[Originally published 2/22/21. It was removed in a sweep of Qanon material but 'reinstated.' That's OK because bots are required to handle chores on the internet.]
I've been casually observing Qanon adherents for maybe 7 months now. I hadn't noticed that they were overly nuts. Some, maybe the ones held up as examples in Twitter, seemed like regular folks with good hearts. I'm reevaluating that impression now.
It's one thing to care about children and worry that there might be pedophile rings. It's another to think that most high-ranking Democrats and intelligence folks are part of those rings. And to think that others would allow that to continue until they could all be arrested in one huge operation spearheaded by Donald Trump and JFK Jr. who is actually still alive. Not only is that idea nutty, it's rather nasty too because the Q folks have decided that one group (Dems) contains all these vile people. That's scapegoating and prejudice and an extremely harsh judgment based on the creepiest kind of evidence.
I was somewhat worried about Q, but hadn't seen that any had committed much violence except for one wacko murder in NY. I have to reevaluate that too because it seems like Q folks were heavily involved in the mob action on the Capitol on Jan. 6. The woman shot by a police officer: a Q believer. The woman crushed in a crowd: a Q believer. A guy arrested in the Upper East Side: a Q believer. Few of them identified themselves in the crowd, but it seems that they were there. I'll be watching for the reports.
But what will Q do now?
Q himself is supposedly not dropped a message since sometime in November. One of the people pretending to be Q, Someone Watkins who runs 8kun, is telling people to move on to something else, but thanks for these wonderful times we've had and the friends we made. Some Q folks are waking up to the likelihood that they fell hard for a hoax. A few hardcore ones are trying to hang on. Maybe some grifters will help them do it and will fake some drops. The latest is that Trump will be inaugurated on March 4 (the old date for inaugurations) and the military will round up those perfidious Dem pedophiles. Then on March 5 they'll move the goalposts again.
Extras. Unsorted good articles on Q. An excellent analysis of the game aspects of Qanon and why it's addictive. The Hill. Washington Post. A man fingered as Q who has a feel for how dangerous it is. Qanon is the conspiracy to eat all other conspiracies. A hilarious video interview of four Qanons revealing a variety of their beliefs and also some mutual doubts. Why is Qanon popular among evangelical Christians? Distrust of news sources and faith in a divine plan.
Update 3/3/21. An article about deprogrammers who work with Qanons. One method is getting them to remember how they started being sucked. The person is led to connect the dots of how they were sucked in, and it helps them evaluate the process more clearly.
Update 3/4/21. The reinguration of Trump was supposed to happen today. DC didn't want to be caught off-guard again, so there was a strong National Guard contingent. Very few Qanons showed up. I've heard of 4. It looks like Qanon is dead. Now is time for the former Qanons to forget they ever believed that trash.
Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Qanon and rightwing nutscase, was elected to the House. A search of her social media turned up her upvoting calls for violence against other members of Congress, who weren't too pleased with their new colleague. She was promptly voted off committees. Is this a harbinger of increased partisanship to come?
