Q&A: Conspiracy Theories vs. Silencing
Conspiracy Theories vs. Silencing
Question
Hello Rabbi,
Here’s what happened: yesterday someone posted in my yeshiva’s WhatsApp group a video of some rabbi explaining why there is no pandemic and it’s all an attempt by the Illuminati to take over, etc. A short discussion developed in the group, and in the end the group admin threatened to throw the person who posted it out of the group if he didn’t immediately stop the discussion on the subject, claiming that the discussion endangered public safety.
I assume similar cases have happened in many other places.
As someone who really, really doesn’t like conspiracies, and who is very, very careful to follow the Health Ministry guidelines, I asked myself whether silencing people isn’t more dangerous in the long run.
(In the video there were no serious arguments for the conspiracy, but there were several points that should be addressed substantively, such as: if there is a pandemic, why didn’t the annual mortality rate go up, etc. And it seems to me that the habit of throwing people out of groups instead of answering their arguments is more dangerous in the long run.)
I’d be happy to know what you think about this.
Thank you very much.
Answer
I’ve expressed my opinion on this here several times. Any discussion, no matter how far-fetched, is legitimate, as long as it is reasoned. And anyone who thinks otherwise should present his own reasoned view. I am against silencing people in any situation, including Holocaust denial, missionary activity, and all the rest.
Discussion on Answer
I don’t know if that applies in every situation. Here, in my opinion, yes.
That is, the Rabbi is uncertain whether the conspiracy theory has an effect regarding the coronavirus?
How is this different from the view of the leaders of Haredi society, for whom the Torah is the be-all and end-all, and whose influence is, at least according to your approach, the reason for the harm, and whom you sent into exile?
After all, they did give reasons for their view; it’s just that their reasoning doesn’t fit with your outlook.
Tam, your arguments keep making me wonder whether you really are unable to understand things this simple, or whether your ideological biases are getting in your way. I don’t know which interpretation is more flattering.
There is a difference between proposing a theory and expressing an opinion, and giving irresponsible instructions to a public that listens to you. The rabbis and activists were sent into exile by the Torah, not by me. As is well known, an unintentional killer is liable to exile. They are unintentional killers (close to intentional), and therefore perhaps exempt from exile. By the way, the Haredi public, which displays the kind of thinking ability you present here, and listens to them instead of sending them into exile, is the main subject of my criticism.
Including when there is a real concern that people could be harmed by it?