How do I turn the 911 conspiracy theory into a social issue?

[IamME!!EMmaI]

I have to write a research paper for English, on the 911 conspiracy. How does it anger people? How is it a social issue?

[Jesse]

Its a social issue because we refuse to do what we should: ignore them.

It angers me because it cheapens all Americans to claim that some Americans are pro-killing of their own people.

But, I would do research for your research paper. How is this in an English class?

[goodluckwithhat]

That's going to be a tough one considering that most people in the US think the conspiracy theories of 9/11 are nuts. In fact, it's the conspiracy theories themselves that anger people. Therefore, you won't be able to get anything passed that. Perhaps you should try something else.

[Helen Killer]

It alienates the people. They dont have a government that represents them, instead they have an enemy. And the poeple who support the government, well meaning patriots, are also the enemy.

[Thela Hun Ginjeet]

Do some research first. Here ya go :

[gimpyshake]

Well, when the mental facility that you are living in has a "show & tell" day, you can talk about your "theory". Becareful though, it is never good to be called "crazy" by everyone else in the mental institution. You will only be further humiliated, which you probably deserve.

[Socrates]

It's a social issue because there are many stories that virtually everyone, at least in the U.S. accepts as true: Hitler was evil, capitalism is good, communism is bad...etc.

The story of 9/11 is that 4 planes were hijacked by Middle Eastern terrorists who flew them into the W.T.C. bringing down the twin towers, the Pentagon and a field

I, personally believe that the twin towers weren't and couldn't have been brought down by the planes but were instead brought down by controlled demolition,

My version of the story could never be widely accepted now any more than Hitler could become a national hero.

First, the majority of the U.S. population would have to admit that it had either been lied to, and fooled, by virtually everyone in the U.S. government and media or that everyone in government and media were fooled.

If they were fooled who were they fooled by?

If the terrorists didn't plan and execute 9/11 who did?

Who could we trust to conduct a new investigation?

Are we prepared, as a nation, to admit that the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq were not only a tragic waste of money and human life but amount to a completely unlawful unwarranted and ruthless attack on the Middle East?

Could we consider the possibility that our current, unsustainable, plutocratic, fascist, capitalist, corporate, global economy might be the real source of all the mayhem, and that turning the world over to it's richest, greediest, most ruthless and most violent people might not have been a good idea?

Most truths are too painful to accept. "Humankind cannot bear much realitly", T.S. Elliot.

[Dorothy]

I'm going to conclude that you didn't word your question very well, that you were given a more open-ended problem like, "Choose a social issue that concerns you deeply and comment on how it affects all Americans." That your problem is not that you believe there was a conspiracy around the attacks of 9/11 so much as that you think the people who believe there was a conspiracy around 9/11 are exhibiting symptoms of derangement that undoubtedly make them unfit to live outside of a mental hospital, yes?

So the theme of your paper should be on the toxicity of conspiracy theorists in society, and why conspiracy theories are so appealing to the weak-minded.

"Sociologists refer to conspiracy theories as a form of collective behavior, something that we engage in together that gains traction as it appeals to many people. Similar to urban legends, rumors, and panics, sociologists seek to understand how and why groups create meaning through claiming that conspiracies have taken place."(1)

Why do conspiracy theories abound? The most common theory holds that it is a response to power imbalance. Consider this: what we readily see is that powerful groups can do untold damage to the un-powerful, while the un-powerful are not capable of doing much. The conspiracy theory gives the little people a chance to attack their visibly-powerful leaders and claim that evil is being done by them. It gives them a chance to rationalize their pitiful lives, and to seize however briefly a little power from the people they believe are making them even more pitiful than they would be on their own, or than they would be if they had benevolent leaders who want to take care of them. If you can't be powerful, be loved and cared for. Also consider that they never ever attack the leaders of their own faction, no matter how convincing the story of the conspiracy theorists.

You could start from there, do a net search using terms such as "the sociology of conspiracy theories" or "power and conspiracy theories" and learn more about it.

Good luck with your paper.

Oh, by the way, if I'm wrong and your teacher or professor actually assigned you to research 9/11 and the conspiracy behind it, your teacher should be fired immediately. Talk to the head of the English department and complain about the lunatic who's running your class.