[ExI] Fascist America in 10 Easy Steps

[Jordan Hazen]

On Fri, Oct 05, 2007 at 06:05:29PM -0700, James Clement wrote:
> The reaction which individuals have to statements like "911 was almost
> certainly an inside job," primarily reflects their personal worldview more
> than it reflects their rationality.  One's worldview will be different if
> their beliefs include examples of secret government wars, cover-ups, ops,
> etc.  Such a person might rationally view such a statement with less
> skepticism than someone who's worldview discounted such beliefs.  
> 
> For example, if you grew up in an environment where the Police are looked
> upon with fear and suspicion, and your only personal experience with them
> includes being intimidated, roughed up, and degraded by them, then your
> worldview will result in less skepticism about statements like "the police
> framed O.J. Simpson" than someone from an opposite background.
> 
> So, when someone makes a statement like "911 was almost certainly an inside
> job," we can probably speculate on their worldview with some accuracy.  This
> however, tells us nothing about the veracity of the statement.  Rather than
> condemning someone for making such a statement, IMHO we should either try to
> understand their worldview or ask them for the facts upon which they base
> their opinions.  Either answer will help broaden our understanding,
> regardless of the ultimate veracity of the statement.

Good points.  Conversely, coming to accept, or even seriously consider
such a hypothesis, however reluctantly, can be enough to cause a shift
in one's worldview.

There are certainly a lot of ridiculous theories surrounding 9/11, but
amidst the inanity, some more reasoned arguments do exist.


Here's an interesting paper focusing on the three WTC building
collapses, from a physics perspective:

 http://journalof911studies.com/volume/200609/WhyIndeedDidtheWorldTradeCenterBuildingsCompletelyCollapse.pdf

It was written by Dr. Steven E. Jones, formerly of Brigham Young
University, and hosted on the BYU website when I first came across it.
Since then, political controversity surrounding this subject has
forced the author into early retirement.

 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_E._Jones

Jones is a devout Mormon, but try to look past that and judge his work
on its merits.  I'd be interested to hear any reactions to the above
paper.



> James Clement
> 
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-- 
Jordan.