Alex Jones Is Actually Dangerous: Why We Have to Start Taking his Paranoid Worldview Seriously | Alternet

There is a method to my madness and why I follow this man's dreck.  At least I'm not the only one,,,

In response to the Jade Helm military training exercises planned for this summer, Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX) will deploy the Texas State Guard to apparently serve as a shield against the Green Berets and other special operations units who, many conservatives fear, might threaten the freedom of red-blooded Americans living in the Lone Star State.

“It is important,” said Abbott, in announcing the move, “that Texans know their safety, constitutional rights, private property rights and civil liberties will not be infringed upon.”

The subtext is, of course: There’s a decent chance they could be infringed upon.

And so the governor is figuratively wrapping his state in a gigantic tin-foil hat. Abbott’s unprecedented move is one more chilling sign that the gonzo ideas imagineered by radio conspiracy theorist Alex Jones are hemorrhaging into mainstream American politics and beyond.

[,,,]
That’s the dangerous thing about Alex Jones and his empire. The ludicrousness distracts from the damaging reach of the truly awful theories he sells. If it was all contained safely within its shrink-wrapped bubble, that’d be one thing. But Jones and his theories are being rapidly mainstreamed. This is a testament to his skill as a broadcast huckster, though it doesn’t require much salesmanship to transparently exploit the clinical paranoia of his audience for ratings and profit. Without saying a word, his disciples want to believe by default. Indeed, there are two key features of the InfoWars subculture: 1) absolute certitude that they and only they are aware of what’s really going on and the rest of us are mere “sheeple”; and 2) that the establishment will do whatever it has to do in order to discredit and shatter that certitude. The latter was Jones’ explanation for why he wasn’t able to appear on ABC’s “This Week” with Martha Raddatz last Sunday: ABC, he said, intentionally hoodwinked him to embarrass him.

[,,,]
Not only is he dependent upon the gullibility and activism of his listeners, but they’re also dependent upon him to confirm their worldview. Meanwhile, there’s a confluence of increasingly obstructionist small-government libertarianism and the Jones echosphere. Presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) and his father, former Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), along with Gov. Abbott are perhaps the best evidence of this emerging Venn diagram.

Alex Jones Is Actually Dangerous: Why We Have to Start Taking his Paranoid Worldview Seriously | Alternet