Conspiracy Theories

It seems that even the tabloid papers are prepared to take Lord Stevens’ report as a sign that it is time to let the Diana conspiracy theories rest.  I suppose there is part of most of us which will wonder whether it really was an accident – as people still question the official report on the assassination of John F Kennedy.  On that level, it is surely a healthy part of a functioning democracy that we should not unquestioningly believe what we are told.  Healthy scepticism isn’t a bad thing.  The real conspiracy theorists, of course, will never let it rest.  They move through questioning doubt to the wacky to the obsessive.  Back in Northern Ireland, I used to meet anxious people like that quite often.  All events – however much they appear to be based on chance – are part of a bigger picture only part of which we can see.  Nobody’s motives for their actions are what they say they are.  Everything is leading towards a single ultimate end.  People like me are blind to the obvious and are relaxed when we should be on guard.

I never found out how to deal with that.