theory, but I view them more like fan fiction than an actual belief system. Fun ideas that might make a good trash novel/TV series/film...
I've Not touched weed for a good 20 odd years, barely ever drink either...
Perhaps it's the effects of weed, maybe it's a predisposition to outside the norm thinking, maybe it's a combination of the two. Either way the tinfoil hat crew are generally harmless.
Nope none of my stoner friends believe in conspiracy theories dude. However the utter conkers some of the drinkers talk about is beyond belief.
. Either way the tinfoil hat crew are generally harmless.
What do you think is the current global cost in terms of health care spending, preventable lifelong disability and dead children of the MMR hoax?
Its not called the 'Devils Lettuce' for nothing!
My wife's brother (who we don't see anymore as he is a vile creature) is a massive stoner and shock horror, is all about the conspiracy theories. As he doesn't work (cos the 'man' isnt worth working for/evil) he gets to sit in his rented room and watch youtube all day.
And if anyone has seen the 'social dilemma' documentary on Netflix, it would appear that youtube/google etc are very good at feeding more of the same to a person, so in this case conspiracy theories and associated materials.
He preaches on his Instagram account, but he wont actually give you a reference to his findings, its all 'out there', its not for him to show you, you need to find it. Which doesn't really add much substance to his ramblings.
But, as I say, after the last rant he gave to my wife, including such top hits as he wished ill to my 3 year old daughter, he isn't welcome in our house or life anymore. once his inheritance from his late father runs out, he will properly be up poo creek (and not for the first time in his life).
I don't know much about the 'drug' scene, as its not my jam and never will be, but I am yet to see anything positive that comes out of it.
Conspiracy theories appeal to the lazy.
You get to have an opinion that you think makes you look interesting and not one of the herd.
It's appealing because there's no hard work involved, there's no 7 years studying medicine involved in order to understand it, just simple language delivered in bite size chunks over YouTube.
If you want to properly understand a pandemic you need a life time in virology etc, screw that...there's a video that says it's aliens innit.
What really gets me as that the media are happy to perpetuate crackpots as they're driven by clicks and views and know it sells, rather than cutting them down to size.
It's the same with rolling out Herr Gammon Farage at every opportunity.
Yeah, well, you know, that's just, like, your opinion, man
I noticed this when I stayed with an old friend earlier this year. He lives with a mate and they spend most of their spare time smoking, playing playstation and watching youtube.
He is a smart guy and used to have very liberal and rounded views, but seems to have completely changed, and thinks we're the brainwashed ones because we get our information from government and big business controlled media. Climate change denying, Trump is good for minorities, Obamacare was putting chips in people, BLM is a conspiracy etc etc
Youtube becomes their source of truth, and a dengerous echo chamber as it keeps suggesting similar videos, and their friendship group have the same influences.
Coincidentally, Ratboy shared an Anti Vaxxer page on instagram not too long ago. It was removed fairly swiftly, presumably when Cannondale head office logged on the next day.
Haha, can deffo imagine him going "freeman on the land".
Yeah, well, you know, that’s just, like, your opinion, man
Wins thread 😀
There are some stunning sweeping generalisations going on in this thread.
+1
Those I know that like a smoke are mostly liberal, normal people, none of whom believe in conspiracies or such.
The one guy I know who went to the effort of travelling to Berlin for some corona demo doesn't smoke anything, drinks a shandy after work.
Some big brushes being used.
Mostly in jest.......
Is it the fact that your group of friends smoke dope that is the correlation with their covid conspiracy theories....or is it the correlation with people who believe in covid conspiracies and those that go for group rides when they are currently not allowed?......
Social media has the power to manipulate the thoughts and views of massive numbers of people who are all blind to the fact they’re being fed misinformation and in my opinion has done/will do far more damage to society in general than any drugs ever have
Totally this ^^^
I (anecdotal, i know) know personally lots of people who smoke a bit of weed, the majority of them hold down regular jobs and pay their taxes.
In stark contrast, it’s quite easy to spot, in conversation, someone who spends a lot of time on fb/****ter/whatever, because they usually talk bollocks.