How Do You Deal with Family Members who Subscribe to Conspiracy Theories?

[Puget]

What about friends who hold conspiracy theories? Do you keep them as friends?

Another conspiracy theory is  the media is evil or incahoots with the government to hide the truth. 
It is either ridiculous or a very hasty generalization, at best. They are supposedly hiding the truth about Ukraine, for example.

Hmmm, sounds like Operation Mockingbird.

I do find it suspicious when they all seem to report the same exact thing in the same manner like recently when they all decided to change the pronunciation of Kiev.  Maybe they are not in cahoots with anyone but this could be due to groupthink and a follow the leader mentality, sort of like the Organization Man.

They didn't decide to change the pronunciation-- they are using the Ukrainian rather than the Russian name. Don't you think the name the people who live there should be use should be used, not the name used by those invading them?

[Anselm]

[quote author=Puget link=topic=2355.msg104344#msg104344

They didn't decide to change the pronunciation-- they are using the Ukrainian rather than the Russian name. Don't you think the name the people who live there should be use should be used, not the name used by those invading them?
[/quote]

OK, but why all of a sudden are they doing this now?  Russians don't call their own capital Moscow.  Kiev is also used by all English speaking people, not just the current invaders. 

The media also did the same thing with their pronunciation of Qatar and Kosova (formerly Kosovo).

[mamselle]

Out of respect.

M.

[kiana]

[quote author=Puget link=topic=2355.msg104344#msg104344

They didn't decide to change the pronunciation-- they are using the Ukrainian rather than the Russian name. Don't you think the name the people who live there should be use should be used, not the name used by those invading them?

OK, but why all of a sudden are they doing this now?  Russians don't call their own capital Moscow.  Kiev is also used by all English speaking people, not just the current invaders. 

The media also did the same thing with their pronunciation of Qatar and Kosova (formerly Kosovo).
[/quote]

Probably because now is when the international media realized/acknowledged that the people who live there really do care.

I guess my question would be "Why NOT update, when the people who live there ask you to?"

If a lot of Czechs started asking us to please use Praha instead, I'd do my best b/c that's what they asked and they live there.

[jimbogumbo]

Growing up I heard Ki-ev (two syllables) . Ukrainian inlaws used that pronunciation. Now I'm hearing (could be my issue, heheh) Keev. I'm fine with mamselle's respect explanation as we in the US hear things more from people from other nations.

[dismalist]

Growing up I heard Ki-ev (two syllables) . Ukrainian inlaws used that pronunciation. Now I'm hearing (could be my issue, heheh) Keev. I'm fine with mamselle's respect explanation as we in the US hear things more from people from other nations.

Lovely, and I was suspicious of uttering keev from the beginning. That's just English media journalists' complete lack of knowledge of the existence of any other languages. When even their English is wanting.

The Ukrainian pronunciation still has two syllables, but the second syllable is said a bit subtly.

Stop, look, and listen:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cE1f6GUvG5Y

[mamselle]

Many Ukranians (like my students' family members) learned Russian and, lingua franca as it was at the time, might have used the Russian pronunciation to make it more 'understandable' to those who didn't know better.

Some moved in and out of Ukrainian and Russian at times; some only spoke Russian out-of-the-house, and Ukranian at home.

But given recent events, it's simply a way to re-enforce their identity.

I and a friend were in Praha in the summer of 1990, just after the Berlin Wall's descent and the opening up of various places and scenarios.

The languages spoken in the train station were German, Russian, and Czech. And not everyone used all three.

To buy a train ticket, I had to use my very rudimentary German with someone in line, who spoke to the sales agent in Russian, who printed the ticket and gave me my change, everyone translating back and forth.

When we got to the city center, we saw the tank monument with flowers and candles.

I doubt they use Russian voluntarily, or as much, anymore.

M.

[Myword]

And this thread is off track, besides the point. Back to my original question...

[paultuttle]

What about friends who hold conspiracy theories? Do you keep them as friends?

Another conspiracy theory is the media is evil or in cahoots with the government to hide the truth. 
It is either ridiculous or a very hasty generalization, at best. They are supposedly hiding the truth about Ukraine, for example.

In response to the boldface question above, I typically let them drift out of my life. I don't have to believe in their existence, you see.

Seriously, all snark aside, they exist as people but not as a part of my life, so I go on without them.

It's different with family members (the original topic of the thread) because (at least in my opinion) it's difficult to fail to acknowledge that everyone related to me exists, even if I don't talk with them and don't intend to.

Facts are stubborn things, as (some say) John Adams once said.

[downer]

Shouldn't the topic be about dealing with family members and friends who subscribe to false conspiracy theories then?

[mamselle]

Fine.

Much like paultuttle, I don't discuss those issues with people wedded to them--whether friends or family.

I don't need to prove my position, I might deflect any nonsense away with a lateral observation that, say, includes a "hmmm..." and an "I'd have to look into that," and a sudden change of topic, if I'm feeling particularly nimble that day.

Or I might excuse myself from the conversation and leave them to it.

Sort of like "ignore" on the boards here, you know?

M.

[marshwiggle]

Shouldn't the topic be about dealing with family members and friends who subscribe to false conspiracy theories then?

AKA different conspiracy theories than you subscribe to.

[Anselm]

I am confused as to why there is a need to cut off people who disagree with you over something that is usually of no consequence.   False beliefs about healthcare can get someone killed but I fail to see the big deal if someone thinks it was the Cubans who killed JFK and not Oswald. 

[Sun_Worshiper]

What about friends who hold conspiracy theories? Do you keep them as friends?

Yes, but depending on the level and dynamics of friendship and the severity of the conspiracy addiction I might try to address the issue:

I have a superficial friend that believes all kinds of conspiracies and honestly I don't care because he's fun to ride bikes or get a beer with once in a while. I wouldn't end the friendship over it, and in fact it is kind of fun/funny, but the friendship isn't that important to me anyway (and I think the feeling is mutual). I'm pretty sure he thinks he's way smarter than me anyway and wouldn't care what I have to say about all this.

On the other hand, one of my best friends from childhood, someone I really care about (and who I know cares about me), was putting posts on facebook about pizzagate day after day, one after another. I became worried that he was losing touch with reality and it hurt me to see him making a fool of himself day after day. At some point, I made a comment on one of his posts saying something along the lines of "people should really stop subscribing to so many silly conspiracy theories." Even though the comment was soft, I know it probably hurt his feelings. Maybe I shouldn't have handled it via private message, but a soft public pushback seemed like the best approach at the time. We're still good friends, fortunately, but my approach might have irritated some of my other friends, so I see now that there was risk.

These things are tricky, but friendship is important and I don't want to push people I care about away just because they believe some stupid things, especially when those beliefs can change. Who among us hasn't believed something dumb before?

[Hegemony]

i was having a conversation with an old friend and she said something like, "Yeah, but we know the Illuminati are really behind it." I laughed appreciatively, conspiracy theories ha ha ha — until it became clear that she was serious. I'm not going to drop her friendship exactly, but our worldviews and ideas of what constitutes solid evidence are now so different that I keep the conversation superficial.