| | | The inaugural meeting of Strange Attractor at the Horse Hospital near Russell Square in London took place last Tuesday 10th July 2001. The subject: Conspiracy Culture. The main feature was Jon Ronson speaking on his extraordinary experiences during the making of the successful five part TV series Secret Rulers Of The World. This was followed by some video by Texas-based Alex Jones, whom Jon had got to know well through the series, followed by a panel session with David Barrett and Ken Hollings.
When I arrived, some minutes late, there was still a big crowd on the stairs unable to get in. Many had already been turned away. Soon the remaining crowd left as well, hearing that the meeting room was already much too full, with many people standing. For some reason I went up to the man on the desk outside and for some reason he just waved me on. I found a beer and stood at the side, waiting to see what form the meeting would take.
Earlier in the day the phrase with which I would introduce myself had come to me, if it turned out to be that kind of open meeting. It was. Jon was not only a witty presenter of disarming honesty, but he was open to questions and quips from the floor throughout. There were a lot of good laughs, and rightly so, given the subject matter. It must have been partly the influence of Why though (I have really learnt a lot from this experience, even if you lot haven't) that suggested my opening.
"Hello, I'm a Christian fundamentalist and I'm here to learn."
It's hard for me to characterize the audience - eclectic would be a good word. Some looked as though they had recently rioted against globalism, many were involved in TV, plenty were left of centre politically, there were a few Jews no doubt, like Jon himself, others were undoubtably interested in the occult and New Age aspects of the material Jon was discussing. One guy admitted his main concern was that his grandfather, a senior judge, was a close friend of Denis Healey and he had been disturbed by Healey's apparent arrogance when Ronson had interviewed him about the Bilderberg Group. But something in what I said struck a chord. There was a heartfelt laugh. I had come out perhaps with one of the great unbelievable statements of the Western world, a bit like "I'm from management and I'm here to help you".
Still, it helped when I started to outline my concerns about the Cremation Of Care ceremony at Bohemian Grove and the influence of the Bilderberg Group, both of which I felt Jon had done a ground-breaking "penetration" of, in different ways. Unless I was really prepared to learn confronted with such complex and little known material, how could I expect anyone to listen to me?
Although it will partly depend on the interest Jon and others show in Why I may use some pages here to put up some of the questions I have about these groups and their possible influence on the worlds of business, politics and religion. -- Richard Drake
Worth listening to listening Christians?
The aspect of mainstream Christianity that more than any other has been effective in helping evangelicals learn how ordinary people tick, the Alpha Course, appeared on TV, as detailed in Alpha On UK TV. It was after he had read this page that Jon Ronson Did Alpha. Further reflections in Listening The Key To Alpha.
Recent reflections
Post the September 11th Attacks we asked What Is A Conspiracy and What Is Paranoia. Secret Society, Skull And Bones and Thule Society are 2003 additions that are also worth consideration. Set Of Extremists is a critique of two key weaknesses seen in Jon Ronson's work.
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