5 OPINION Thursday, May 9, 2019 The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com I n America, shootings have become part of the news cycle. There is a breaking news alert, followed by an outpouring of sup- port, condolences and appeals for stricter gun policy. We continue to hear about it as the media gains more information on the event — the victims, the shooter, the town where it happened. We sometimes hear from the victims directly. But then, like all things, it eventu- ally dwindles. And with each gut- wrenching, breaking news alert, we slowly adjust to a world in which this is normal. Today is the 129th day of 2019 and, already, 132 mass shootings where four or more people were shot have occurred in America this year. Despite the value of each unique human life and each unique circumstance, shootings occur in America so often that, with every bullet and every life lost, we become increasingly desensitized to the appalling acts of hate that plague our nation with increasing frequency. On April 27, 2019, a shooting occurred at a synagogue in Poway, California, where worshippers gathered on the last day of Passover. Three people were injured and one woman was killed — Lori Gilbert Kaye, who was shot as she prepared to say the traditional prayer for her late mother. Any loss of life or inten- tionally inflicted harm is tragic, but even more so when motivated by intolerance and hate. As I have observed the ebb and flow of gun terror and hate crimes in America, I’ve noticed a pat- tern in how people react. More often than not, when people post on social media or speak out about one of these events, it is when their identity is the one that is attacked. While I have never been religious, the Jewish identity I inherited from my mother’s family is something that will always be a part of me. The history of anti-Semitism is long and violent with Jews being discrimi- nated against, displaced, targeted and even killed. Even though I am not religious, even though my father is not Jewish, it would not make a difference in the eyes an anti-Sem- ite. For the shooter of the Chabad of Poway synagogue, it would not have mattered. This is not the only reason why I am driven to speak about the shoot- ing. I speak about the shooting not just because I am a Jewish person, not just because I am an American, but because I am a human being. I may be more directly impacted by the hate perpetuated against those in this synagogue than those shot in two of New Zealand’s mosques, but both are tragic, and both deserve condemnation. All shootings, espe- cially those motivated by hatred towards certain groups, are tragic, despite the seemingly endless slew of them in America. The importance of diversity and the influence of different identi- ties such as religion, ethnicity and nationality are essential. They are what make America such a spe- cial country. American culture is defined not by a singular legacy, but rather by the mixing of many dif- ferent ones. Our differences enable us to learn from and grow closer to each other. But, in a world where marginalized identities are con- stantly on the defense, we are losing one of the most beautiful aspects of what makes us human: empathy. By emphasizing the cultural, racial, ethnic and religious differences that distinguish us in response to the hostilities that permeate society, we are losing the ability to empathize and identify with other humans. But we can do amazing things when we come together, defending the freedom so fundamental to our country not just for our own com- munities, but for those of all groups. After the Tree of Life shooting, Muslim groups raised $150,000 for the victims. And when two mosques in New Zealand were targeted, the Jewish Federation of Greater Pitts- burgh raised money for New Zea- land’s Muslim community. Not only are we at our strongest when we are able to look beyond our own identi- ties, but it is imperative that we help and defend each other in order to truly work towards equality. The other day, I was talking about politics with my grandmother, who is Republican, on the phone and she said something that struck me. As we discussed the inequality and violence in today’s America, she said, “We’re all American. It doesn’t matter where you go to pray.” We’re all American, but even more fundamentally, we’re all human. We need better gun con- trol laws, but that’s not all; Amer- ica needs to address the thriving intolerance, hate and violence. We must realize that, while America’s strength is in our diversity, our greatest weakness is when we allow our individual identities to separate us. Another shooting. I can’t say I’m surprised OLIVIA TURANO | COLUMN Olivia Turano can be reached at turanoo@umich.edu. SAMANTHA DELLA FERA | COLUMN B enjamin Franklin once said there are two things that are certain in life: death and conspiracy theories. OK, that may be paraphrasing but, when it comes to American society, it’s true. Conspiracy theories have become so deeply ingrained in the history of the United States that the majority of Americans don’t know what to believe. Was JFK’s assassination more than a one-man job? More than half of Americans think so. Did the real Paul McCartney die and get replaced by a fake Paul or “Faul”? Even I believe that one (a little bit). Conspiracy theories are as American as deep-fried Oreos and NASCAR, but, as fun as they are to joke about, they can have dangerous consequences on the American psyche and the people being conspired about. The talk of conspiracy theo- ries was recently revived with the #FreeBritney trend blow- ing up on Twitter. If you haven’t been following this roller coast- er of information, the story goes that, after the 37-year-old singer checked herself into a mental health facility following the declining health of her father, someone claiming to be a former member of her team went on a fan contest to say Spears’s hos- pital check-in wasn’t by her own doing. Apparently, all of Spears’s choices were orchestrated by her family and her management team, following a legal device called conservatorship. This led to an outcry among fans, protesting in Los Angeles and sharing stories on Twitter about strange behavior they witnessed from Spears’s team. Spears, of course, has denied that she has no control over her life, but this just ignited the #FreeBritney movement even more. And that is the exact problem with conspiracy theories — they can never be stopped. Once the idea gains ground, anyone trying to reject the theory is just anoth- er part of the conspiracy. Spears went on Instagram to address the rumors, but fans and follow- ers alike claimed this was just another example of her not being in control of her life. Conspiracy theories feed off of their deniers and, when they fester, they can cause real-life consequences. When Hillary Clinton was running for president, a theory went viral that she was involved in some sort of child sex ring/ human-trafficking ordeal that involved a pizzeria in the Wash- ington D.C. area. To most of us, that sounds absolutely absurd. However, right-wing media out- lets, including former Trump White House Chief Strategist Steve Bannon’s passion proj- ect Breitbart News, spread the theory and many far-right- wingers believed it. The theory went so far, in fact, that a young man armed with an AR-15 rifle opened fire in the pizza shop to “investigate” the claims. Fortu- nately, no one was injured. So why do these conspiracy theories exist? Studies show that trust in the government has been on a decline since the Nixon Administration. With this lack of trust comes skepti- cism and cynicism, and with skepticism and cynicism comes the belief that the government or other public officials are hid- ing something. It’s only natural to want to fill in the blanks. Conspiracy theories can be fun sometimes. Did The Beatles leave clues about Paul’s death in their music? I don’t know, but it’s entertaining to look for them. Is Madonna a lizard overlord sent to control humankind from the inside? Probably. These theories may be ridiculous but they’re fun — they cause no harm. The danger is when we allow our theorizing nature to seep into our politics, to treat politics as if it comes with the same drama and absurdity that pop culture does. Trust in our pop culture fig- ures is not vital to the struc- tural foundation of this country. Roseanne Barr is not the one deciding what I can and cannot do with my body — and thank god for that. I don’t need to have faith that Jennifer Aniston won’t start a war in Iraq or that Alec Baldwin won’t cut social secu- rity. However, losing trust in the government and living under the notion that the government is constantly hiding something from you damages civic effi- cacy and in turn damages our democracy. Why would I vote if I think that, no matter who I want in office, there is a myste- rious board of people really run- ning the scene? Why even bother to cast a ballot in the primary if all candidates are lizard-people anyway? These sound like silly examples, but up until these past midterms, voter turnout followed the same downwards trend as trust in the government. I don’t want conspiracy theo- ries to end — I find them fasci- nating, and what else could I find over 700 words to write about? But we must get to a place where we can separate our friendly, funny theories of quirky celebri- ties with harmful, chaotic ideas. Politics is not pop culture and vice versa, but the way we treat one has dire effects on the way we see the other. When the CNN website looks like a screenshot from The Onion, it is easy to lose trust in your government, to theorize why things are the way they are. It is important not to get caught up in that, to know that the people who can change the country and con- trol the things that happen aren’t a board of mysterious figures in a back room, but in fact all of us. Britney Spears, Breitbart and America’s risky conspiratorial nature Samantha Della Fera can be reached at samdf@umich.edu. CONTRIBUTE TO THE CONVERSATION Undergraduate students are encouraged to apply for an Opinion column for Spring and Summer term. Email the Summer Editorial Page Editor (ekwhite@umich.edu) for more information about writing.