Dear lemmy, someone very close to my heart is starting to fall into conspiracy theories. It’s heartbreaking. Among other things, he has now told me that soy beans are not supposed to be consumed by human beings and is convinced that despite the literal centuries of human soy bean cultivation and consumption, we shouldn’t eat it or anything derived from it for this reason (ie tofu, soy sauce, etc…evidence that soy is present in other common foods doesn’t seem to register with him).
I don’t even know where he got this information from and can’t find a single source to back it up (even disingenuously). I’ve tried explaining to him that sure, in its original state it’s not edible, but undergoes processing (LIKE MANY OTHER FOODS) to become edible. And that this has gone on since at least the 11th century, so it’s not like Big Soy is trying to poison the little people.
He’s normally a very reasonable and intelligent person, and I don’t know how to reach him. I thought it might be helpful to show him where these myths have come from with hard data sources to prove it. He seems open to the possibility, so I don’t think he’s a lost cause yet!
Help?
you cant logic someone out of something they didn’t login themselves into…
this person has an emotional deficit being filled by these online communities.
it would take close, continual human contact by trusted companions to steer them (and keep) them off this path…like an addiction.
just my 2 cents
It’s exactly like an addiction…one that’s intrinsically reinforced by these communities by their messaging. They always include the tagline “they don’t want you to know this!” and it keeps them in due to FOMO or not wanting to feel stupid. It’s a rough situation.