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cfinnigan's review against another edition
1.0
Painfully bad
The question asked by this book is “If you add 4 dimensional reptiles to a bunch of racist nonsense, is it still racist nonsense?”. Yes, yes it is.
The question asked by this book is “If you add 4 dimensional reptiles to a bunch of racist nonsense, is it still racist nonsense?”. Yes, yes it is.
lucidquasar's review against another edition
dark
informative
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
4.5
adamz24's review against another edition
1.0
I can't, in good conscience, rate this more than one star. But the book was, honestly, a joy. As a guy who loves The X-Files, who has a fascination with esoterica and general weirdness, I found this book thoroughly enjoyable; it is an encyclopedic amalgam of ancient mythology, esoterica, new age babble, pop psychology, and every conspiracy theory known to human and reptile.
Some people contend that David Icke does not believe in his reptilian thesis. That David Icke is just a guy who figured out how fucked up the world is and how fucked up power can be and is trying to find ways to get people to think through these issues. As in, he's catering to an obviously massive number of people who are not willing to consider the evils of, say, late capitalism and corporate influence, unless also told that reptilians are in charge of capitalist machinations. That this is satire along the lines of Swift or (more reasonably and probably) just a form of esoteric teaching that's not really about its surface meaning at all.
I prefer to think that David Icke really believes in the reptilians. It's much more fun that way.
I'm also not sure if believing Icke's nonsense is a path to a better world. I've started taking more seriously the idea that, for the hoi polloi, dumb crap that challenges the power structures that perpetuate the worst impulses of humanity might be suitable, might be the only way to reach the idiotic brains of the great unwashed. Or, to put that more nicely, it might be a good thing for impressionable morons to fall for new agey crap vs. sticking with fascist religious organizations that actively support and cover up for child rapists, or fascist religious leaders who actively support patriarchal violence against women, or utterly vile war-mongers of both religious and political stripes, etc.
Given how vile the mainstream messages we receive are, and how unquestioning the beliefs of most people are in such crap, what harm can fooling the masses into believing in reptilian conspiracies best fought with LOVE and crystals or whatever the fuck do?
Then there's the part of me that responds with the less cynical viewpoint and probably the more mature one: we really ought to not perpetuate the idea that people are that stupid. That maybe it's better to, uh, actually try to get at the truth, or at political and social arrangements that maximize quality of life and prevent horrific abuses. Sans reptiles.
Then again, there's plenty of legitimation for the point of view that holds that people are just weird and kooky apes and really just want you to tell them some story about magic reptiles (or magic fire-beings and light-beings and magic sky fairies and magic zombie carpenters). But let's take Hinduism for an example. The philosophical Hinduism of the Upanishads and of subsequent philosophical schools in India is an extremely sophisticated, intellectually rigorous philosophical system or approach. The standard-issue Hinduism of the uneducated is the kind of thing that perpetuates the worst kind of tribal nonsense, superstition, and cultural exclusion. It has virtually nothing in common with the Upanishads except common names for the gods. So let's say Icke's work becomes the template for a proper cult and spreads to the truly moronic and intellectually uninspired. Do you see where that takes us? Icke's already talking to Christian Patriot militias in the States.
But, on the other hand, atheistic/irreligious ideologies that include no magic beings of any kind contributed to the murder of over 100 million people in the 20th century. Hello, Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Pot, et al. By comparison, the lunatics in [unnamed organization please don't kill me] are positively cuddly.
So. Where does that leave us? Is Icke a messenger of peace to be respected and admired for his esoteric teachings? Or is he a lunatic spreading pure lies and leading us down a dark path?
Also, re: charges of anti-semitism vs. Icke, I present the following dialogue:
Thoughtful reader: "So, David, by 'reptilians' you obviously mean 'Jews,' right? Like, you're a racist weirdo conspiracy theorist who wants to convince non-racists of the same stuff Stormfront-dwellers already believe, right?"
David Icke, in response: "DOES GEORGE W. BUSH LOOK JEWISH TO YOU?! HE'S OBVIOUSLY A LIZARD FROM THE RACE OF LIZARD PEOPLE THAT CONTROL THE WORLD!"
I dunno. Icke's adopted some of the Jews-control-the-world rhetoric, but without, you know, actual reference to Jewish people. Which is sort of the main thing that's bad about said rhetoric. Icke probably really believes in the reptilians. If an allegory, I think the reptilians represent something broader than the standard-issue Stormfront-type "dem Jews" stuff. As in, they represent the elite with all the power, regardless of which loony Abrahamic thing they follow.
Some people contend that David Icke does not believe in his reptilian thesis. That David Icke is just a guy who figured out how fucked up the world is and how fucked up power can be and is trying to find ways to get people to think through these issues. As in, he's catering to an obviously massive number of people who are not willing to consider the evils of, say, late capitalism and corporate influence, unless also told that reptilians are in charge of capitalist machinations. That this is satire along the lines of Swift or (more reasonably and probably) just a form of esoteric teaching that's not really about its surface meaning at all.
I prefer to think that David Icke really believes in the reptilians. It's much more fun that way.
I'm also not sure if believing Icke's nonsense is a path to a better world. I've started taking more seriously the idea that, for the hoi polloi, dumb crap that challenges the power structures that perpetuate the worst impulses of humanity might be suitable, might be the only way to reach the idiotic brains of the great unwashed. Or, to put that more nicely, it might be a good thing for impressionable morons to fall for new agey crap vs. sticking with fascist religious organizations that actively support and cover up for child rapists, or fascist religious leaders who actively support patriarchal violence against women, or utterly vile war-mongers of both religious and political stripes, etc.
Given how vile the mainstream messages we receive are, and how unquestioning the beliefs of most people are in such crap, what harm can fooling the masses into believing in reptilian conspiracies best fought with LOVE and crystals or whatever the fuck do?
Then there's the part of me that responds with the less cynical viewpoint and probably the more mature one: we really ought to not perpetuate the idea that people are that stupid. That maybe it's better to, uh, actually try to get at the truth, or at political and social arrangements that maximize quality of life and prevent horrific abuses. Sans reptiles.
Then again, there's plenty of legitimation for the point of view that holds that people are just weird and kooky apes and really just want you to tell them some story about magic reptiles (or magic fire-beings and light-beings and magic sky fairies and magic zombie carpenters). But let's take Hinduism for an example. The philosophical Hinduism of the Upanishads and of subsequent philosophical schools in India is an extremely sophisticated, intellectually rigorous philosophical system or approach. The standard-issue Hinduism of the uneducated is the kind of thing that perpetuates the worst kind of tribal nonsense, superstition, and cultural exclusion. It has virtually nothing in common with the Upanishads except common names for the gods. So let's say Icke's work becomes the template for a proper cult and spreads to the truly moronic and intellectually uninspired. Do you see where that takes us? Icke's already talking to Christian Patriot militias in the States.
But, on the other hand, atheistic/irreligious ideologies that include no magic beings of any kind contributed to the murder of over 100 million people in the 20th century. Hello, Stalin, Mao, Hitler, Pot, et al. By comparison, the lunatics in [unnamed organization please don't kill me] are positively cuddly.
So. Where does that leave us? Is Icke a messenger of peace to be respected and admired for his esoteric teachings? Or is he a lunatic spreading pure lies and leading us down a dark path?
Also, re: charges of anti-semitism vs. Icke, I present the following dialogue:
Thoughtful reader: "So, David, by 'reptilians' you obviously mean 'Jews,' right? Like, you're a racist weirdo conspiracy theorist who wants to convince non-racists of the same stuff Stormfront-dwellers already believe, right?"
David Icke, in response: "DOES GEORGE W. BUSH LOOK JEWISH TO YOU?! HE'S OBVIOUSLY A LIZARD FROM THE RACE OF LIZARD PEOPLE THAT CONTROL THE WORLD!"
I dunno. Icke's adopted some of the Jews-control-the-world rhetoric, but without, you know, actual reference to Jewish people. Which is sort of the main thing that's bad about said rhetoric. Icke probably really believes in the reptilians. If an allegory, I think the reptilians represent something broader than the standard-issue Stormfront-type "dem Jews" stuff. As in, they represent the elite with all the power, regardless of which loony Abrahamic thing they follow.
cbranco's review against another edition
3.0
That was... interesting. While I obviously don't believe the Queen Mother was a lizard and Barbra Streisand a mind-controlled slave, and while a bit racist, I don't think Prince Phillip is a satanic cannibal, there is a tiny grain of truth in this book. Also, I really like Icke's writing - inserting the word "willy" in what is supposed to be a serious book is always nice.
arthurbdd's review against another edition
1.0
This is where David Icke reached the final iteration of his formula: all of his subsequent books would more or less be rehashes of this one, with some mild tweaks to react to then-current events. That's a shame for him, because if you're going to constantly rewrite the same basic book, you'd better make sure it's not as wretched as this is.
Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2019/10/13/pickin-up-truth-vibrations-part-3-the-reptoids-of-wonderland/
Full review: https://fakegeekboy.wordpress.com/2019/10/13/pickin-up-truth-vibrations-part-3-the-reptoids-of-wonderland/
lfagundes's review against another edition
1.0
this book is totally the most ridiculous and somehow still amazing conspiracy book that i have read so far. he claims -- and somewhat "proves" through amazing circumstantial evidence -- the following: hitler wasa rothschild jew, princess diana was murdered by the royal family, and all the presidents and people of power are actually reptilian shape-shifters from another dimension that are controlling our thoughts through radio waves and other mind control techniques. brilliant!
it's totally worth a read, but must be taken with a grain of salt.
it's totally worth a read, but must be taken with a grain of salt.
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