Six golden calves

February 18th, 2024

Here is the gist of a conversation I heard yesterday. It was an earnest, argumentative conversation between two people, with another two knowingly nodding their heads along:

Six golden calves belonged to Jewish people for millenniums. After the Second World War, they were taken by the USA in exchange for the creation of the state of Israel. Then those golden calves were cursed and now the USA is trying to get rid of them by returning them— but not to Israel, but to Palestine. And Palestinians are fighting not to be forced to take them, since they are cursed. That is the real reason for the Israeli war on Palestinians. And since those golden calves have no home, they are causing the international havoc that the whole world is experiencing today.

I love a good conspiracy theory. I love reading and thinking about them, occasionally even creating new ones in my head. I also love debunking them, and I love it when there finally is proof of one or the other and a conspiracy theory becomes the truth. But for me — all conspiracy theories are a form of entertainment (private and occasionally shameful entertainment), and those proven true are a source of despair about the deception and cruelty of humankind. There is nothing more to them. Apparently, for some people, even the utmost idiotic and unbelievably gibberish conspiracy theory can be accepted as the gospel — like the one I heard yesterday. Those guys talking about the golden calves were very sure and out in public about it. They had no doubts and no problem sharing it with others. They are also functioning adults who share the same space as me and can vote and participate in all social functions in society. They can also possibly be good people, loving companions, or parents or friends — and yet, they are so gullible that my mind cannot comprehend it. And what is worse — that it is simply a shitty and piss-poor conspiracy theory. There is nothing there that can make it believable in any way. These are just mad ramblings that somehow spread around the internet…

Even today, I feel offended by the idiocy and exploitable credulity of those people as shown yesterday during that overheard conversation, and I feel offended as a conspiracy theory connoisseur.