On Wednesday, November 4, 2015 at 2:31:09 PM UTC-6, BT George wrote:
> 1) Do you think there is anybody out there among the lurkers anymore that
> we are helping out of the morass of confusion?
Nobody who takes the time to frequent a discussion group like this, and 
believes there was a conspiracy, is ever going to be convinced. At least, 
they are never going to admit it. It is no longer just a "belief" on their 
part. It has become WHO they are as a person. It defines them. The debate 
is mostly a conduit to express their cynical, paranoid, arrogant and 
militant worldview.
THEY can see all the corruption that has permeated every aspect of our 
government and its agencies. WE (the LNs) seem to be blinded by this. THEY 
can see the harm to society if this case is not solved and the real 
culprits are not brought to justice. On the other hand, WE are oblivious 
to how important this is. THEY can see how all the pieces fit together and 
point toward a conspiracy. WE seem to lack the perceptiveness and 
intellectual capacity to see what is so obvious to them. THEY have 
connected the dots. WE are incapable of making those connections.
From the book _Among the Truthers", which gets heavily into the psychology 
of the conspiracy mentality: "For all their pretensions to sophisticated 
truth-seeking, conspiracists often seem stuck in the suburban basement 
universe of secret decoder rings and Star Wars action figures."
> 2) Does anything about this case still fascinate you?  If so, what?
Not really. I have long since been convinced of what EXACTLY happened in 
Dealey Plaza on November 22nd, 1963. There was a time when it was a 
fascinating mystery to me. I started this journey (back in college in the 
late 70's) with the presumption that there MUST be some kind of 
conspiracy. Like most Americans, I was a victim of the pervasive, 
pop-culture view that the Kennedy assassination was a metaphor for 
"conspiracy". A modicum of responsible research, mostly from 
investigations conducted by people who were far smarter than myself, 
rapidly convinced me of the absurdity of all these various conspiracy 
theories. The sheer fact that there were so many of them, with mutually 
exclusive elements to each, was enough to give me pause and realize, "Most 
of them MUST be wrong - by definition!" Closer inspection revealed that 
they were ALL wrong.
So, why do I even bother discussing this case? (A fair question) Well, for 
me, I have to admit, it's like going to the circus to see the bearded 
lady. I'm no longer fascinated by the details of the case. Like I said, I 
KNOW what happened. I'm now much more fascinated by the phenomenon of 
people who are intelligent enough, at least, to construct a sentence with 
a subject and verb; yet, the most deliciously stupid things come flying 
off their fingertips when they post their comments. It's fascinating just 
as the movie "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" was fascinating.
To answer the question: What fascinates me about this case? It's not the 
ballistics, fingerprints, photographs, testimony or medical evidence. It's 
the people who look at this information and construct an improbably 
convoluted fantasy world to which they are highly committed. It comes very 
close to insanity! It's a train wreck and it's fascinating to watch.
My research is over in this case. It's as if I used to work for the NTSB 
but have retired. Yet, whenever there is an airline accident, I'm still 
have a level of interest in it because of my background. It's something I 
know a lot about. There was a time in my life when I spent a great deal of 
time on this topic. Now, I just sit back and shake my head in amazement at 
those who may have spent even LONGER "researching" this case, having 
access to the same information that I did, yet draw the most preposterous 
(almost humorous) conclusions.
> 3) Regardless of your answer to 2), do you---like me---often find yourself 
> getting bored by it and wonder why you still engage the hardcore CT-types 
> at all?
Absolutely! This is why I am not a frequent poster on this site. Visiting 
here every day, reading all the posts and making snarky comments to each 
one is not a form of enjoyment for me.
It's not frustrating for me, however. I have long since determined that 
hardcore conspiracy believers, the likes of which frequent this site, are 
NEVER going to be converted. I'm not even trying - really. I do not 
flatter myself in that way.
The only ones who can be convinced are, what I call, the "casual 
conspiracy believers". These are the people who you come across in your 
daily life, maybe at a neighborhood party, maybe during your lunch break 
at work, and the Kennedy assassination might come up for some reason. 
Invariably, they'll say something like, "I just don't think Oswald acted 
alone. I think he must have had some kind of help." By far, this comment 
is the #1 thing I hear. This is why polls consistently indicate that a 
majority of Americans believe there was a conspiracy. They really don't 
know much about the case. They've probably seen a documentary or two on 
TV. They have all seen the movie JFK. But, mostly, they are aware that 
there has been talk about a conspiracy that has persisted for decades. So, 
there "opinion" is not an altogether surprising reflection of pop culture 
thinking. Those type of people can be convinced. They are usually not 
emotionally invested in the case. They are still capable of saying, "Hmm. 
I didn't know that! Every bullet and fragment in this case was linked to 
the rifle Oswald purchased? I had never heard that before. And, a team of 
three pathologists spent four hours conducting an autopsy and concluded 
that Kennedy was hit ONLY from behind? If that's the case, I don't see how 
Kennedy could have been hit from the grassy knoll. Why do people even 
claim that, then?" These type of people can be convinced. But you won't 
see the likes of them ever visit a site like this.
Again, from the book _Among the Truthers_: "The experience also has 
convinced me that any effort to engage committed conspiracy theorists in 
reasoned debate is a waste of time. Once someone has bitten down on the 
red pill, it's too late. As with any incurable disease, the best course 
isn't treatment, it's prevention."
Bugliosi was correct when he characterized the topic as "toxic". It's not 
a productive pursuit any longer - at least, not in a THIS venue.
David Emerling
Memphis, TN