Subject: The watermelon theory

Watermelons: the idea that socialism and environmentalism is the same thing

June 3 2012 (WtD): THE SOCIALIST HAUNTED WORLD: RELATIVITY, FLUORIDATION AND CLIMATE CHANGE AS SOCIALIST PLOT

The above post traces how paranoia about “reds under the bed” manifests itself today:

We can point the finger at the likes of Exxon, the Koch’s and the conservative think tanks for fostering “climate change skepticism. But I think the roots of denial are much deeper than that. 

As the above examples show, the fear that other “forces” are going to diminish the power, status and authority of individuals (and by extension the industries they work for or the companies they run) fuels denial. 

It explains why behind every new scientific discovery – from evolution to relativity – religious and social conservatives react with such alarm. Many of those who opposed Einstein’s theory felt their status and achievements where being swept away (Stark). 

Others, whose fears were grounded in ignorance and fear, recast their concerns as a political issue. Thus, those opposed to fluoridation where already anti-communist, and therefore assumed what they did not like must have it’s roots in communism. 

However, another key feature of all these movements and their reactions to science was a conspiratorial world view.