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Millions of people turned out to watch the solar eclipse over North America yesterday. By all accounts, it was a spectacular show, well worth travelling to for a ringside seat.
But spare a thought for the millions of other Americans who were left disappointed. I'm not talking about those who couldn't travel to the eclipse track to witness it firsthand.
I'm talking about the millions of conspiracy theorists whose predictions of martial law, the establishment of a new world order, nationwide satanic and Masonic rituals and missile strikes on the moon during its passage in front of the sun did not come to pass.
Imagine the realisation once the sun passed behind the moon and came out the other side that the End of Days had not begun, that the national phone network was still functioning, that children had not been co-opted en masse for gender reassignment and lizards had not assumed control of the Pentagon.
Apocalypse averted, you'd be sobbing into your TikTok account. Either that or you'd move onto the next wild theory.
For weeks the same people who believed Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Joe Biden and the National Football League were part of a Democrat plot to hold onto power were sounding the alarm all over social media.
A week before the eclipse, there was Alex Jones of InfoWars infamy posting nonsense about Masonic rituals being planned to usher in a new world order. Before you snicker, be aware his post on X garnered a million views and was reposted more than 3000 times.
And the week before that, Jones posted a video of a bloke claiming counties on the eclipse trajectory had declared states of emergency ahead of the declaration of, you guessed it, a new world order. They hadn't. Instead, they'd issued disaster warnings to cope with a huge spike in road traffic and mobile phone usage as millions poured in to watch the eclipse. Yet the spurious claims were devoured by 3.8 million viewers.
Thankfully, the conspiracy theorists in Australia seem to have gone to ground after their high-tide moment during the pandemic, when they descended by convoy on Canberra and stayed long after the welcome mat had been withdrawn.
They occasionally still make nuisances - and fools - of themselves, harassing pharmacies administering vaccines in the national capital or disturbing the peace with small but noisy protests in places like Townsville.
But that doesn't mean we can take our eyes off the idiocy that infects so many gullible Americans because we know it can infect us on the other side of the world.
The arrest of Arizona conspiracy theorist Donald Day Jr over his involvement in the 2022 Wieambilla shootings which claimed the lives of two police officers and a bystander - as well as three members of the Train family - demonstrates this. Day stands accused of inciting violence against law enforcement officers via an online post.
There are plenty of theories about why some people are caught up in conspiracy theories. Past trauma, the need to belong, a sense of superiority over others and a reliance on intuitive rather than critical thinking styles have all been identified as likely reasons some people embrace and spread conspiracy theories.
Mark Twain is often credited with saying "a lie can travel halfway around the world while the truth is still putting on its shoes". Some say it was a line first penned by Jonathan Swift but its essential truth is rock-solid, no matter who coined it and who purloined it later.
Lies - and their poor cousins, the conspiracy theories - indeed travel at the speed of light, through the optical fibres that string the internet together.
Not even a celestial event observed since the beginning of human consciousness is immune from them.
HAVE YOUR SAY: What's the most outlandish conspiracy theory you've encountered? Have you ever tried to reason with a conspiracy theorist? Did it work? Email us: echidna@theechidna.com.au
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IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- Vice Admiral David Johnston has been named the new Chief of the Australian Defence Force. Vice Admiral Johnston, will take over in July from General Angus Campbell, who is the longest-serving head of the defence force.
- A ban on children entering the Alice Springs CBD will be extended beyond the school holidays amid concerns that violence could kick off once again. Northern Territory Chief Minister Eva Lawler announced a youth curfew on the town centre would remain in place until 6am on April 16.
- One veteran or serving member of the Australian Defence Force has suicide-related contact with police or paramedics every four hours. That's according to new research conducted for the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide by the Queensland Centre for Mental Health Research.
THEY SAID IT: "Incompetence is a better explanation than conspiracy in most human activity." - Peter Bergen
YOU SAID IT: When Tony Abbott says the Liberal Party needs more female MPs you know there's a problem.
Deborah from north-west Tasmania writes: "Honestly, I hope the Liberal Party or 'noalition' continues on the trajectory it is now on. The Libs' policies as they continue to alienate voters means that the other parties have a better chance at winning seats. That's a win for the country in my opinion."
It's a view shared by Heather: "Good. The longer the LNP stays in the wilderness the better. Besides, the LNP women are as bad as the men, with the exception of Bridget Archer."
And Erik's on the same page: "I think the Libs should continue pre-selecting on the basis of 'merit'. That's a much better prospect than Peter Dutton as PM."
So is Anita: "Our conservatives are pitching to a support base that sees the all-male parliament as the natural order. Unfortunately for them, there are few in support of this notion though admittedly, they do manage to attract a small number of uber conservative women to their cause. I'm quite happy for them to stick to this mantra as long as they want, as it keeps them out of government!"
Maggie also suspects there's a parallel universe: "Fifty years ago when Women's Lib noticed there was a glass ceiling, as well as numerous glass walls around us, we thought that if we identified the problems and pointed them out, the world would adjust accordingly. What naivety! The Abbotts of the world fixed that. If a parallel universe is one with no cross-over of awareness or comprehension, yes, we have it."
"I like the way you put it, having a man problem instead of a woman problem," writes Lee. "Last time I raised this with a number of Liberals I was yelled down, with most of the people talking about those men getting the role on their merits. When I talked about a lack of representation they were firm on the women missing out because they didn't earn the position. It was a losing argument and many of those opposed to my view were women themselves."
Jan writes: "The best available candidate should be preselected."
"The Liberal Party does indeed have a man problem," writes Philip. "That is because they don't have 'any' men who understand and work to resolve the problems women have. Unfortunately, female candidates largely do not have the capacity to fix their own problems."
Arthur writes: "People should be elected to Parliament on ability, not gender. Quotas are bad. The Liberal Party lacks the ability to sell its policies assuming it has developed any. More women might fix both problems depending on their skills. Women like Julie Bishop are needed."
Likewise Wal: "If a woman is elected to Parliament, (or even preselected), did she get there because of a quota system, or was she really the best person for the position? I believe in a job going to the best person - regardless of gender, race, or what have you. Selecting a woman just to fill a quota is no way to run a country, and she will never know whether she got there because of her ability."
Four decades in the media, working in print and television. Formerly editor of the South Coast Register and Milton Ulladulla Times. Based on the South Coast of NSW.
Four decades in the media, working in print and television. Formerly editor of the South Coast Register and Milton Ulladulla Times. Based on the South Coast of NSW.
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