Ask Lemmy

These things always go this way. Society has seen them before and society will see them again. There's always some Doomsday Cult out there predicting the end, predicting upheaval, appealing to the viewer to make them feel special, sell them this idea that they and only they have seen the truth. The end of the world is July 14th, the end of the world was really September 22nd, come along, feel special, feel fear but exhilaration, and while you do, your money will soon be useless so you may as well give it to me!

And when the dates go by and nothing happens, when enough questions go unanswered, when enough predictions are unfulfilled... eventually the shorn sheep return to their pen, their field, and pretend it never happened. It would be too terrible for introspection, too painful to recognize you weren't special, just another rube. Every relationship you threw away was sacrificed in vain, every dollar you threw at the prophet was just his fee for how good you felt. Like a drug. And just like addiction, you don't ever have to come face-to-face with your victims and your failure, your pride doesn't have to take a hit. Ignore the people who hold you accountable, thrust your head in the sand, it was a misunderstanding, maybe the details were wrong, you never really believed it anyway...

And just like a drug, if you never stop to connect the dots, to come to grips with what it did to you and those you love, when the next hit is offered, you take it. Now, this is a new prophet. This time, it's for real. The world will end on May 8th. I always knew in my heart something was coming, I just listened to the wrong prophet... Got the year wrong. Got the cause wrong. This time it's for real. I want to be special. I've seen the secret truth. The message is for real this time! Last time it was just a test...

The internet amplifies these people, makes them brave, but they've always been there if you knew where to look. It's a fundamental flaw in our species. I don't know if it will ever go away.