I've been thinking about this for a while. I know a lot of people object to the purposely derisive term, Conspiracy Theorist. So I'm suggesting we brainstorm and come up with a more accurate description of a person who thinks deeply, critically, asks questions, does research, does not automatically follow the crowd. What do you say?
Post your suggestions here and let's see if some clever fren nails it with the perfect term that WE can start using and pushing out into the collective conscience. Thanks.
FWIW, I don't consider "conspiracy theorist" to be pejorative, even though I recognize that it usually is in colloquial use.
For a little while, the notion that Nixon was personally involved in the Watergate burglary was a conspiracy theory, and the people who believed it were conspiracy theorists. Then it was proven to have happened with the tapes, and it went from a conspiracy theory to just a conspiracy.
There's nothing inherently wrong with being a conspiracy theorist. Conspiracy theorists have theories regarding apparent/potential conspiracies. That's neither good nor bad.
Dismissing someone as a conspiracy theorist isn't useful. If there's a weak point in their theory, that's fine to address, but I don't find it appropriate to denigrate someone merely for having a theory about a conspiracy.