"Conspiracy theory" is an interesting phrase. It doesn't have a meaning so much as a purpose: to shut someone up by ostracizing them and/or to shut the minds of third parties (a signal that most people reflexively obey). It's a conformist move that has a tinge of violence about it, if a phrase can be called violent.
Personally, as soon as I hear someone labeled a "conspiracy theorist" I immediately sympathize with them, though of course that doesn't make their views true.
Edit: replaced "belittling" with "ostracizing" as explained below.
"Conspiracy theory" has a very simple meaning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory) and no derision at all. You might take it as belittling but it's not. The term "conformist" on the other hand fits your description perfectly.
Come to think of it, "belittle" doesn't exactly capture what I meant, which is to mark someone as outside the zone of proper discourse. I will change the comment.
No derision at all
That's obviously not true. If it were, people would use the phrase to describe their own views sometimes.
Comments
"Conspiracy theory" is an interesting phrase. It doesn't have a meaning so much as a purpose: to shut someone up by ostracizing them and/or to shut the minds of third parties (a signal that most people reflexively obey). It's a conformist move that has a tinge of violence about it, if a phrase can be called violent.
Personally, as soon as I hear someone labeled a "conspiracy theorist" I immediately sympathize with them, though of course that doesn't make their views true.
Edit: replaced "belittling" with "ostracizing" as explained below.
"Conspiracy theory" has a very simple meaning (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conspiracy_theory) and no derision at all. You might take it as belittling but it's not. The term "conformist" on the other hand fits your description perfectly.
Come to think of it, "belittle" doesn't exactly capture what I meant, which is to mark someone as outside the zone of proper discourse. I will change the comment.
No derision at all
That's obviously not true. If it were, people would use the phrase to describe their own views sometimes.