Why do supporters of whacked-out "conspiracy" theories insist upon propigating such garbage long after they are discredited or debunked by the facts?

During the Civil War, Southern editors concocted wild theories that Lincoln was partly African-American. Similar groups in the North pushed the notion that Lincoln's wife was a Confederate spy ... Today, "Birthers", "Truthers", and now "Deathers" (those pushing the view that UBL isn't really dead) frolic on extremist websites (both "Conservative" and "liberal"). These crazies promote their "say it ain't so" messages, regardless of overwhelming evidence to the contrary (i.e. Obama's long-form Hawaiian birth-certificate) ... Conspiracy theorizing has become a cottage-industry for lonely, demented, or just plain dumb citizens with little else to occupy their online time. Is it time to say "enough is enough"? Is it time to say "put up" empirical evidence to prove outlandish allegations about others, or "shut up"?

You must first login before you can comment.