[BDParrish]

My friend said, "Why do you have to retreat into a conspiracy theory? Virginia has gone commie left especially here in ...etc., etc."

Calling anything a conspiracy theory is not an argument, though as a propaganda tactic it is very effective in stifling discussion. There is real data that has been presented and yelling "conspiracy" allows them to avoid the uncomfortable facts. Thanks for your help Dr F!

[Dr. Franklin]

My friend said, "Why do you have to retreat into a conspiracy theory? Virginia has gone commie left especially here in ...etc., etc." Calling anything a conspiracy theory is not an argument, though as a propaganda tactic it is very effective in stifling discussion. There is real data that has been presented and yelling "conspiracy" allows them to avoid the uncomfortable facts. Thanks for your help Dr F!

So ask your friend if he thinks that John Wilkes Booth acted alone in the assassination of Lincoln. If he really thinks conspiracies never happened then he must think the U.S. hanged four innocent people for that crime. Ask him if he denies that Hitler burned the Reichstag, or that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact started WWII. The "conspiracy theory" canard works as a propaganda ploy because many people don't want to believe how things really work, and how devious our elites really are. As Jack Nicholson famously said in a famous role, "You can't handle the truth!" That would be my retort to your friend.