| Subject: Conspiracy theorists versus Conspiratologists: a difference |
| From: Norio Hayakawa |
| Date: 23/10/2009, 19:14 |
| Newsgroups: alt.paranet.ufo |
The difference between a conspiracy theorist and a conspiratologist
by Norio Hayakawa
October 23, 2009
In the dictionary the word “conspiratology” has not been officially
recognized.
It is a word that was claimed to have been coined by several
individuals over the last couple of decades.
To the best of my knowledge, one of the first persons to have coined
that word was Gary Schultz of Santa Monica, California, who was a
former colleague of mine in the early 1990s when I was leading an
informal group called the Civilian Intelligence Network.
Here is my definition of “conspiratology”:
Conspiratology is a comprehensive study on the origins, the role and
effects of beliefs in conspiracy theories on society.
It is a general study on why beliefs in conspiracy theories or
conspiratorial worldview are deeply ingrained in the psyche of a
segment of human society.
(The Newsweek Magazine made a comment a few years ago that beliefs in
conspiracy theories have become as American as apple pie.)
There are many conspiracy theorists but conspiratologists seem to be
few in number.
It is important to bear in mind that a conspiratologist himself may or
may not necessarily subscribe to any conspiracy theory. However, if
he does, he is expected to give an impression to the public that he
does not subscribe to conspiracy theories.
He simply is expected to study and evaluate the impact of beliefs in
conspiracy theories on society and how people’s beliefs in such
theories could be manipulated or benefited by an individual or
individuals (who may or may not represent an organized group, such as
certain governmental intelligence agencies or the military), partly in
order to bring about certain agenda, to conceal certain agenda, or to
detract attention away from certain agenda, such as muddying the
waters of certain agenda.
Creation and manipulation of certain “cover stories” play a vital role
in such operations.
Many large defense contractors seem to have some specialists who
create “cover stories” as a means to mislead curiosity seekers among
the civilian public especially during the times of certain Black
Project programs testing phases. For example, a creation and
manipulation of such “cover stories” may have taken place during the
mid 1980s to the early 1990s when several sensitive projects such as
the stealth technology, hypersonic spy planes as well as remotely-
controlled platforms such as UAVs and UCAVs programs were conducted at
locations such as at Area 51. Bringing about the “laughter curtain”
to the public (for example., creation of “flying saucers” stories or
“alien” technology stories) to the goings-on at the Groom complex in
Nevada seems to have been a brilliant strategy conceived by both the
defense contractors and the Department of the Air Force.
Going back to the idea of the manipulation of beliefs in conspiracy
theories, it is said that on occasion, an individual or individuals
(who may or may not represent an organized group such as certain
governmental intelligence agencies or the military), may even assume
and play the role of a “conspiracy theorist”, posing himself as one
(i.e., implanting himself as a “mole” in a segment of society, such as
among UFO organizations like MUFON, etc.) in order to gather
information on what the public or a segment of the public knows about
certain specific agenda.
Immediately after the end of World War II, when a large number of
former German scientists, engineers and SS intelligence officers were
brought to the U.S. to places such as Kirtland Army Air Base in
Albuquerque, New Mexico (present-day Kirtland AFB) in 1945 (through
the U.S. program called Operation Paperclip), the U.S. did benefit
from acquisition of SS officers’ know-hows in intelligence operations
and techniques.
The German officers were skilled in the use of certain intelligence
operations and strategies, such as the use and manipulation of
misinformation along with creation of disinformation, as well as
intentional “staging” of certain events to deflect the enemy’s
espionage attempts to scrutinize sensitive projects being conducted.
By the way, many German scientists were transferred to places in New
Mexico such as Los Alamos Laboratories. Others, especially those
whose specialties were in rocketry and various types of experimental
aircraft were transferred to places such as White Sands missile ranges
and adjacent desert areas where many tests of various types were
conducted in 1946, 1947 and 1948.
(Even in recent years, the presence of German pilots in air bases such
as Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico has been quite noticeable.
Holloman Air Force Base seems to have had a special relationship with
the German Air Force for many years.)
It is quite possible that “cover stories” along with disinformation
tactics (and even "staged" incidents) were used by the U.S. military
in order to conceal certain sensitive testings at locations such as
White Sands and other nearby desert areas in New Mexico in 1946, 1947
and 1948.
When the CIA was established as a successor organization to OSS in
1947, the role of former German SS officers was quite significant.
The same can be said of NSA, which was also established in 1947.
The intentional creation of paranoia (as well as creation of
conspiracy theories, to a great extent) was a minor but important
element in the vast areas of intelligence operations that the CIA and
other U.S. agencies have acquired all these years from the former SS
agents.
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