Disease

There are some people out in the world that would say that disease is not a creation of Mother Nature but instead a man made disease.  The accusers say that the human immunodefiency virus (HIV) was a manmade virus created by a secret agency. It was said that it was created as a tool of genocide or population control. Others believe it was created as an experiment in biological warfare and that the virus escaped into the public. Some will claim that the virus was giving to African American and homosexuals through hepatitis vaccinations. The last two ideas were that it was part of a diabolical plan to exterminate the black race and that it was released in Africa to slow its development.   

The HIV virus.

However incredible these accusations sound, I believe none of them are right and here’s why. I believe that a secret agency has more important things to worry about than making a genocidal virus such as finding criminals or protecting classified information and gathering data. If Edward Snowden hasn’t said anything on the topic, it’s more than likely that it isn’t a man made disease. As for a tool for population control it doesn’t seem very likely to me that the government would use a method this inefficient. Contraception and abstinence are much more effective and much less gruesome strategies in my opinion. The idea that it escaped from a lab is a bit ridiculous because of all the safety precautions that would be put in place to prevent such an event.   The idea that it was administered to African Americans and homosexuals through infected needles isn’t crazy, but the idea that the disease was only created for that purpose is simply preposterous. If HIV was created simply to exterminate the black race it would never complete that goal. 

A boy with higher levels of melanin, natures sunscreen.

Those who live in warmer climates have darker skin for a reason, to protect them from the sun. As long as there are people that live in warm climates there skin will begin to darken throughout their future generations. So in the big picture it wouldn’t matter how much one tries to eliminate the race because it will survive, because life always finds a way. Finally the development of Africa wasn’t slowed by a disease, was slowed by external forces taking Africa’s natural resource and not sharing them with the public, it was shared with only a select few who became dictators and brought pain and suffering to these regions. These are the reasons I believe HIV isn’t man made; I believe the way it came to be was that someone attempted to have intercourse with the hypothesized source, chimpanzees. 

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_conspiracy_theories#Creation_of_diseases

              http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Melanin

Water Fluoridation

Water fluoridation is the controlled addition of the halogen gas fluoride into the public water supply. It is intended to promote better oral health and reduce tooth decay. However this well-intended act has spawned certain doubt among the public and with doubt come theories. These conspiracies began in the 1940s and developed during the following twenty years. Those who introduced these theories believed their government wanted to create a socialist or communist regime. In their minds, fluoridation was only the first step in a plot to control the American people.

 It was said that this was to weaken the brainpower of an American generation. These views began to subside within the next few decades and by the 1990s most public water contained fluoride. Fluoride was recently removed from the public water supply in my area, but considering I grew up with it all my life, I don’t really think it causes any health problems. Even though I don’t think it causes any problems, it was ironically removed due to health concerns. I’m not too sure of the long term consequences of fluoridation but I wouldn’t want to find out with me as the guinea pig. Now the other reason people were against the fluoridation I don’t agree with. I don’t really think that making the population drink water containing fluoride ions is best way to control them. Fluoride ions just aren’t a very convincing way to control people; however a complex chemical seems more likely to influence the mind. 

The acceptable concentrations levels are around 0.5 to 1.0 mg/L.

The conspiracies associated with fluoridation have mostly declined since the 1960s but safety concerns have filled that void. As I mentioned earlier fluoride was removed from the public water supply in my area due to safety concerns such as dental fluorosis, skeletal fluorosis, and weakened bones. These only occur with extremely elevated concentrations of fluoride exposure during tooth development but seeing as water fluoridation is “controlled” I don’t see it as a concern. Basically I don’t really see any problem with fluoridation and I’m indifferent on it being a part of my water supply.

The September Eleventh Conspiracy

On September 11^th 2001, the Islamic terrorist group known as al-Qaeda hijacked four commercial airliners which were used for suicide attacks. Three of these hijacked airliners hit their targets which were the two World Trade Center buildings and the Pentagon while the other plane crashed.  The plane that failed to reach its target was due to a revolt by the passengers on the airliner and crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania.

One of the towers being struck.

The conspiracy here is that these attacks were either allowed to happen or they were orchestrated by the United States government. The other theory is that the two World Trade Center buildings collapsed due to a controlled demolition and that the pentagon was actually hit by an American missile. The motive for all of these attacks was to supposedly justify an invasion in Iraq and Afghanistan.  I could understand a controlled demolition of the two World Trade Center after the attack, if it was done to prevent the towers from collapsing on other nearby buildings which would prevent more casualties. The only problem with this is that the theory states that these explosives were placed prior to the attack which in that case looks mighty suspicious. The idea that the pentagon was hit by an American missile is a bit preposterous in my mind because it’s such a waste in almost every way. It’s a waste of time, money, resources and most importantly human lives. For these reasons I don’t think the United States government planned these attacks but the idea that they knew about them before they happened isn’t that crazy. Supposedly, the government knew about the attacks and let them happen so they could justify an invasion in the Middle East. This would allow them to enter that region; the main reason theorists believe they would want to enter this region is for oil. So now the government has a justifiable reason to enter the region to acquire oil.

The wreckage of the crash at the Pentagon.

This is the only conspiracy that I could see being real as it seems more realistic. In reality though I believe the attacks were orchestrated by al-Qaeda and not the government and that they are responsible for these tragedies. I just think the government didn’t handle the situation as well as they could have; had they of handled it properly I don’t think this topic would have any conspiracies but I think they acted on pure adrenaline. Let’s be honest how does one even respond to an event like this and not make others ask questions?