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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsThe Prophecies of Q
American conspiracy theories are entering a dangerous new phase.
This article is part of Shadowland, a project about conspiracy thinking in America
If you were an adherent, no one would be able to tell. You would look like any other American. You could be a mother, picking leftovers off your toddlers plate. You could be the young man in headphones across the street. You could be a bookkeeper, a dentist, a grandmother icing cupcakes in her kitchen. You may well have an affiliation with an evangelical church. But you are hard to identify just from the way you lookwhich is good, because someday soon dark forces may try to track you down. You understand this sounds crazy, but you dont care. You know that a small group of manipulators, operating in the shadows, pull the planets strings. You know that they are powerful enough to abuse children without fear of retribution. You know that the mainstream media are their handmaidens, in partnership with Hillary Clinton and the secretive denizens of the deep state. You know that only Donald Trump stands between you and a damned and ravaged world. You see plague and pestilence sweeping the planet, and understand that they are part of the plan. You know that a clash between good and evil cannot be avoided, and you yearn for the Great Awakening that is coming. And so you must be on guard at all times. You must shield your ears from the scorn of the ignorant. You must find those who are like you. And you must be prepared to fight.
You know all this because you believe in Q.
I. GENESIS
The origins of QAnon are recent, but even so, separating myth from reality can be hard. One place to begin is with Edgar Maddison Welch, a deeply religious father of two, who until Sunday, December 4, 2016, had lived an unremarkable life in the small town of Salisbury, North Carolina. That morning, Welch grabbed his cellphone, a box of shotgun shells, and three loaded gunsa 9-mm AR-15 rifle, a six-shot .38‑caliber Colt revolver, and a shotgunand hopped into his Toyota Prius. He drove 360 miles to a well-to-do neighborhood in Northwest Washington, D.C.; parked his car; put the revolver in a holster at his hip; held the AR-15 rifle across his chest; and walked through the front door of a pizzeria called Comet Ping Pong.
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2020/06/qanon-nothing-can-stop-what-is-coming/610567/
rampartc
(5,435 posts)i can assure you what i have no idea what these idiots are talking about
https://qmap.pub/
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)I have been aware of the movement. That's a good source for just how shockingly bizarre it does get.
The implications of it, considering their numbers and connections to other events, issues and RW media, (Trump, Fox, OANN, etc.) it may be alarming, but we need to be more aware of it now. It has a growing momentum and it is not just a sidebar thing.
relayerbob
(6,555 posts)cayugafalls
(5,643 posts)I see the Pepe meme all over here where I live...I know that my neighbors are onboard with Q and I need to be aware and informed.
Thanks for posting the link...
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)I am glad it is useful. Yes, keep an eye peeled and be aware. At least you know now.
Be safe and don't worry too much. This is still unfolding and we don't know how far they might go. It could just be ridiculous, deluded posturing. We may have a better handle on it after the General Election if all goes well. At least the Stochastic-Terrorist-In-Chief won't be egging them on.
Q's prophecies in the past have been sensationalist and did not come to pass, yet, it goes on. It is feeding something in some people that tells us there is a real problem in our culture right now and the view they have is sort of backwards and very distorted and there are probably many things behind that.
Midnight Writer
(21,795 posts)In fact, if you get talking to one of these lunatics, they will carry on in a loud manner until they wear your ear out.
They love to show off all the "secrets" they "know".
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)Heheheh. Wow!
That's a common theme for conspiracy theorists in general. They don't see to realize that part of the psychological attraction of it is to be in the "in crowd", the knowing, the woke, whatever. However, it turns out to be a test for how much denial, delusion, paranoia, etc., you are prone to. Odd how it works backwards.
jeffreyi
(1,943 posts)I had no idea how pervasive this crap is. Wowsie. And it makes sense that pussgut buttwarble and his handlers are dialed into, and exploiting this.
A new religion...!
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)Well, that's why I posted it. I realize it is under reported so it gets to ferment in the background and that's not good.
It is also important because of its organizing principle in relation to what we see on the surface. Without being too alarmist, it has the potential to overflow and just catch us by surprise, so monitoring it is at least a heads up unless they ease up. However, Trump is a stochastic terrorist, so he encourages and emboldens the delusional and paranoid, as if they were his "army" or something.
mia
(8,362 posts)Long article, but worth the time!
Newest Reality
(12,712 posts)I agree, long, but the content was important and explains a lot to us so we are aware of what is going on.
Forewarned is forearmed. This is quite a cultural phenomena. It's not so bad when it is just small fringe groups, (you are bound to have them) but it is a bit more concerning to see how popular and pervasive it has become and we can thank the Orange Thing for throwing gasoline on the fire and emboldening them, etc.
Just denouncing Q would have made a big difference on Trump's part. Oh, they could come up with some that distorted logic to cover it up, ("oh, he said that to throw off the libtards and media...did you see him wink?" but that would have thrown some sand in the gears at least. Again, he has responsibility for his stochastic terrorism. He knows what he is doing with that and his intent is malicious.
AnnieBW
(10,457 posts)I was selling my handmade jewelry at a local church's Christmas Bazaar. It's a Catholic church, but I don't think that realize that I'm Pagan. Or, they don't care. Anyway, the woman at the booth next to me was selling t-shirts, stickers, and things. One of those was the the Laughing Man symbol from "Ghost in The Shell", which is my husband's favorite anime. When he came by to see how I was doing, I pointed this out. Well, apparently she had changed the words around the symbol to something Q-Anon. Which kind of makes sense in the context of the anime - it was a cult. But my husband recoiled like he was burned, and told me that it was Q-Anon crap. After that, I kept my distance. She was batshit crazy anyway.