Nicholas Kristof Reports From His Family Farm In Oregon About The Deadly Corrosive Effect Of Conspiracism, Specifically As It Relates To False Antifa Arson Reports

 

A staging area for evacuees with R.V.’s and horse trailers at the Clackamas County Fairgrounds in Canby, Ore.Kristina Barker for The New York Times

By Nicholas Kristof Opinion Columnist

Greetings from the family farm in Oregon, where rains have fallen to help with the fires and smoke — but I’m not celebrating. Partly that’s because conspiracy theories have whipped about even faster than the fires, spreading a dangerous hysteria about the fires resulting from arson by antifa or Black Lives Matter protesters.

As a result, alarmed citizens here in Oregon set up armed roadblocks on public roads to stop traffic and look for arsonists and looters. Vigilantes pursued a couple of photographers on the theory that they were setting fires. And these conspiracy theories have been conjured even by the Republican candidate for attorney general.

So that’s my column topic for today. I worry that this ugliness is a symptom of a deeper unraveling in America — and a warning of what may lie ahead if there’s a close election. Brace yourself. But first, read the column. And here's the epicenter of the ideological conflagration: "QAnon Anon" https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2020/09/qanon-anon.html Daniel Webster Prompts A Review Of Conspiracism And Its Destructive Role In American Politics https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2020/07/daniel-webster-prompts-review-of.html Pedophile Trump And His Wife-Raping, Wife-Beating, Pedo-Friendly Swamp https://newsfrombarbaria.blogspot.com/2020/09/pedophile-donald-trump-and-his-wife.html