Silence

Those of you who read my blog have probably noticed that I haven't been very active in quite some time. In fact, I have not been very active with the 9/11 Truth Movement in general over the past several months. I have not been to TruthAction, TruthMove, 911blogger, or any other sites I used to frequent, nor have I engaged (in any significant detail) in debate regarding the matter. There is a reason for all of this.

I wrote an article some time ago about how psychological bias is inevitable. It's simply human nature to let your own way of thinking shape what you see. Experience shapes perception just as perception shapes experience. In spite of this, I've always strived to be as neutral as possible, and not let personal philosophies or preconceived notions interfere with the information that is given to me. I've been known to drastically alter my position on a variety issues, even my way of thinking in the grand scheme of politics has shifted from being strongly liberal to independent to left-leaning libertarian to being mildly liberal. I'm a young person. I'm only 20. It is expected that it should take some time to solidify my political philosophy.

That pattern is rather consistent with my involvement in The 9/11 Truth Movement. I've talked about it before, the "Conspiracy High". When I first became involved, I bought the whole thing hook, line, and sinker. As time went on, I began to see fallacies, inconsistencies, and general falsehoods that led me to abandon certain notions. Most notably, I have described in the past my prior beliefs that no plane struck the Pentagon. Relatively quickly, I turned from this. I stayed a supporter of Alex Jones for quite some time, but now I acknowledge him for the nutcase that he is. I, like many of my comrades, was ecstatic when the nanothermite paper came out by Jones et al. Eventually, however, it became clear that the paper had a serious credibility issue, and I have since dropped it. I still considered controlled demolition likely. Now I'm not so sure.

We all have doubts. There is always one issue that you think twice about. You are sure you're right, you believe what you say, but something reminds you that then again, maybe you're not. Maybe you're wrong. I'm sure most people in the 9/11 Truth Movement have had this feeling from time to time, and I'm certainly included in that regard. But in the end, I've always found myself drawn to the same conclusion. Still, I couldn't shake the feeling that I was being influenced. After all, I spent a good chunk of my time reading material from other 9/11 Truth groups/individuals. I felt the only way to fairly reflect on these doubts was to pull back from the issue as much as possible. I did not involve myself with truthers, nor debunkers. I wanted to let the evidence and information circulate in my head, so I, myself, could form a conclusion.

It was, somewhat bizarrely, only a few days before Bin Laden's death that I thought I made up my mind.

All of those things I mentioned, those beliefs that have waned with time, were never the things that kept me pinned to the movement. It was the documented, factual evidence. I've talked about it before, especially in my article “Controlled demolition in activism”, and why I think it should be the primary focus of the 9/11 Truth Movement. These were things that always came back to me and made me say, “Okay, so I accept that I was wrong in this matter. But this here is indisputable. Debunkers can speculate all day, but we'll never truly know these answers without an investigation”. That, after all, was what the Truth Movement was [supposed to be] all about. This line of thinking had worked for a time, but absence from the 9/11 Truth scene left me circling around the same problem.

When making an extraordinary claim, one requires extraordinary evidence. This is something debunkers have said before to 9/11 activists, and I've always agreed with it. We ARE making the claim, we SHOULD provide the evidence. And I always thought that we had it. I've been more than happy to point out the various questions that need answering. Somehow, it's only recently I've only realized the truth. It is a somewhat ironic discovery given my involvement in the atheist community, in which we have similar standards regarding positive evidence.

Absence of evidence is not a basis for building a conclusion, and that's all that these questions really are: absence of evidence. Why did they fail to intercept the planes? Why was nobody fired or reprimanded for the massive failure on 9/11? Why did they lie about this? Why did they lie about that? I could go on and on, but in the end, the truth comes down to this: We don't know. The reason I have treated questions as evidence is because I've had no answers and thus been presupposing them. I don't know why everything happened the way it did. I can't prove complicity by pointing out a lack of an answer. When one asks a question and does not receive an answer, that is a decent reason to form suspicions. It is not an excuse to form a conclusion. We do not need to fill in the blanks.

Some of these questions may seem as though they can not possibly be answered without revealing corruption. Assuming this is true, it means nothing in the long run. Governments are corrupt. Governments lie. That's what they do. That does not necessarily equal complicity. As a 9/11 truther, that was likely difficult for me to see as my “way of thinking” was interpreting the information a certain way where it seemed the only reasonable way to interpret it. Unintentional bias, but bias all the same.

I still have questions. I still have suspicions. The difference is that for the first time I am seeing these questions as just questions. I would still like to have them answered. If a new investigation is carried out, I will support it, as it would be fair. I mean no malice towards the 9/11 Truth Movement. I maintain the stance I have always taken: I will go where the evidence takes me. The 9/11 Truth Movement has made an extraordinary claim. They do not have extraordinary evidence. Unless such a thing happens in the foreseeable future, I can no longer affiliate myself with this organization.

I have no shame in this, no embarrassment, no humiliation. I believed what I believed because at the time it made sense to me. I have re-evaluated my position, and I see no cause for shame in that. My only such regret is anyone else who I have convinced of this position. I can think of a couple friends of mine who are likely candidates. Well, they are free to think for themselves and come to whatever decision they wish. 9/11 Truth has been a big part of my life for many years. Politically, it was the single-biggest issue for me. While it may be hard to cast away something that has helped define me, I can not, in good conscience, maintain my status as a 9/11 truther when there is no evidence of the position. If 9/11 was an inside job, then that conclusion is unattainable with the current body of evidence, as far as I'm concerned. I see this as a test of my own integrity.

I rarely have ever admitted I was wrong, not because I was stubborn, but because I was right. I keep myself informed on many issues, and when it comes time to lay the cards down I am usually right. But sometimes I am wrong. It's been five and a half years since I became a part of the truth movement. Five and a half years of fighting for the truth. Five and a half years later, I admit I was wrong.

-Kamen Fattorusso






While I have no intentions of updating the site, I will not delete anything. Everything will stay up as normal. I rarely delete anything I write, even if it's no longer applicable. If you wish to contact me, I will not be checking the comments section with any frequency, so you can do so in the following ways:

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