Reptilian shape-shifters run the world

Time for more weirdos. Today's topic: David Icke.

Like many conspiracy theorists, David Icke believes that the world is run by a secret, elite society that includes many government leaders. Unlike most conspiracy theorists, he believes that the government leaders in the secret society are really giant lizards.

Icke believes that George W. Bush, Bill Clinton, the members of the British royal family, and others are reptilian humanoids from the fourth dimension. Their DNA is a hybrid of reptile and human DNA, and they can "shape shift"--change from reptile form to human form--when they drink human blood. He claims to have heard eyewitness reports of people who have seen these shape-shifting events. He also claims to have done scientific research supporting his reptile theory.

According to Icke, this secret reptilian government is responsible for the Holocaust, the September 11 attacks, and just about every action the government takes.

Many people believe that Icke is a dangerous anti-Semite, arguing that when Icke says "reptiles," it is a code word for "Jews." This theory is bolstered by (a) the fact that his theories echo many other theories involving a secret Jewish ruling elite, (b) the fact that he has, especially in early writings, cited anti-semitic writings and praised far-right leaders, and (c) the praise he has received from various neo-nazi groups.

Going against this theory: (a) many of the members of the reptilian society are clearly not Jewish (George Bush, Queen Elizabeth), (b) he has a really elaborate theory about the reptilian race that makes it seem like he really is talking about reptiles, and (c) he publicly professes respect for the Jewish people.

Icke has a surprisingly large following, especially among New Age-type people and especially in Canada. Before he got into the reptile stuff, Icke was professional soccer player and later a BBC sportscaster in the U.K.

Want to know more? I first read about David Icke in the book Them: Adventures with Extremists, by Jon Ronson. Here is an excerpt. His own website is here. The wikipedia article about him is here.