Talkin' Orlando Conspiracy Theories on Public Radio

KCRW interviews Jesse Walker.

KCRW

I'll be discussing Orlando Pulse Massacre conspiracy theories today on Press Play, a show on the Santa Monica public radio station KCRW. The program starts at 12 Pacific Time, 3 Eastern; around 10 minutes after that, I'll start chiming in. To listen live, go here. For more from me on Orlando conspiracy chatter, go here. For more from me on conspiracies in general, go here.

Update: A podcast of the program is posted here.

Comments

[AlmightyJB]

- grassy knoll

[John]

There are people on twitter who think it didn't happen and the whole thing was faked.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Assume that 99% of it is just trolling.

It's so easy to get attention that way.

[John]

Twitter is a cesspool of ignorance and crazy. Some of it is probably trolling but I wouldn't say all of it or even a majority of it. Twitter attracts a certain breed of crazy retard that no other platform seems to attract.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

You've obviously never read YouTube comments.

[Citizen X]

Or Yahoo Answers.

How is babby formed, John?

[SugarFree]

I haven't pooped in 2? months. Should I tell my mom or my doctor? If so, what will the doctor do?

[SugarFree]

My cat tested positive for feline aids virus recently & it's been a rough road ever since. How do you think my cat could have contracted it?
As far as I know, he's not a gay cat

[SugarFree]

Dream Interpretation

I had a dream I was urinating, then I woke up in my own urine. Wat does this mean?

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

It's clear you spend a lot of time posting troll questions to Yahoo Answers, my good man.

[Cynical Asshole]

Favorite answer:

He might have been sharing needles. Did you teach your cat to 'Just Say No'

[Cynical Asshole]

In response to the Feline AIDS question.

[KerryW]

The last answer was classic: No worries. This is normal for trolls.

[Hyperion]

Twitter is Derpbook for people who don't like to type too much or post dog pictures.

[Raven Nation]

If you want some fun, google "orlando shooting false flag"

[Playa Manhattan.]

How much of that is people writing under pseudonyms?

[Zeb]

I have one friend (he has other redeeming qualities) who is absolutely fucking nuts on conspiracy theory stuff. So of course right away he was talking all kinds of insane shit about this attack.
Funny thing is, he is really not very political. He's fine with guns and really doesn't have much of any political ideology. But some people just love to imagine that everything is a secret conspiracy for some odd reason.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Has the FBI developed its own conspiracy theory on the Orlando shooting, because as of the last time I checked (last week) they didn't believe the motives stated publicly by Mateen himself.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

And now that I just read one post down on Hit 'n Run, it appears the Feds didn't want anyone to know the publicly stated motives of Mateen himself. And you wanna know my conspiracy theory? It had fuck all to do with "not furthering ISIS propaganda.

[Zeb]

Yeah, I have a good guess as to what they want to accomplish.

It's all pretty idiotic as his mentioning ISIS and doing it in the name of ISIS/Islam has been quite widely reported.

[kinnath]

So I spend a nice week out camping. No newspapers, no TVs, no Internet. Then I come home to this clusterfuck.

It seems to touch all the possible hot buttons except maybe one. Do we know which restroom the guy pissed in during the massacre?

[commodious spittoon]

You'd think taking time off from following the media would be good for your stress, but all it means is that you get a 2x4 to the skull as soon as you log back on.

[Citizen X]

I, for one, am waiting for Pirate Truther to weigh in.

[SugarFree]

WE HAVE MANY HOMOS ON OUR SHIPS! WE BE CALLIN' THEM 'CAPTAIN!'

[Citizen X]

YARR, TIS A FALSE JOLLY ROGER THEY BE HOISTIN' UP THE MIZZEN

[Scarecrow & WoodChipper Repair]

THEY BE PISSIN UP THE MIZZEN

[Crusty Juggler]

It was a false flag operation funded by the progressive left so that they could use the tragedy to take away our guns. You disagree? You know, we could watch the video to find out what really happened.

Oh, there is no video? How convenient.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Don't you mean false fag operation?

*ducks but going to hell anyway*

[Crusty Juggler]

I am going to write you a complaint letter.

[Cynical Asshole]

+1 "Tragedy + Time = Comedy."

... What do you mean "it's too soon?"

[mad.casual]

Don't you mean false fag operation?

It was a club of men in Florida. At least a few of them had to be holding beer and doing stupid shit.

[Krabappel]

It was latin night so cerveza y mierda est?pida

[C. Anacreon]

Only takes one hand to hold most beers.

[Fist of Etiquette]

I was wondering if I was the only one who thinks it might have definitely been a false flag operation to get gun control jump started but handled with the usual administration adroitness and aplomb. I mean, you have to pick a Christian gay. Wait, not even a gay, just a Christian.

Or, maybe, the DoJ thought this might finally be a way to get YouTube speech under control but things went awry before the stooge could be arrested? Possibly a rival velvet mafioso? Viral marketing campaign for Trump 2016? Wouldn't that be something?

[commodious spittoon]

What about the conspiracy in which every major media outlet and blogger simultaneously begins demanding all Americans disarm themselves so that Muslims will have to quit embarrassing the left?

[Crusty Juggler]

They are behind the shooting! Wake up!

[Mr Lizard]

I think they did a catch and release in the hopes that *something* would happen, and it would likely be gun related

[commodious spittoon]

I think their dragnet is a thousand miles wide and five feet deep, with holes wide enough to swim through blind. It's amazing they catch anything.

[mad.casual]

Less net, more giant bubble wand.

[Princess Trigger]

They do mount very complicated operations to convince retards to become bombers and even give them fake explosives.
Investigating shit is hard though.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

All the false flags I'm seeing look a lot like bloody shirts.

[Drake]

Who blocked the doors? I don't get how that kind of thing can go one for hours without almost everyone finding a way out of the building.

[Crusty Juggler]

A lot of people did get out.

[John]

I don't understand how one guy held that many people hostage. He can't look all for ways at once. As soon as he looks away, everyone runs for their life.

I don't buy the conspiracy theories but I would like to hear a truthful account of just what the hell happened and how he managed to hold hostages for three hours and apparently call 911 and a TV station while he was at it. How come someone didn't just tackle him? If the gun is pointed the other way, you can be on him before he can shoot you. And then if someone follows you and jumps in once he is down, he is toast.

I know doing that would take a lot of balls, but the guy is killing everyone in sight. What do you have to lose at that point? I can't believe someone didn't say fuck it and decide to take a chance and at least die on their feet.

[Crusty Juggler]

I would like to hear a truthful account of just what the hell happened

On this we agree. It was massive chaos and there were bullets flying everywhere, which makes it difficult to play Monday morning quaterback.

[Robert]

It's been very mysterious to me. The acc'ts I've seen of it led me to understand how he could've trapped a small group of people & picked them off when they were penned in by the patio fence, or possibly how he could've done that in some other room of the place, but 49 fatalities??!! Timing the shots w the music so people didn't realize someone was shooting? After he apparently shot his way in? It's not that big a place. Wish I had a floor plan, or a Google "look inside" panoramic photo.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

Fight or flight kicks in and almost all untrained and unarmed people are going to flee. Lack of situational awareness results in some of them being trapped in a dead end. They shelter in place and wait for rescue. It's what they are told to do. Occasionally you'll see backlash, UA93 for example.

I do agree that an angry mob would quickly put an end to the nonsense. Unfortunately, it takes time to get a mob together.

If only we had a group ready to respond armed at short notice. Something like a citizen militia.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

How come someone didn't just tackle him?

As a firearm guy, I'm a little queasy about running towards a guy with a semi-auto patrol rifle.

Don't make the mistake of armchair quarterbacking about people who were literally running for their lives in the chaos of a dark club with shots going off by nothing but the light of a disco ball.

[John]

I would be very queasy about doing it. But when confronted with the reality of either doing that or dying, I would likely find a way to do it.

[Crusty Juggler]

I doubt many of them knew exactly what was happening. An off-duty cop, who I believe was working security, quickly engaged the shooter, and then patrol cops arrived and they engaged the shooter. All of it taking place in a dark club after everyone has been drinking and dancing and is disoriented?

A veteran Marine who was bouncing was adroit enough to figure out what was going on, but I am guessing that would be a pretty rare reaction for anyone.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

Got a war cry? It's important.

[John]

Yes. And a war face as well.

Not everyone is going to die on their feet. Who knows, I might not, though I hope I wouldn't. But I do not believe everyone will.

[JeremyR]

It's easy to talk tough on the internet.

Much harder to be tough in a situation like this.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

A lot of people, instead of fleeing towards the exits, found themselves at a dead end. The folks who wound up in the latrine with the shooter having made the most unfortunate choice.

[GILMORE?]

I blame sheeple

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Who decided Mateen was targeting the LGBT community?

I haven't seen any evidence other that he attacked a well known gay club.

Supposedly he was also scoping out Disney properties but got scared off by their security.

His wife didn't think he was a self-loathing gay man. He is on gay hook-up sites, but no evidence he actually "hooked-up" with other site users.

I think he was just looking to kill Americans, without regard to sexuality, and Pulse was a target-rich environment.

[John]

He cased it with his wife. Maybe he didn't know it was a gay club even after casing it, but that seems unlikely.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Not sure if retarded.

Disney is way more target rich.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

But not for gay people.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Was it Latin night at Epcot?

Let's wait until we have all of the facts.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Every night is latin night at Epcot.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

Perhaps target rich is not the correct phrase.

Person per square foot.

Disney Springs or biggest gay dance club in Orlando?

My contention is that there was no gay animus, just a convenient venue at midnite thick with humans.

[R C Dean]

Ya know, I don't see Trump asking "WTF is going on in Obama's head that he can't admit the obvious" as a conspiracy theory. Sorry.

That may be the opening line of a conspiracy theory, sure, but it takes a lot more than that to get tagged with "Trump believes Obama is a secret Muslim secretly planning to secretly install secret Sharia!".

[WillMG]

That's what I was thinking. Seems more like the question myself and many others are asking.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Do you guys want to see the latest gun control meme floating around?
Here.

America: We're all just kids on a playground.

[Crusty Juggler]

I think every playground should be staffed full-time with a TRAINED police officer, so that our kids - and our future - can play in a SAFE environment.

[John]

That Salon.com parody account is a national treasure.

Salon uncovers six white male acquaintances who may have ideologically influenced Orlando shooter Omar Mateen

Thousands give condolences to victims of Islamophobic hashtags following deadliest shooting in US history

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

Sore it on Facebook, which after the Orlando shooting, is made more apparent than ever that FB is just a site to pass around ideas which are factually untrue. And doesn't even include things like the above, which isn't factually untrue, but just so completely stupid (and paternalistic) that it doesn't deserve a response.

[Playa Manhattan.]

Memes like these are a godsend.

You have to wonder if the NRA is producing these and then laughing hysterically when people actually share them.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

You have to wonder if the NRA is producing these and then laughing hysterically when people actually share them.

I highly doubt it because people are stupid enough to nod and agree with this while passing laws which restrict my constitutional right to own a patrol rifle for the purpose of keeping the Trump-run state at bay.

(did I squeeze enough in there?)

[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Don't know

[Playa Manhattan.]

Do you like me as more than just a friend?

[ ] Yes
[ ] No
[ ] Fuck Buddies

[Citizen X]

[ ] It's Complicated

[Fist of Etiquette]

There would be no more sticks. It's not like they grow on trees!

[Zeb]

Uh, well if someone does go around shooting people, we do take their boom stick away. Giving the other kids sticks is up to the individual kids. And sticks are plentiful and easy to find.
Even their stupid bullshit doesn't make the point they think it does.

[Entropy Drehmaschine Void]

"It's for the chiiiiiiiiiiildren".

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

I'm waiting to see how many victims were shot by the police.

[John]

We likely will never know that number but I bet it is some positive integer.

[Diane Reynolds (Paul.)]

As usual, the police targeted and killed the Muslim guy.

#WhitePrivilege

[R C Dean]

If they can't tell who was shot by cops at the Waco Biker Massacre, they sure can't tell here.

Amazing, how ballistics is a stone-cold science, except for cop bullets.

[Drake]

I thought the answer there was "everyone"?

[R C Dean]

The original story was that the bikers started it, but the preliminary autopsy showed all the dead were killed by .223s or shotguns, which none of the bikers had.

So, naturally, the veil of silence descended.

[This Machine Chips Fascists]

According to WaPo the FBI is determining who shot who. Might take a week or more.

[Uncle Jay]

RE: Talkin' Orlando Conspiracy Theories on Public Radio

I don't know about the rest of you people, but I just love it when our socialist slavers use my tax money for a radio station that I don't ever listen to our need.
Isn't Big Government wonderful?

[Zeb]

Nobody needs a radio station.

[R C Dean]

Well, isn't this special:

Little girl reportedly raped at knifepoint by three "Syrian" "refugees".

http://www.infowars.com/report.....-in-idaho/

Something damn sure happened, but the records are all sealed and nobody can say nuthin' because all parties involved were minors. Discount resulting rumors accordingly, but something damn sure happened.

[Hyperion]

I think the biggest spreader of misinformation and conspiracy theory concerning the ISLAMIC TERROR ATTACK is the Obama admin, no?

[dajjal]

It's a conspiracy by the private security industry. Which this guy worked for, and which gave him guns, and which wants the US to look just like Israel, where they make tons of money. Fighting 'Islamic radicals' who make it over the wall. And that's why we must keep droning ISIS in Syria and Libya. Do you understand now?

[Robert]

I want to know if the alligator was in on it. 49 is an odd #. Also, did the LP set it up?