A conspiracy against me?

By Casey Lartigue Jr.

I am hereby calling a meeting of all of the people who believe I am part of a conspiracy. They seem to contradict each other so much, perhaps they can resolve their differences face-to-face.

In the book "A Culture of Conspiracy," Michael Barkun of Syracuse University and a former FBI consultant wrote that "a conspiracist worldview implies a universe governed by design rather than by randomness."

He notes that three principles are found in virtually every conspiracy theory: "Nothing happens by accident." "Nothing is as it seems." "Everything is connected."

I have learned there is a fourth factor: If you question a conspiracy theory, you'll be accused of being part of it.

I received an email recently from a person demanding proof for something I said on the radio ― 11 years ago. Yes, back in 2007, I was burning up the airwaves as host of the Casey Lartigue Show on XM Radio. The show didn't last long.

Callers, colleagues and other hosts accused me of engaging in "counter-intelligence," and were asking if they had been "infiltrated" by an FBI agent, libertarian or conservative.

My radio show ended when a senior director, disgusted with my last show about conspiracy theories, berated me in a phone call: "I'm two seconds from pulling you off the air."

I slowly counted for him: "One … TWO!" Then asked him what happens next. After we cursed each other out at his office the next day, he did fire me (he was fired months later).

I was famous for being fired, invited for speeches and interviews, but was also the whipping boy for conspiracy theorists on black talk radio.

Washington D.C.'s congressional representative even denounced me and my co-host in a Washington Post rebuttal that was littered with conspiracy theories.

Back in 2003, I received several calls from people telling me I was being investigated by the D.C. public school system. The callers told me "to watch your back," as some people were trying to find "dirt" to destroy me and whoever was funding me.

A prominent advocate for the school system was denouncing me as a "dangerous man" and warning parents to stay away from me.

The school board president routinely denounced me (even after she publicly switched her position in favor of school choice), and the chief of staff to the superintendent of schools said at a meeting with parents that he wanted to punch me in the nose.

I knew why they were focusing on me: I was working directly with parents. The school board president was shocked when, in a public debate with me, parents came to my defense and criticized her.

I had gained so much credibility among parents that they were inviting me to parent meetings and asking me to investigate school spending. I told the parents the truth: "I'm a policy analyst, but I wouldn't know what to look for in a school budget."

They insisted that, as parents, school leaders would ignore them, but I had the power to scare the system. They may have been right, and that could explain the phone calls warning me I was being investigated.

As Yogi Berra would say, it was deja vu all over again when I began working with North Korean refugees in South Korea. It didn't take long for me to start hearing that some South Koreans were asking if the CIA had sent me.

When people ask me if the North Korean government is watching me, I say it is more likely the South Korean government is doing so.

A few years ago there were so many conspiracy theories about me that I wanted to gather together the people spreading them at a conference to have a debate among themselves.

Western defenders of North Korea accused me of a being a government agent for the CIA, the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and various government agencies. But wait, some others presented me as a government-hater leading a libertarian conspiracy against North Korea.

I wouldn't mind being part of such a conspiracy, but since my focus is on educational freedom, I would hate to be accused of slacking off when North Korea didn't collapse because I was too busy recruiting English tutors for North Korean refugees.

Shortly after receiving the email demanding I provide proof for what I said 11 years ago on the radio, I read online some crazy suggestion that my tiny nonprofit helping North Korean refugees is "some kind of a CIA-Park Geun-hye league propaganda tool." You, sir or madam, for adding Park Geun-hye to the conspiracy, deserve a VIP pass to a conspiracies conference about me.

To guarantee maximum attendance, I would spread the rumor that the CIA, NIS and libertarian organizations were going to release their top-secret records about me. Then I would accuse everyone in attendance of being in a conspiracy ― against me.

Casey Lartigue Jr. (CJL@alumni.harvard.edu), co-founder of the Teach North Korean Refugees Global Education Center (TNKR), is the 2017 winner of the "Social Contribution" Prize from the Hansarang Rural Cultural Foundation and the 2017 winner of the Global Award from Challenge Korea.