Alex Jones’ FEMA Camp Conspiracy by Garrett Kettler

            Should we be worried for our safety?  Alex Jones surely thinks so.  His theory claims that while we are told that abandoned shopping malls may be used as FEMA camps for South American refugees after a natural disaster, the real plan may be incarceration camps for Americans (Stanford).  He suggests to those who understand his visions to quit warning the public about it, and flee for their own safety (Hodges).  Is the government telling us the truth, or should we heed Jones’ passionate warnings?

Character Analysis

Alex Jones is a conspiracy genius.  Although his ideas are not accepted by the majority of the public, they are very convincing.  He is a man who is passionate about his ideas, or at least appears to be.  While he creates many of his own conspiracy theories, there are also many theories about Jones (“Alex Jones Exposed”).  When his life is analyzed, there is no apparent cause of his distrustful thinking, which adds another level of suspicion to what he preaches.    Can he see the underlying truth?  Or is he playing with the public’s minds?

 Born in 1974, in Dallas, Texas, Jones had a typical suburban upbringing (“Alex Jones”).  As he stated, he “grew up playing football, smoking pot, and reading a lot,” and in his teen years, he stumbled across conspiracy theories about the government (1).  Coincidentally, events unfolded like the 1993 firestorm in Waco, Texas that solidified his suspicions (1).  It is hard to tell why exactly Jones’ mind went down this paranoid path, because no major events took place during this time of his life.  It could have been from the effective persuasive skills of the books he read, or it could have resulted from a lack of purpose.  When growing up living an average lifestyle, sometimes teenagers struggle with a sense of uselessness and self-worth.  Maybe Alex Jones was just waiting for something to bring him passion, and conspiracy thinking gave him the excitement that he needed.  He also could have had trust issues in his personal life due to neglect or abuse that the public is unaware of.  These trust issues could have caused him to have distrust in everything, including the government.  In addition to this, studies show that living in an urban environment and using drugs, including cannabis, can lead to paranoia (“Paranoia”). 

                While many people think Alex Jones is unrealistically fearful and irrational, others argue that he is using the very system that he condemns to make his living.  Earning a couple million dollars a year, he could be putting on a show just to entertain people and make money (West).  This is ironic because if he is just playing the system, then he is an example of the corruption in our government that he speaks about.  This leads us to think of our own conspiracies, like whether or not he works for the government to alter our minds with reverse psychology.  The possibilities are endless and as a citizen we basically only have two choices: To ignore Jones and write him off as a lunatic, or to let our minds run wild with the possibilities of the countless conspiracies that he presents and that we derive ourselves.  

Recently, people in America have become more and more susceptible to believing conspiracy theories.  The increase in media coverage of events and Americans’ access to media has greatly raised the amount of information that people are exposed to.  With all this information and no tangible evidence, humans find it hard to decipher the truth from propaganda.  Studies show that once one conspiracy theory is believed, you are much more likely to believe another one (Saletan).  Research also shows that fearful people are more likely to believe conspiracy theories (Wilson).  Ironically, there is also a correlation between fear and the desire for power (1).  This suggests that Alex Jones himself is fearful, which causes him to try to take control over the public.  He then transfers his fear to the people, who gravitate toward him as a source for their own desire for power (1).

Conspiracy Theories

            What is reality?  Are private citizens exposed to the truth?  The funny thing about reality is that we can never be exactly sure of the truth.  Alex Jones believes that he is onto it, and has the government all figured out.  The problem that he faces is with persuading his fellow Americans to see the truth as he does.  The problem Americans face is whether or not they should believe that he has the visions that he claims he does. 

            One of Jones’ most famous beliefs is that outlet malls are secretly built with deadly plans in mind.  Outlet malls across the nation, including Wesley Chapel and Tanger outlets, have been built to resemble fortresses (Stanford).  With high brick walls and tall surveillance towers, they are eerily similar to Nazi internment camps (1).  Jones predicts that they will be used as death camps to destroy any future American revolution.  Apparently, FEMA has been authorized by the department of defense to use these outlet malls to house South Americans fleeing from a worldwide natural disaster (1).  Could there be secret plans to put Americans in them also?  We may never know, at least until it is too late to matter.  

Another suspicious finding is the buildup of plastic coffins stored around the nation (Mikkelson).  The most famous storage site is in Madison, Georgia, where an estimated five hundred thousand of these coffins can be found stacked on an empty lot (1).  Why have so many of these been produced?  There must be a plan for them, because they are not cheap.  These coffins, publicly advertised as waterproof shells for burial, are made out of an advanced material called polypropylene (Vantage – Polypropylene).  This new material is stronger than steel, will last hundreds of years, and is not affected by chemicals or decay (1).  If these are truly just for the use of coffin liners, why is such an industrial material needed? 

On the other hand, many people write off the conspiracy as just that, a conspiracy and nothing more.  The Vantage coffins, for example, are just made by the company to have in stock (West, “Debunked: FEMA Coffins”).  When the aerial images of the coffins are analyzed with computer software, one finds about 73,000 coffins, versus the 500,000 that the conspiracy claims is stockpiled (1).  According to the Vantage Vice President of Operations, Michael Lacey, the coffins are not really coffins after all (1).  They are burial vaults, intended to incase the coffin and seal out water and air underground.  Lacey claims that the stockpile of burial vaults are for “pre-need” customers, who plan out their funeral service before their death, so that their relatives do not have to (1).  Therefore, these vaults are not owned by the government or FEMA, but rather by individual customers who have paid for them but do not yet need them (1). The Madison, Georgia location was just a cheap and convenient storage lot for Vantage products, who is based in Covington, Georgia, approximately 26 miles away (“Distance from Covington, GA to Madison, GA.”).

As for Jones, many people believe he is just a lunatic.  Some people have even taken efforts to prove him wrong, finding large errors in his conspiracies involving Y2K, FEMA camps, and other claims that Jones has made (Balderson).  There is also the possibility that Jones actually uses the system that he condemns against the American people.  He could simply be in it for the money, making up these wild ideas just to scare people into watching his videos.  Different sources estimate varying numbers, but it is certain that Jones brings in a couple million dollars a year (West, “How Much Money”).

The best solution to believe is that Alex Jones is not seeing the truth that he claims he is.  When you look at his past conspiracies and compare them to what really happened, one can see that he is rarely correct (Balderson).  The statements provided by Michael Lacey, Vantage Products Vice President of Operations, seem plausible and truthful, and the fact that he addresses the conspiracy shows that he is not scared to accidentally expose any secret information (West, “Debunked: FEMA Coffins”).  The outlet malls do resemble Nazi internment camps, however there are not enough to actually end a serious revolution (Stanford).  Jones’ videos are full of passion, so we may never know if Jones really believes what he preaches, or if it is just an excellent act.  Perhaps one day Jones will come forward with his true thoughts and purpose as he slips into his luxurious retirement.  Another reason not to believe Jones is that he while he has been wrong many times, he has also never taken action on one of his theories.  Even if we find one of his theories to strike us as true, no action will be taken and we will just live in fear.  Therefore, it would be impractical to listen to Alex Jones and believe that what he says is true.

           In a survey of twenty people, one hundred percent of the people stated that they do not trust everything that the government tells us.  This is interesting, because it aligns with the views of Jones.  He rarely believes anything the government tells us, which is why he has so many conspiracy theories.  Perhaps the key word in the survey was “everything,” and the participants could not say that they believed every single detail that the government provides the public, because it has been known to hide things before, even like the existence of Area 51.  The most likely difference between the survey participants and Alex Jones is in which claims they choose to disbelieve.  The participants most likely pick out small details that they believe may be hidden for the good of the nation, while Jones challenges everything, including large events like the 9/11 attacks.

                                                       Conclusion

            Whether he is correct or not, Alex Jones will continue to preach his wild conspiracy theories, and it is up to us to figure out any truth within them.  His message of FEMA camps secretly being incarceration camps is one of great danger and fear, and causes many passionate responses.  It is our decision whether to buy what Jones is selling, or to trust what the government tells us.  One day, we will truly find out if the decisions we made were the correct ones.

 

Works Cited

“Alex Jones Exposed.” https://alexjonesexposed.info/.

“Alex Jones.” Southern Poverty Law Center, https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/alex-jones.

Balderson, Keelan. “8 Times Alex Jones Completely Misled His Audience | WideShut.co.uk.”                  WideShut.co.uk, 30 July 2016, wideshut.co.uk/8-times-alex-jones-  completely-misled-                  audience/.

“Distance from Covington, GA to Madison, GA.” Distance between Covington, GA and                      Madison, GA, www.distance-cities.com/distance-covington-ga-to-madison-ga.

Hodges, Dave. “World War III, Walmart, FEMA Camps, Jade Helm: A Clergy Response Team Insider Reveals What Lies Ahead.” Dave Hodges The Common Sense Show, http://www.thecommonsenseshow.com/2015/06/21/world-war-iii-walmart-fema-camps-jade-helm-a-clergy-response-team-insider-reveals-what-lies-ahead/.

Mikkelson, David. “Obama Quietly Orders Millions of Disposable Coffins?” Snopes, Snopes, 10             Feb. 2015, www.snopes.com/politics/conspiracy/femacoffins.asp.

“Paranoia.” What Causes Paranoia?, http://mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/paranoia/what-causes-paranoia/#.v_94-kyuxcs.

Saletan, William. “The Fascinating Psychology of Conspiracy Theories.” Slate Magazine, 19 Nov. 2013, http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/11/conspiracy_theory_psychology_people_who_claim_to_know_the_truth_about_jfk.html.

Stanford, Stefan. “Slew Of October 2015 Mall Openings Have Characteristics Of FEMA Concentration Camps!” Slew Of October 2015 Mall Openings Have Characteristics Of  FEMA Concentration Camps!, 28 June 2015, http://allnewspipeline.com/october_2015_mall_openings_fema.php.

“Vantage - Polypropylene.” Vantage - Polypropylene,      www.vantageproducts.com/polypropylene.html.

West, Mick. “Debunked: FEMA Coffins (Plastic Grave Liners).” Metabunk, www.metabunk.org/debunked-fema-coffins-plastic-grave-liners.t904/.

West, Mick. “How Much Money Does Alex Jones Make?” Metabunk, 1 June 2013, www.metabunk.org/how-much-money-does-alex-jones-make.t1708/.

Wilson, Robert Evans, Jr. "Fear vs. Power." Psychology Today. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Oct. 2016.

Zaitchik, Alexander. “Meet Alex Jones.” Rolling Stone, http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/talk-radios-alex-jones-the-most-paranoid-man-in-america-20110302.