JFK Assassination Forum

Therefore, the idea that Oswald acted alone is the most popular theory.

It's important to recognise that Oswald acting alone is indeed a theory.
There are LNers who are every bit as fanatical as the most ardent tinfoil CTers, who believe they are dealing in facts when they are dealing with a narrative.
That said, the strength of the LN position has always been it's narrative.
It is easy to pick holes in any narrative, it is another thing to offer up a competing narrative that can withstand the same amount of scrutiny.

All facts are based upon a "theory."  That alone doesn't make the conclusion suspect. The facts and evidence are used to support certain theories and reject others.  It is not "fanatical" to conclude that the world is round because the facts support that "narrative."  Just because some unreasonable people refuse to accept the facts doesn't cast doubt on the conclusion to be drawn from them or force intelligent people to entertain doubt.  The evidence against Oswald is overwhelming.   There is zero credible evidence of the involvement of anyone else at six decades and counting.

The Reichstag Fire reminds me a bit of the Kennedy assassination. The loner who set the fire caused huge implications. In a similar way, Oswald killing Kennedy supposedly lead to the escalation of the Vietnam War.

Some limited conspiracies came down to a pivotal moment where it was up to an individual, such as Booth and the man who shot Archduke Ferdinard.

The Lincoln conspiracy theories, including a papist theory, persisted through books into the 1940s. Maybe the Internet gave the JFK critics a new leash for awhile, though they're back to spinning their wheels in Dealey Plaza. I remember when the Internet was new, critics were predicting they would share information and be a united front.

If only any of the conspiracy theories were honestly subjected to the over-the-top degree of proof that the Oswald lone-assassin finding. Through another conspiracy theory, they blame the mass media for not mindlessly spreading their theories, rather than the critics acknowledging their theories are to blame.

Is this an American thing? Do other countries have anything similar to the obsession over the JFK assassination? For example, in the UK, Jack the Ripper, while quite intriguing, never got this out of hand.

BTW, the British recently endured a conspiracy, in the form of the Post Office Scandal.

Is this an American thing? Do other countries have anything similar to the obsession over the JFK assassination?


One never speaks of this assassination without making reckless judgments…The absurdity of the accusations, the total lack of evidence, nothing stops them…One must read everything with mistrust. —Voltaire, speaking about the incredible stories and conspiracy theories surrounding the assassination of King Henri IV of France1

“Reclaiming History” Vincent Bugliosi page 1280

If only any of the conspiracy theories were honestly subjected to the over-the-top degree of proof that the Oswald lone-assassin finding. Through another conspiracy theory, they blame the mass media for not mindlessly spreading their theories, rather than the critics acknowledging their theories are to blame.

Is this an American thing? Do other countries have anything similar to the obsession over the JFK assassination? For example, in the UK, Jack the Ripper, while quite intriguing, never got this out of hand.

BTW, the British recently endured a conspiracy, in the form of the Post Office Scandal.

It's a baby boomer fixation (each anniversary the attention diminishes); the Kennedys were viewed as American royalty (Camelot and all of that); and people want to believe that the horrors of the Sixties, Vietnam and the deaths of RFK and King and other upheavals, would have been avoided if JFK survived. Add all of the other ingredients - spies and Cold War intrigue, a blurry film as sort of Holy Grail, interesting characters, JFK as King Arthur - and you get this almost mythological level of interest.

I would imagine the closest parallel today (but not real close) would be the death of Lady Di. It's remarkable how obsessed the British were over that.

Conspiracy theorists once asked good, fair, legitimate questions - even though their answers were wrong (to his credit, Epstein didn't try). Certainly at that time and maybe up through the 1980s. But now some 60 years later these are no longer good faith questions. This is Jim Garrison type paranoid nonsense. How many times do the backyard photos have to be authenticated? And they still don't believe it? The idea that people, real human beings, in the fractured, divided, split American government - federal and state and local bureaucracies with all of the divisions and conflicts - could plan this all out, execute it, and cover it up (even today!!) is preposterous. Worse than preposterous there's not credible evidence for it (where and when was this planned?)

Let's say that 65% of the public believe Kennedy was assassinated as a result of a conspiracy and 35% believe Oswald acted alone.

Let's say of the 65%, there are a dozen different conspiracy theories.  Splitting it up evenly and we have each of the dozen conspiracy theories taking up about 5% to 6% of those polled.

Now, we have the idea that Oswald acted alone taking up 35% of those polled.

Therefore, the idea that Oswald acted alone is the most popular theory.