why ar people paranoid?
539832
im paranoid because the government cant be trusted... but thats just me
190460
Well.. a few points to make..\n\nFirst off, I wouldn't say you're too paranoid, just a little - and thats not really bad. I, too sleep with my pistol next to my bed in my nightstand. Its not that I feel like someones going to break in and kill me at any given moment, its just a sense of security. Like a locked door, or an alarm system. \n\nSecondly.. I think humans have had their lives made very, very easy in the past hundred, two hundred years. I think that to some degree, we *want* something to happen. \n\nI think that its natural, its exciting, its adrenaline pumping. We don't get to use our adrenaline, our survival instincts or our basic primal skills any more - and we miss it. \n\nWorse case scenario: You're prepared. And theres nothing wrong with that.
776774
People claim paranoia on your part out of fear of the unknown.\n\nWhat you are basically suggesting when you ask them about it is whether something out of the ordinary is taking place... which generally means something less inherantly predictable and understandable. \nSince people are afraid of what they don't understand, the last thing they want is for unpredictable circumstances of a potentially negative nature to be entering into their lives. As such they will try to blot such things out and deny their existence. Naturally if you are trying to tell them that such things are happening in the vicinity, whether it involves them or not, they see it as a potential threat and want to try and convince you that its not actually happening. \nThen again, they typically don't want to try and invest the time to convince you that it isn't real... especially when its more of an instinctual reaction than a well-reasoned one.... thus they will typically take the short route of immediately dismissing it as paranoia on your part, and telling you so.\n\nNaturally those who have already experienced it wouldn't be receiving any further disruption by your asking them about it.... but rather the fact that you too had witnessed the same thing as them would reassure them that it was more than just them at risk of the unknown... and moreover that more people experiencing it means more people to come to terms with it and understand it... thus making it less of a threat......... hence why THEY will agree and not cite it as paranoia.\n\n\nDoes that answer your question?
168616
Why do they feel that way?  Because obviously it works...  \n\nJust think how a statement like "Yahoo Answers has people who are sending coded terrorist messages" will cause a bunch of people to freak out..
1014003
People tend to say they hate things that they dont know anything about because they are scared.  They fear it because it is different from how they are and they dont know it, so its scarey to them.
847165
cause they're afraid 2 look/sound like some idiot! \nthis is going 2 sound weird, but im afraid that somtimes people can read my mind... i feel sorry for them if they can. my mind's a scary place
1127698
repressed religious hypocrital nazis and liars .....\n\nthey are afraid of everything..........\n\nexcept war and censorship..\n\nwhat a shame that we live in such a pitifully idiotic country..
429733
because people are tend to be scared of the unknown and they have no clue what to expect from the mentally ill or challenged there for their only response can and will be coldness and callousness.that is to protect them selves.
1142277
Some people get insecure or fearful around others who are not like they are. They attack the one who is different, to help them feel better about themselves and their decisions (which actually probably means they are not secure in their own decision or choice).
158745
Paranoia can be caused by some medical conditions, by certain medcations and substances, and by chemical imbalances in the brain.\n\nIf you are experiencing paranoia enough that you are feeling a need to ask about it, then you  need to find the cause first. Go to your medical doctor. Let him do a work up to make sure their isn't a medical condition or medcations causing it. If you are using alchohol or drugs of any kind or in any amount, be honest with him.\n\nDo not try treating yourself or try "alternative" measures. You may put yourself or other people at risk of harm. Find the source and deal with it. You need medical and possibly psychological professionals to help you with this.
582062
Because people are more likely to do what they're told than to do what they think.  When people are told that a person has power, even when the facts show that the person is vulnerable, people percieve that person as powerful, and become afraid of that person and do whatever the person says.\n\nWhy did the slaves, who normally greatly outnumbered the plantation owners, do what they were told rather than overcome their oppressors?  Why do occupied countries spend so much time under foreign rule when the natives always greatly outnumber the invaders?  Why are people more likely to allow themselves to be victimised than fight back?\n\nThe answer, is simple: percieved power and a natural tendancy to fear power.
1045510
False premise.  Not 'everyone' is scared ...'.  Come back when you have a real question.\n\nand have a nice day.
1151895
It isn't the government that's paranoid, but they're working very hard to be sure that *the citizens* are.  Since W's popularity (such as it is) comes from being "tough on terror," he has to be sure that enough of us continue to believe that we're under constant threat.\n\nHermann Goehring understood this and stated it perfectly:  "...the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is tell them they are being attacked and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger. It works the same way in any country." \n\nAnd there you have it... people rush to sacrifice their freedoms like Disney's lemmings over a cliff and into the sea.
447930
because they are so afraid of being along.
810562
It is specifically to disorient susceptible people. \n\nKidding
1180814
educate yourself about whatever it is you're paranoid about... buy a BOOK or two.
59209
People like to be surrounded by the familiar.  When they encounter someone who doesn't act/look/believe what they are used to, they often fear it.  Most people get over this, realizing that different points of view is what make the world great, but some others just don't want to accept that there's a larger world beyond their own.