[RawGod]

I expect that most people here would not give Icke any credence, and actually I believe little of what he says. However, I find him interesting, and would like to make two observations.

Firstly, he has a unique energy and in certain moods I find myself sucked into listening to him. I find this odd. Is it simply his great self-belief? Is it that as he himself might say, he is resonating on a certain wavelength and that appeals to certain people? Perhaps it is simply the frequency of his voice.

Secondly, he has been successful through not minimising his more outrageous claims but instead standing firmly on them, despite all the ridicule. This is typical of cult leaders and religious founders (both he and Jesus Christ claimed to be the Son of God). If he had dropped his more outrageous claims and simply been a wishy-washy advocate of "higher consciousness" or environmentalism, I don't think he would have been as successful. His brand has thrived on reptilians.

Some lessons there for building personal charisma, and success with women and in business.

It's probable that people will use this thread to discuss anything and everything about his claims and theories, but I'm most interested in the phenomenon of his success and the secret of his odd personal charisma.

[Andy_B]

Quote:

His brand has thrived on reptilians.

That's LITERALLY it.

It's a pattern interrupt, basically.

When somebody hears David Icke speak for the first time hearing like "blah blah conspiracy blah blah british royal family blah blah bankers blah blah REPTILIANS blah b... wait, WHAT?"

It makes him more memorable than any of the other thousands of dudes selling this kind of material.

Personally though, I've never found his shit compelling.

Once you get over the reptile thing it's literally just completely standard conspiracy theorist fare. There's nothing new, challenging or original about the actual ideas, once you figure out that reptile is just an elaborate term of art basically.

[Lika]

The guy is 100% congruent, fully convinced of his stuff.

btw, if you read the oldest writing known to men, accadian and Sumerian tablets, you will find a lot of references to reptilians in the whole story of the origin of mankind (later deformed in the bible through the story of the snake). See:

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=wR4vW9RaYRQ

[Sombro]

I knew the guy was into lizards, but sheesh.

[Handsome Creepy Eel]

He and Moma would probably get along well.

[Bad Hussar]

I don't like him at all. To me he isn't even a conspiracy theorist, but a charlatan. i.e. IMO he doesn't actually believe in the rubbish he spouts, he simply selects his theories to drive his cult/enterprise. His more sane apologists regard him as something like a "harmless eccentric". A bit like the crazy homeless people swearing and spouting stuff on street corners. But he is not homeless, poor or mentally compromised. He is rich from his enterprise and knows what he is doing.

To be honest I'm quite surprised he is still operating legally, and really also surprised he is still alive and well. In support of his business he says some pretty nasty stuff about lots of very much alive people, especially the British Royal family. Complete nonsense about being reptilian child molesters and such drivel. Now maybe the people he accuses of serious crimes crimes (without laying any charges with the police...) think they are far above responding to this nincompoop, and most of them probably are. But he is more popular than they think, and they really shouldn't be letting these things slide. His behavior warrants serious punishment, either legal, or for those offended enough, extra-legal.

[Benoit]

It's very hard to separate David Icke the person from the "David Icke" conspiracy system.

Jon Ronson seemed to think he was sincere enough about his beliefs 15 years ago.
http://www.theguardian.com/books/2001/ma...es.weekend

Compare that to the fairly apparent mental illness of David Shayler, who still I find much more offensive.
http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-ar...transcript

[runsonmagic]

David Icke is a living demonstration of the power of frame.

Any idea can be asserted if you're congruent, no matter how absurd.