{"id":40588,"date":"2019-05-13T11:46:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-13T15:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=40588"},"modified":"2019-05-13T11:46:00","modified_gmt":"2019-05-13T15:46:00","slug":"how-crazy-are-some-people-this-crazy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sidebarforplaintiffs.naomifein.net\/?p=40588","title":{"rendered":"How crazy are some people? This crazy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Here’s the thing: I’ve been working on my short book, How I Learned The Facts of Life,<\/em> and had just gotten to stomach-churning section two in which I spell out some of The Fakes of Life.<\/em><\/p>\n

I’d picked up a bunch of awful stories about fake news, conspiracy insanity, lies…you know — the stuff going on before and after the 2016 election. So here I was, feeling really sophisticated and thoroughly aware of all the wretched ventures in this category. Immune to shock.<\/p>\n

Oh yeah?<\/p>\n

I just saw this New York Times news article from a few days ago<\/a>, “How A James Comey Tweet Fueled a Conspiracy Theory That Upended A California Town,” and have collapsed into the only remark possible. Which is OMG.<\/p>\n

The single mitigating factor? Not a fact but my theory: all the crazy people who produce and buy into this nonsense are in the very small minority. Maybe, like five people. Unfortunately, as has always been true of crime and evil, it only takes a very small minority to inflict great distress upon us in the majority.<\/p>\n

Here are the first paragraphs:<\/p>\n

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A town in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada recently found itself at the center of a baseless conspiracy theory that predicted an attack on a school fund-raiser.<\/em><\/p>\n

All because of an innocuous tweet from James B. Comey, the former F.B.I. director.<\/em><\/p>\n

Scott Maddock, the principal of the Grass Valley Charter School in Grass Valley, Calif., was unaware of the conspiracy theory when he arrived at work on a normal-seeming Monday morning late last month. But when he checked his voice mail, he heard from a man identifying himself as \u201ca patriot,\u201d alerting Mr. Maddock to the \u201cthreat.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cHe was warning us that something was going to happen at our Blue Marble Jubilee school fund-raiser and that we should contact the authorities,\u201d Mr. Maddock said. \u201cHe kept saying that he is not behind it, but he has a credible source.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Mr. Maddock wasn\u2019t sure what to make of it. The message, left over the weekend, was nearly three minutes long, repetitive and inarticulate. But ignoring it wasn\u2019t an option.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n