Here's a fun game to play: try to come up with a conspiracy theory that has plausible motives, but is still absolutely ridiculous. I'll start:
Alex Jones and his ilk often claim that victims of mass shootings are "crisis actors" who are in the pocket of elites pushing for tighter gun control. What if school shootings are staged not for the benefit of a lobbying group, but by the students themselves in order to get ahead? Take, for instance, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the location of the Parkland shooting. It's a decent-quality school, but not a very high-end one. Most of its graduates go to public universities in the same state.
But with a liberal application of lead, things become completely different. Suddenly, the school's students are in the spotlight and have a chance to be the subject of national discourse. Stand in front of the news cameras and say some sad words and you've got yourself a one-way ticket to the Ivies. Is it any coincidence that David Hogg, probably the most notable Parkland Kid, plans to attend Harvard this year? Look at the absolute state of the college-admissions mania. People will do anything to get ahead.
Alex Jones and his ilk often claim that victims of mass shootings are "crisis actors" who are in the pocket of elites pushing for tighter gun control. What if school shootings are staged not for the benefit of a lobbying group, but by the students themselves in order to get ahead? Take, for instance, Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the location of the Parkland shooting. It's a decent-quality school, but not a very high-end one. Most of its graduates go to public universities in the same state.
But with a liberal application of lead, things become completely different. Suddenly, the school's students are in the spotlight and have a chance to be the subject of national discourse. Stand in front of the news cameras and say some sad words and you've got yourself a one-way ticket to the Ivies. Is it any coincidence that David Hogg, probably the most notable Parkland Kid, plans to attend Harvard this year? Look at the absolute state of the college-admissions mania. People will do anything to get ahead.
