The 1963 JFK assassination came back into the news this week. The National Archives released a new batch of declassified documents that made no one happy. The CIA killed JFK over his refusal to exterminate 12 billion birds and replace them with drones. (Wait, what? I need to make a tin foil hat.) And why I think people are stupid.
JFK Assassination Declassified Documents
The National Archives released 1,419 declassified documents about the JFK assassination The highlights from the new documents were:
- Lee Harvey Oswald met with a KGB agent in Mexico City months before the assassination.
- An anonymous caller told the U.S. embassy in Australia that the Soviets would finance the killing.
- The CIA’s investigation focused on Fidel Castro because a Nicaraguan man lied to have the U.S. overthrow the Cuban government.
While the details were new, the documents weren’t new. Researchers didn’t expect to find a “smoking gun” in this new release or the 14,000 documents yet to be release. The consensus then, and now, is that Oswald was the lone gunman who assassinated JFK.
Not the Comedian from “Watchmen.” Not the Cigarette Smoking Man from “The X-Files.” Not even the washed out 1970s JFK from “Red Dwarf.”
Birds Aren’t Real
Did the CIA assassinate JFK over his refusal to replace living birds with spy drones?
According to the conspiracy website, “Birds Aren’t Real,” yes. From 1959 to 1971, the CIA exterminated 12 billion birds to replace them with spy drones. The program was to stop birds from pooping on cars and put Americans under surveillance.
Three problems with birds aren’t being real as a conspiracy theory.
- Environmentalists would have noticed 12 billion birds dying off in a 12-year period.
- The CIA isn’t authorized to operate inside the U.S.
- Every American today owns a tracking device called the iPhone.
The newest JFK conspiracy theory isn’t an actual conspiracy theory. It’s viral marketing campaign that sells hats, hoodies, and t-shirts.
A parody website that started in 2017 has expanded to billboards and protests across the U.S. The website owner swears up and down that this is an actual conspiracy.
The mainstream media ran with the story after a news photographer tweeted a picture of a flyer. This conspiracy theory flown the coop straight to the bank.
People Are Stupid
Why are people willing to believe in random conspiracy theories?
In short, people are stupid. But don’t take my word for that. Read “Wizard’s First Rule” by Terry Goodkind. Here’s the longer quote from the book.
People are stupid; given proper motivation, almost anyone will believe almost anything. Because people are stupid, they will believe a lie because they want to believe it’s true, or because they are afraid it might be true. People’s heads are full of knowledge, facts, and beliefs, and most of it is false, yet they think it all true. People are stupid; they can only rarely tell the difference between a lie and the truth, and yet they are confident they can, and so are all the easier to fool.
“Wizard’s First Rule” by Terry Goodkind
It’s not surprising that a viral marketing campaign takes off as a conspiracy theory. If you’re able to accept that people are stupid, many things in life will click together.