A large part of why I don't find right-wing conspiracy theories surprising is because I grew up just over the border from Berkeley, so I heard (and hear) absolutely wild left-wing conspiracy theories all the time. And I'm pretty far to the left.

Left-wing conspiracy theories have sometimes been just as violent as right-wing ones. I used to work with someone whose dad was in the Weathermen. I had a friend whose mom was part of a lesbian separatist commune that was heavily armed.

Even recently, when the guy who set off the bomb in Nashville turned out to be a 5G conspiracy theorist, there were 5G protests happening in very wealthy, very left North Berkeley. They weren't violent, but you get the idea: there is plenty of blue state batshittery.

This was also why I have side-eyed much of the "resistance" tweeting (and grifting): one of the first tweets I saw from a prominent left wing thinker after the 2016 election suggested we should all arm ourselves.

There may not be the same numbers or funding or organization in these left-leaning conspiracy circles but they are out there, and they are just as capable of doing damage as the right. Just something I've been thinking about lately.