By:Claire McKenna and Mira Costello
Staff-Writer, Editor-in-Chief
There are many who believe that there is a shadow government running the world. From the abominable snowman to 9/11 to what happened to JFK, there are many different ideas people have to try to make sense of a nonsensical world.
Conspiracy theories are defined as an attempt to explain harmful or tragic events as the result of the actions of a small, powerful group. Although there haven’t been many theories proven to be correct, and the ones that have been proven are only partly true, that doesn’t stop people from believing.
Let’s see which tinfoil hats IU South Bend students find most fashionable.
Angela Gonzalez
“If you go to Hocking Hills, Ohio, everyone celebrates Bigfoot. Out of all the cryptids, I highly believe that Bigfoot is real. There was this guy that recorded a big beast on this mountain, and then he got killed by the government. That was Bigfoot.”
Bigfoot, also referred to as Sasquatch, is a large, hairy creature that lives in North America. There have been hundreds of claims to sightings and many different photos, supposedly being of this Bigfoot. There is even a Bigfoot festival held at the nature preserve in Hocking Hills that Gonzalez mentioned.
Alcencee Jackson
The government making sniper calls is another common conspiracy theory. Alcencee Jackson believes that the government, in order to make sure they are the highest power, kills off people who try to make the world a more efficient place.
“If someone challenges the governmental body, or if somebody challenges the status quo in a way that would help people, they end up dead. There was this video of a guy in the 70s who made a hydro powered car. Within a week, there was no sign of the car and the man was dead.”
Jackson is referencing Stanely Meyers and his water fuel cell. Meyers died suddenly in a restaurant in 1998, but the police and court ruled it to be a cerebral aneurysm. Many believe that he was assassinated, and Meyers himself claimed he was poisoned.
Lindsey Les
Speaking of death, celebrity deaths are another popular conspiracy. Princess Diana, for example, died in a car crash in 1997, and many believe it to have been set up by her late husband, Prince Charles, who was cheating on Diana and treated her poorly overall.
“He organized the whole car crash. He was cheating on Diana with Camila, he probably wanted her gone so he could be with Camila.”
Gavin Bennett and John Gonzalez
Some just make up conspiracy theories. Gavin Bennett is convinced that rats are stealing ingredients and supplies to make food and houses for themselves.
“Rats are always taking random stuff. They steal all these ingredients, because they cook them. They are trying to cook. They take legos and popsicle sticks so they can build houses in your walls.”
Hillary Corona
There are so many different conspiracy theories that one could believe in, but to say the least, some have more merit than others. Hillary Corona finds that she doesn’t really believe in any of them.
“There’s aspects in each theory that I could get behind but I don’t really believe in any,” Corona wrote in a message to The Preface. She did, however, state that the Mandela Effect is pretty believable.
One niche and controversial spiritual group, the Messiah Foundation International, has a theory that the world will end in 2026 when an asteroid collides with the Earth. We’d say stay tuned for updates, but we will probably not be able to update you if we are wiped out by an asteroid. So…enjoy the next nine months?
