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Godhumor

(6,437 posts)
Fri May 16, 2014, 08:24 AM May 2014

The cat "truthers" (Catruthers?) are further proof why we can't have nice things

Not going to link to any specific examples to avoid call out rules, but, suffice to say, there is a small contingent out there who believe that the dog attack on the little boy (followed by the cat chasing the dog off) was all staged. Never mind:

-The stitches the boy received
-The fact that the footage comes from a multi-camera security system
-That the dog is being held by the authorities and will be put down due to the attack

There is a further subset that instead blames the victim for provoking the dog in some way.

So what is the point? We are so used to reality being either manipulated or selectively reported that it can be hard to take anything at face value.

My curiosity is why do we see this kind of wild speculation on masters like the dog attack, financiers being "offed", vaccines and autism, etc?

My own theory is that it is extremely easy to find a website that supports any theory or conjecture that a person has and add the perception of validity to that way of thinking. As a result, it is a small step to where everything can be questioned.

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TreasonousBastard

(43,049 posts)
1. There will always be a certain percentage of...
Fri May 16, 2014, 08:29 AM
May 2014

the population being assholes.

There will also be a certain amount of conspiracy being foisted upon us.

It would be nice if it wasn't so difficult to tell the difference.

Silent3

(15,235 posts)
2. I'm all for "everything can be questioned", it's the routine treatment of wild conspiratorial...
Fri May 16, 2014, 08:29 AM
May 2014

...conjectures as serious candidates for the answers to those questions that's the problem.

reformist2

(9,841 posts)
3. I think some people have a psychological need to be contrarian, no matter what.
Fri May 16, 2014, 08:30 AM
May 2014

It's as if they're so afraid of being with the herd, lest they be branded "an unthinking sheep," that they
allow themselves to entertain all sorts of wild theories, no matter how ridiculous. This gives them a sense
of superiority.

Then there are probably others who could be branded as truly paranoid - in this case, they see this
video and think it's part of a huge government plot to take away everyone's dogs. These people are beyond hope.

Enrique

(27,461 posts)
8. I'm all for skepticism for stuff on the Internet
Fri May 16, 2014, 09:12 AM
May 2014

for me, the involvement of a news organization makes the difference. For all their problems, it's pretty rare that even a local TV news station falls for a total hoax.

FSogol

(45,491 posts)
9. How about the balloon boy saga? At any rate, I'd go easy on the cat truthers in this case.
Fri May 16, 2014, 09:19 AM
May 2014

The tape is edited. Why would someone filming it show the dog in a different yard? I can see where someone would have doubts

Of course, there is the explanation on multiple angles from a security camera, but I don't think that was mentioned in the article blurb, it was only apparent if you read the full article.

We live in a skeptical age, so I'd cut the cat truthers some slack unless they are still crying "fake."

 

randome

(34,845 posts)
10. The first thing I thought of was that the film was spliced together too 'conveniently'.
Fri May 16, 2014, 09:28 AM
May 2014

But then seeing the timestamps on both views, I figured I was over-thinking it.
[hr][font color="blue"][center]Stop looking for heroes. BE one.[/center][/font][hr]

haele

(12,660 posts)
15. If it were staged, the dog would have been a different breed.
Fri May 16, 2014, 12:39 PM
May 2014

Something that looked like an evil fighting breed, not the friendly neighborhood mutt.
That would have been the most effective emotional trigger for an internet meme - the big nasty gang-banger dog, the innocent kid, and the kick-ass hero cat.

Just saying.

Haele

Archae

(46,337 posts)
16. Could be due to so much BEING staged.
Fri May 16, 2014, 12:46 PM
May 2014

Like when Faux "news" shows old footage of an Occupy march, and claims it's a march by some far-right group.

Or when advertisers and jokers create hoax videos.

At Cracked.com they have a running series, about the "news stories" that turn out to be bullshit.

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