Discussion: Pizzagate

...has a rather different meaning in Adelaide to what it does in the US. (Some wag, merging the Australian and American incarnations of the scandal, suggested that maybe they'd find the Beaumont children in the basement).

No doubt you've heard the same speculation I have, to the effect that said pizza bar may have had a lucrative line in, shall we say, side orders that they and their customers may have wished the authorities to remain unaware of. (I'm not sure they'd put 20 detectives on the case if all they were expecting to find was a bit of tax-dodging).

My understandings is cash under the table/working below minimum wage and some poor Spanish dude on a working visa trying to stay in the country not wanting to let the police know his non- legitimate second job.

Sounds as though I may wish to remain ignorant of the US context.
(Now, I know that it will be reeeealllly hard for you - and others - to resist enlightening me!)

The US context in general terms is that a lot of people seem to think that bad things have happened of which there is no evidence of their having happened, which is probably better than the reverse.

The US pizzagate is really rather best left unknown.

Now I want pizza but I'll settle for Marina's rissoles.

Ah yes, now I remember vaguely hearing that it was part of that Q-anon BS.

In Adelaide though, we don't joke about the Beaumont children's 1966 disappearance - every child growing up during the following decades had super-protective parents. (Of course, that could have been equally due to numerous other children's disappearances but we won't discuss those either.)

My preferred response to ridiculous conspiracy theories is to ridicule them, but I recognise that's not to everyone's taste.

Numerous conspiracy theories are not even worth wasting oxygen on, but I'm sure we can all agree that anti-vaxxers are worthy of ridicule.

But if you deny the conspiracy then you become part of the conspiracy.