World History
Actor Charlie Sheen, who also apparently fancies himself a noted engineer and historian, is making waves with his repetition of some of the conspiracy theories around the historical events of September 11th, 2001 in New York City.
He said, "Call me insane but did it sort of look like those buildings came down in a controlled demolition?"
Yeah, maybe Charlie Sheen is insane. It looks to me like the planes full of jet fuel which are shown on camera hitting the towers brought those buildings down. I also bet it was that hijacked plane full of fuel that caused the damage at the Pentagon too rather than a controlled demolition. It looks as though Charlie and others are not denying that planes hit these locations but they are also claiming that (depending on the conspiracy theory) that Israeli agents or the US government helped the terrorists commit the attacks.
While in many ways this lack of critical thinking skills is somewhat humorous, it is also sadly the beginning of what will almost certainly become a historical revisionist view of 9/11. As time goes by, decade by decade, I expect more and more books and web sites "proving" that 9/11 was a plot by the CIA, Mossad, or (insert your theory here).
I find a striking similarity between 9/11 revisionist and Holocaust deniers. Many of the claims of Holocaust revisionism is that the Holocaust was a fabricated event created by the West to justify the creation of Israel. The 9/11 revisionists are claiming that the event was contrived by Israel or other western power to create a backlash against Arabs which also benefits Israel. I find it ironic that educated individuals who may even realize the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is fake and is not proof of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy also at the same time believe that many of the major historical events of the last 70 years are proof of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy.
I realize that the lack of proof for a conspiracy is by itself proof that a conspiracy may exist. Or at least that is how many view conspiracies. However, a small number of men could not keep Watergate hushed up. Do you really think a much larger number of people required to pull of government conspiracy of this magnitude would stay quiet very long? Not one person has talked in 5 years? Of course, some still think the government has a UFO in Roswell, New Mexico too that thousands of people have apparently have stayed quiet about. So I guess this is not a stretch for many.
Wikipedia has an article on Historical Revisionism (Negationism). In it, there is a list of techniques used by revisionists. Many of them listed are being used by the 9/11 revisionist crowd including conspiracy theories, selective use of facts, burden of proof, and wishful thinking (apparent on the so called Arab Street).
Academics need to prepare themselves. This will not go away and it is just a matter of time before we have a significant number of students in class who are going to believe the stuff that Charlie Sheen and others are claiming as facts. Be prepared to do some serious debunking!
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World History
Conspiracy Theories, 9/11, and Historical Revisionism
Actor Charlie Sheen, who also apparently fancies himself a noted engineer and historian, is making waves with his repetition of some of the conspiracy theories around the historical events of September 11th, 2001 in New York City.He said, "Call me insane but did it sort of look like those buildings came down in a controlled demolition?"
Yeah, maybe Charlie Sheen is insane. It looks to me like the planes full of jet fuel which are shown on camera hitting the towers brought those buildings down. I also bet it was that hijacked plane full of fuel that caused the damage at the Pentagon too rather than a controlled demolition. It looks as though Charlie and others are not denying that planes hit these locations but they are also claiming that (depending on the conspiracy theory) that Israeli agents or the US government helped the terrorists commit the attacks.
While in many ways this lack of critical thinking skills is somewhat humorous, it is also sadly the beginning of what will almost certainly become a historical revisionist view of 9/11. As time goes by, decade by decade, I expect more and more books and web sites "proving" that 9/11 was a plot by the CIA, Mossad, or (insert your theory here).
I find a striking similarity between 9/11 revisionist and Holocaust deniers. Many of the claims of Holocaust revisionism is that the Holocaust was a fabricated event created by the West to justify the creation of Israel. The 9/11 revisionists are claiming that the event was contrived by Israel or other western power to create a backlash against Arabs which also benefits Israel. I find it ironic that educated individuals who may even realize the Protocols of the Elders of Zion is fake and is not proof of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy also at the same time believe that many of the major historical events of the last 70 years are proof of a worldwide Jewish conspiracy.
I realize that the lack of proof for a conspiracy is by itself proof that a conspiracy may exist. Or at least that is how many view conspiracies. However, a small number of men could not keep Watergate hushed up. Do you really think a much larger number of people required to pull of government conspiracy of this magnitude would stay quiet very long? Not one person has talked in 5 years? Of course, some still think the government has a UFO in Roswell, New Mexico too that thousands of people have apparently have stayed quiet about. So I guess this is not a stretch for many.
Wikipedia has an article on Historical Revisionism (Negationism). In it, there is a list of techniques used by revisionists. Many of them listed are being used by the 9/11 revisionist crowd including conspiracy theories, selective use of facts, burden of proof, and wishful thinking (apparent on the so called Arab Street).
Academics need to prepare themselves. This will not go away and it is just a matter of time before we have a significant number of students in class who are going to believe the stuff that Charlie Sheen and others are claiming as facts. Be prepared to do some serious debunking!
- 7 Craziest Conspiracy Theories
If you want a good laugh, check out 7 Craziest Conspiracy Theories at oddee.com. However, when you realize that people actually believe a few of these, it is not nearly as amusing. People will believe anything. Many of these are very much related to history....
- Constellation Building And Teaching History
I have been asked by students several times why they should study history. They think learning a few facts is fine but they do not expect to learn anything that is will open up a floodgate of knowledge building. The assumption on their part is that most...
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