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EDITORIAL: Conspiracy cockroachesJan 17, 2013 (Standard-Examiner - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The YouTube videos claiming that the Newtown massacre of school children was a fake hatched by the government to -- depending on one's delusions -- either promote more gun control or create a sinister oppressive government -- is just another example of how conspiracy cockroaches scuttle out of the dark corners of society after a major news event. Unreasonable fears, paranoia, malice, take your pick as to what motivates these cretins. It's most likely a mixture of all three dysfunctions. To riff on Jane Austen, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a national tragedy must be in want of wingnuts, malcontents and cranks." Consider the buffoons who think the moon landing was faked, or the truthers who believe our government committed the Sept. 11 attacks, or the birthers who can't accept that President Barack Obama is a U.S. citizen. These types of conspiracies, hatched on the Internet, where they languish forever, can be very hurtful to the victims. Consider the family of little Emilie Parker, 6, murdered at the Newtown massacre last month. Emilie's funeral was held in Ogden. The community grieved for her, her parents -- graduates of Ben Lomond High School, and her extended family. Yet, the conspiracy cockroaches float a video they claim shows little Emilie with President Obama. Of course it's not Emilie. It's her sister, Madeline, wearing Emilie's dress, handed down to her. The false claim is both ignorant and malicious, and its perpetrators are beneath contempt. It makes us angry that these conspiracy cockroaches spread lies and cause pain to real victims such as the Parker family. They are one price of living in a free society, although their opinions pale in comparison with the logic of a dog's bark or a cat's meow. ___ (c)2013 Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah) Visit the Standard-Examiner (Ogden, Utah) at www.standard.net Distributed by MCT Information Services |