Your fear of being told you’re paranoid

I like conspiracy theories. Not because I believe in them, but because they’re fun. I like mind games, and sometimes there is nothing better for a good laugh. But when talking to someone about any particular conspiracy theory you always run the risk of being told you’re paranoid. Talking about almost all-encompassing communication surveillance programmes such as Prism, Tempora or Boundless Informant would have been such a story. Of course, many of us knew that this is technically possible, and the commercial availability of dedicated hardware and software hinted that, well, if there is so much happening on the supply side of the market there surely must be something happening on the demand side. The devleopment of intelligence spending since 2001 and finally the first reports about the new NSA data center were a strong hint just where that market would be.

So how do we deal with talking about what used to sound very much like a conspiracy theory? Most of us want to avoid creating the impression that we believe in a conspiracy theory. After all, our sanity as perceived by our families and friends, by our employers and peers is vitally important for our personal and professional relationships. Most of our interactions with other people are based on the mutual assumption of sanity. Believing in conspiracy theories does have a slight touch of madness, and nobody wants to be seen as a lunatic, as a nutcase.

But now we are not talking about a conspiracy theory. How do we react? Most people now acknowledge the recent disclosures as a matter of fact – a shrug, and that’s it. At least on the surface, and this again reminded me of East Germany a quarter of a century ago, where most people avoided talking about the Stasi out of denial or self-protection. Some people now legitimatley take an I told you so stance, others admit that they had always considered this possible. Many reactions I hear are cynical. Not so many are considering the implications for our rights and freedom, for or democratic societies as such, any further. And our governments don’t seem to care.

My impression is that many people avoid the topic, perhaps because it appears to be too abstract, because they feel that they can’t do anything about it anyway and, last but not least, because they are still afraid of being considered paranoid. But the paranoia of being told you’re paranoid is a paranoia as well.