CULTURE
Kent Conspiracists Conspiracy theories emerge to connect the missing pieces of an unfinished puzzle WORDS BY
Hannah Miller
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ILLUSTRATION BY
Sarah Riedlinger
omething we can all forget to do in the midst of daily routines is set aside time to think through current events and newsworthy things going on around us. But it is important to step back and do so every once in a while. Learning, creating or researching conspiracy theories is just one way to challenge the status-quo and exercise creativity. Some people tune out as soon as the phrase ‘conspiracy theories’ is said, some theories are far-fetched and have no evidence to back them up, but there are a handful of theories that are well thought out and may have some truth to them. Questioning the status-quo seems to be a must, and with that, conspiracy theories emerge to connect the missing pieces of an unfinished puzzle. A lot of historical events and places around the world seem to have missing information which is overlooked. Talking through evidence and other supporting research is what may bring light to hidden truth. It’s become more common to be skeptical and see things in an alternative light, whether it be a good or bad thing. An article published in 2015 from The Washington Post states, “about half the public generally endorses at
least one conspiracy theory.” One of the most common theories deals with the assassination of President John F. Kennedy.
J.F.K.’S ASSASSINATION — ONE MAN OR TWO? On Nov. 22, 1963, John F. Kennedy was shot and killed while riding in a motorcade through Dallas, Texas. This tragic event left the world shocked and confused about who could have committed such a crime. There are many conspiracies surrounding the death of J.F.K., with one of the most popular and compelling being that Lee Harvey Oswald didn’t act alone. The theory that Lee Harvey Oswald, the alleged assassin of Kennedy, did not act alone began with the release of the Zapruder film. This was the first time the public saw the assassination. The film shows J.F.K.’s head moving backward as a result of the impact, as if he was hit from the front, but government conclusions say he was shot from the back. When a person pushes someone from the back, they fall forward, not backward. “I was a little kid then, but I remember the assassination of John F. Kennedy,” Michael Olszewski, who teaches a conspiracy theory class at Kent State, says. “It wasn’t until 1974, about 11 years later, when the full film, the Zapruder film, was shown and after that I thought, ‘Well why did they keep this under wraps for so long?’” Following the film’s release, The Warren Commission was created by former President Lyndon B. Johnson to investigate the assassination and give the public answers. The commission concluded that the gunman acted alone in the killing of J.F.K. Yet, the U.S. House of Representatives Select Committee on Assassinations had a different conclusion. It reported there was a high probability there were two people who fired upon J.F.K. “I think the whole thing doesn’t really add up,” says Malania Birney, a sophomore majoring in political science. “Literally everything you
can find on it goes against the story … I don’t think it was just Oswald.” Some other aspects that don’t add up with the official report of the assassination is the aftermath of the gunfire. The Zapruder film shows a piece of J.F.K.’s head blowing off and Jackie Kennedy reaching for it. “In my high school forensics class we learned about how blood splatter is and the closer you are the bigger the effect of blood splatter,” Caleb Huffman, a freshman majoring in interior design, says, “If [the shooter] was as far as they say he was, there’s no way that his brain would have been everywhere like that.” Although some people believe Oswald wasn’t a lone wolf, that possibly the government or the mob was behind it, others believe it may not be that extreme. “I wouldn’t say it was a grand organization. I don’t think it was the Russians, or the mob, or the United States,” says Josh Wampler, a senior majoring in philosophy. “I would say it’s a fringe group of 10 to 20 people who all got together and came up with shooters and killed J.F.K. I think there’s probably a plausibility, but as a government society, it’s easier to blame one guy and then move on from it.” Olszewski’s class is not just about conspiracies, but why people are so quick to accept them, along with the role media organizations play in the influence of conspiracies. Some theories Olszewski covers in the course include the J.F.K. assassination, 9/11 and the moon landing. “I’m quick to point out that I can be critical without being skeptical,” Olszewski says, “but I am a little bit skeptical of a lot of different conspiracy theories.” In the digital era where news and information are at our fingertips, it’s hard to differentiate between real and fake news. “I’m fascinated by just how much people are willing to accept conspiracy,” he says. “I don’t think they trust media.” Wampler, one of Olszewski’s students, says he enjoys the class and appreciates how the professor makes you think about the theories and concepts.
