The recent symbol-triggered killing now seems to fall into the realm of trumpist-inspired violence. Suicide by cop seems to have been Travis Ikeguchi’s goal aside from those other dissociative signs like legally changing his name, and the divorce of his parents perhaps contributed. The tragedy is made only more generalizable when the killer claims to be a “realist”. The oxymoron of “conspiracy realist” only indicates how the wielder of the term tries to make the message frame “more real”. From conspiracy theorist to conspiracy realist is always a conjecture too far
Travis Kirby Ikeguchi, 27, yelled “many homophobic slurs” at Laura Ann Carleton before fatally shooting her outside of Mag.Pi fashion store in Glen Cedar, California, on Friday, San Bernardino County Sheriff Shannon Dicus said on Monday.
He fled the scene of the shooting and died after a shootout with deputies nearby, authorities said.
Ikeguchi’s social media accounts on X, formerly known as Twitter, and far-right site Gab are filled with bigoted anti-LGBTQ+ posts, and show an intense hatred for law enforcement, a San Bernardino County spokesperson said.
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Mr Ikeguchi Sr and the suspect’s mother Janet Ikeguchi divorced in 2018. Ms Ikeguchi cited “irreconcilable differences” as grounds for the divorce, according to court papers obtained by The Independent from Orange County, California.
In social media posts, Travis Ikeguchi claimed to be a Christian, posted anti-semitic statements, followed and boosted rightwing personalities Jordan Peterson and Matt Walsh, and expressed support for anti-vaxx presidential candidate Robert F Kennedy Jr.
Travis Ikeguchi had a burning Pride flag pinned to the top of his account on X, and retweeted a post comparing Nazi children with swastika flags to schoolchildren with Pride flags.
He also posted paranoid, threatening messages about police officers.
On June 27, he posted on Twitter: “DO NOT TRUST COPS… Do not follow their traps they want to know everything about you to catch you and used against you in court and lie about you. Watch out their sociopathic schemes.”
In a 2021 post on the right-wing social media site Gab, Ikeguchi spoke chillingly of killing police officers.
“I know it’s controversial for me to mention the option to kill a police officer, but these police officers are not the servants for the people they are the servants for the laws,” the post read.
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Like “fake news” and “alternative facts”, conspiracy realism is an attempt to reify delusional imaginings that in the above case brought two deaths. There are even courses in it for $40, because doing your own research should be costly. The claim is that “We're talking about conspiracies that were once theories but have since been proven to be true.” Identifying that with “red-pilling” and dominionist hate mongering only achieves the surreal and is subject to a variety of negative information.
A person who understands that the "Conspiracy Theory" is no longer a theory and now has an abundance of truth and/or facts which point to the real reality "That Conspiracy Realist is open minded and willing to pull back the curtain to see what is really going on." " Take the Red Pill and become a Conspiracy Realist."
As a guide for encountering conspiracy believers before they get “real”, this piece by Beth Daley might help
I have been researching conspiracy theories for over two decades and have spoken to many believers. Here are the six rules I use for talking to conspiracy theorists in the effort to change their mind.
1. Acknowledge scale of the task
Talking to people who endorse conspiracy theories is inherently difficult. Simply laying out evidence or pointing out logical contradictions in the conspiracist argument is seldom enough. Conspiracy theories are, by definition, irrefutable.
2. Recognise the emotional dimension
Conspiracy theories seduce not so much through the power of argument, but through the intensity of the passions that they stir. Underpinning conspiracy theories are feelings of resentment, indignation and disenchantment about the world. They are stories about good and evil, as much as about what is true.
3. Find out what they actually believe
Before trying to persuade someone, find out the nature and content of their beliefs. When it comes to conspiracy theories, the world is not divided into “believers” and “sceptics” – there’s a lot in between.
4. Establish common ground
One of the main problems with conspiracy theories is that they are not confined to tinfoil-hat-wearing kooks or political extremists. In times of crisis and uncertainty, they can contaminate the worldview of otherwise reasonable people.
5. Challenge the facts, value their argument
Debunking conspiracy theories requires a two-pronged approach. The first involves challenging evidence and its origins. Address specific claims and discuss what constitutes a credible source. Offer to look at the evidence together, including on fact-checking websites.
6. Finally, be realistic
There is, of course, no guarantee that this advice will be effective. There are no incontestable arguments or fail-proof strategies that will always convert a conspiracy theorist to skepticism. Therefore, set realistic expectations. The aim of talking to conspiracy theorists is not to convert them, but to sow doubt about an argument, and hopefully enable them to gradually build up resistance to its seductive appeal.
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