A long, and quite well-researched piece at leftie Salon.com thoroughly debunks Trig Trutherism for all the left-of-center world to see.
Not that this nonsense ever needed debunking in the minds of reasonable, sane, or rational people. The problem is that these theories are more emotion driven than fact driven, and debunking them with rational arguments or resort to facts is futile with those who simply want to believe what they want to believe. I was amused to see the Salon author acknowledge something I discussed earlier this week: the uncanny similarity between Trig Trutherism and Obama Birtherism.
Sullivan’s refrain on this issue is that he does not endorse any conspiracy theory, he is merely asking questions. He simply wants Palin “to debunk this for once and for all, with simple, readily available medical records.” He has proposed, for example, the release of “amniocentesis results with Sarah Palin’s name on them.”
It’s worth noting that this posture is identical to the rhetoric used by Obama birthers (for instance, WorldNetDaily Birther czar Joseph Farah employs the “just asking for definitive piece of proof x” line here).
But the larger point is that continuously demanding more “proof” on an issue about which there is already overwhelming evidence is either irrational or disingenuous. And why would a piece of paper with amniocentesis results and Sarah Palin’s name be more dispositive than the doctor’s many statements and the testimony of all of the reporters who saw Palin pregnant? If you already believe everyone is lying and everything is a hoax, it wouldn’t.
The Salon author (Justin Elliott) acknowledges that no form of proof will ever satisfy a conspiracy theorist who wants his theory to be true. So debunking these things tends to be a waste of time, at least with them.
It is also a tedious and boring exercise, because these theories are meant to be entertaining, and debunking them can come across as humorless and nerdy. Like a killjoy who points out that Santa Claus doesn’t exist, or that circus magician has a hidden compartment or something. People who want to be entertained don’t want their entertainment ruined, and the fact is that the Palin haters love Trig Trutherism, facts be damned.
When the state of Alaska says Trig is her baby, they lie, every bit as much as Hawaii is lying when they say Obama was born there!
I never thought about it before, but it almost seems that there is common agreement between the far left and the far right that the two most recently admitted states cannot be trusted to keep vital statistics.
I should probably be glad my official “Certification of Birth” says I was born in stodgy old Pennsylvania, because I really can’t remember all the details and all the people who were allegedly there are dead. What a dreary task it would be for me to have to debunk my natural born birtherism.