Quote Originally Posted by TitoFan View Post
There's a fundamental difference between some of us here.

I see a news item, such as Sandy Hook... and as long as the sources are reliable and credible (and I'm perfectly capable of making that judgment for myself)... I begin from the starting point of belief. If ANYTHING in the story seems fishy, I proceed to dig and analyze (as again I'm perfectly capable of doing) in order to reach a conclusion as to whether the story is real or not.

You (TIC), on the other hand, begin each news story from the viewpoint of disbelief and mistrust. You assume everything is false and staged (with some obscure purpose)... and it must be "proven" to you otherwise. The problem is that most of the time no amount of proof or evidence is good enough. Most of us can't be bothered to prove anything to those who choose to live in a world of constant disbelief.

When you begin from the viewpoint of disbelief, you've already made up your mind about the story's veracity. When you begin from the viewpoint of belief, most of us are open to (real) holes in the story that might cast some doubt on it.
REAL holes... not imagined or constructed ones.

It's all a matter of personal choice, really. I've lived a full and fruitful life going to school at all levels... learning things that are both verifiable and unverifiable. Such is the nature of life and learning. Trust is a huge factor here. I trust people and news sources until they lose my trust. Then it's difficult or damn near impossible to win if back. Others choose to mistrust everybody. It's a life choice, so to each his own.

What most of us object to is the insistence of the "unbelievers" to label everyone else with words like "sheep" or whatever. This can be EASILY turned around toward the unbelievers, who can be accused of the same thing.
you say as long as the sources are reliable & credible you are happy to believe. as ykdadamaja has said the media is easily or willing manipulated. most main stream media has been caught lying. from my own experince in the military (some believe i was in the military some don't, larry called me a murderer, it doesn't matter, it's irrelevant), i have seen how stories are feed to the media that aren't true. you may choose to reach a conclusion but that doesn't prove it to be real

you are correct that i start from the viewpoint of mistrust. you are wrong that i assume everything is false & staged. things claimed to be real must be proven to be so. evidence roves ideas, proof proves facts. how many times have you heard of people being falsly convicted based on evidence? i don't live in a world of constant disbelief, i live in a world where claims must be proven to be true

again i don't begin from a viewpoint of didbelief, my viewpoint is claims must be proven to be true. when you begin from the viewpoint of belief you open yourself up to believing something that is not true. what imagined or constructed ones holes from myself are you referring to titofan?

you say trust is a huge factor. you must have a very short memory or not know your history. your government & media has llied to you countless times. there is no need to mistrust when claims are able to be proven true

you are the one that constantly uses lables, although you claim to dislike doing so. i just ask that claims be proven to be true. you choose to believe something & act like you know it's true. i choose to say i don't know because i wasn't there but i'll highlight inconsistencies in narratives when i see them