Discussion: Birds Aren't Real!

* * Shoes-Off Venue * *
This venue requires that you remove your outdoor footwear on arrival.

* * Feel free to bring food or drinks * *
* * Participation is optional - you can join us to speak or to listen * *

All birds in the United States were exterminated by the federal government between 1959 and 1971, and replaced by lookalike drones used by the government to spy on citizens. Birds sit on power lines to recharge themselves, they poop on cars as a tracking method, and U.S. president John F. Kennedy was assassinated by the government due to his reluctance to kill all the birds.

So claims the satirical conspiracy theory called Birds Aren't Real. It was invented "on a whim" by Peter McIndoe in January 2017. He wrote the now infamous phrase on a sign, and joined a group of Trump supporters who were counterprotesting the Women's March, and a video of him went viral. He now makes media appearances and alternates between playing a crazy character who pretends to believe his absurd theory, and occasionally breaking character to explain his true motivations.

In a January 2022 60 Minutes interview, he described his motivations as "So it's taking this concept of misinformation and almost building a little safe space to come together within it and laugh at it, rather than be scared by it. And accept the lunacy of it all and be a bird truther for a moment in time when everything's so crazy." Just like real conspiracy theorists, he now earns his living by selling conspiracy-related merchandise.

In October 2022, a Birds Aren't Real protest was organized in New York City, and it attracted hundreds of people waving signs and yelling at the government to admit the conspiracy, and end their surveillance drone program. Unlike Flat-Earth conspiracy theorists, the Birds Aren't Real protesters are in on the joke. They know it's fake, and their protest was more like a civil-disobedience-themed block party.

Is this a fun joke or a dumb waste of time, energy and media bandwidth? Wouldn't it be nice if we had this kind of energy to protest about real problems in our society? What do you think about Birds Aren't Real?

Join us for fun, friendly and substantive discussion about the important topics of the day. All opinions are welcome for this friendly, moderated discussion.

How it Works
Everyone will be invited to share their opinion, share relevant facts and reasoning, and respond to the views of others.

Our moderator will ensure that everyone has equal opportunity to speak and that dialogue will be kept respectful. All viewpoints are welcome. After the event, you are invited to stay for friendly, informal discussion if you wish.

Aren't you worried about having an event with 50+ people?!?
No because there will not be 50 people at the event. On Meetup, many attendees cancel at the last minute, and many are no-shows who skip the event without cancelling. I set the RSVP limit to 55 people, I reduce that limit to 45 in the last two days before the event, and then 20-30 people will actually attend.

This allows us to hit our attendance target of 15-30 people, and it ensures that attendees have their spot guaranteed weeks in advance. This makes the guest count inaccurate, but it's the simplest way to provide you a reliable and positive RSVP experience.

Suggested Reading

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birds_Aren%27t_Real

Birds Aren't Real Protest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whks0aPBhDw

Ideals
Please read the Studio 42 Ideals before attending the event:
http://stu42.co/ideals

Admission
Admission is free. We accept donations to help fund our events.

Latecomers
Latecomers are welcome but we start promptly at 6:05pm so if you arrive late, you will miss out!