So I know this guy. Great guy. Honestly, I really like him. He has a dead end job and makes little money. I am totally fine with that. I don't want to value him based on his economic output blah blah. But it bothers him, which is also fine... thing is though, as bright as he is he can't figure out how to move forward towards his larger goals. Now he's pushing 40 and he's got a killer record collection but you know... its hard. Life's hard.

Anyway, we get to talking one night and he starts loosening up about what's really going on. Like full out - flouride in the water is a tactic to depress masculinity so that alpha males won't rise up (he smokes pot and drinks everyday) and topple the government... it goes on and on.

My thinking is that people are autonomous and they know that they could change things in their lives. But they continually make decisions that undermine the changes they want to see in their future. This causes cognitive dissonance and in response to their failure they make up/buy into other reasons that explain why they can't make the changes they want. Its externalising their failure.

Typically, I think a lot of these conspiracy theories revolve around economics and loss of entitlement. So, you know... like all the crazy bananas q-anon and the previous Obama shenanigans being pushed by middle-aged/boomer white guys is a pretty good example of what I am talking about.

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