Candace Owens and the lesser far-right influencers in the same orbit thrive on attention. They don’t care whether it’s positive or negative, merely that people are clicking on their links, watching their videos, and reposting their content.
This means there’s a race to the bottom in making the weirdest and most idiotic comments possible, if only to distinguish yourself from your competition. So, it’s usually irresponsible to write about whatever crazy stuff they spout as you’re playing straight into their hands. But sometimes there must be an exception.
We can only give polite applause to Owens for going to loopier places than everyone else in the MAGAsphere, with this pants-on-head stupid monologue about how “science is a pagan faith”, a conclusion she came to while reading flat-Earth literature:
Candace Owens: “I'm not a flat earther. I'm not a round earther. Actually, what I am is I am somebody who has left the cult of science.” pic.twitter.com/tjA8RUazIi
— Jason S. Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) July 2, 2024
Owens recounts a recent chat she had with her “poor husband” (we sympathize) when he found her reading a book arguing that the Earth is flat. Her counter was that “if there’s a bunch of people that believe something, I now want to know what it is that they believe”. He tried to point out why the Earth isn’t flat, only to be met by a real wrecking ball of an argument when she replied:
“Listen, I’m not a flat-Earther, I am not a round-Earther. Actually what I am is someone who has left the cult of science. I have left the mega church of science. Because what I have now realized is that science is actually, if you think about it, a pagan faith”.
Purestrain idiocy
In a way, it’s comforting to know you can build a successful career out of the kind of deranged rambling you usually hear from the most stoned guy at the party. There’s no point in arguing against Owens’ take here, as doing that would be the equivalent of yelling at a pot plant. It can’t hear you. Even if it could, it wouldn’t care.
It is unclear whether Owens is actually this stupid or if she’s putting on a show for clicks. But then, is there a difference? Kurt Vonnegut said, “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be”, and Owens is going the distance pretending to be stupid here. Or, if you want to look to another major mind in 20th century philosophy, let’s turn to one Mr. Forrest Gump and his evergreen observation that “stupid is as stupid does”.
