QAnon, WTF?

I remember when “Q” was an ageless sometimes malevolent supreme being who identified with the Q Continuum. He lived and materialized at will in the future time of 2367. He took delight when he harangued Capt. Jean-Luc Picard of Star Trek fame. He was a fictional character and perhaps the inspiration for the creation of another mischievous apparition. This new specter would act as an inside secret source of information for those who could interpret his clues, known as “Q drops.” His followers would be called QAnon.

 

Q of Star Trek fame

 

 

 

QAnon seems to be the creation of one bored YouTube video creator and two Dark Web conspiracy posters who decided to monetize the conspiracy industry. They invented “Q” to be a high-ranking military officer with insider information. The identity of Q’s creators would be hidden behind aspects of the Dark Web. There are names associated with their IP addresses, but none have come forward to claim authorship. The original three, with the help of fellow conspiracy theorists from whom they solicited help, have taken to the various fringe message boards and websites to create a fiction that would excite an expanded base of followers. Unlike the satire site, the Onion, which is clearly labeled as satire, the QAnon folks are true believers. I’m guessing this is the digital age’s version of the supermarket tabloid.

 

 

 

They have championed Trump to be the latest comic-book-like hero who is fighting evil. Yes, Donald J. Trump has replaced the two-headed space aliens holding Elvis captive aboard their yellow submarine in the city of Atlantis. This would be funny and something we could easily dismiss if it weren’t for the fact that two Republican QAnon believers won their elections and are headed to Washington in January. Yes, Marjorie Taylor Greene won a House seat from Georgia and Lauren Boebert won a House seat from Colorado. Both Greene and Boebert are QAnon believers.

 

 

QAnon followers in Congress

 

Another in the wild QAnon conspiracy theories was their belief that John F. Kennedy Jr. was still alive and that he would be Trump’s announced running mate for Vice President. Try getting your head around that pronouncement and then imagine the types of people who would consider that a possibility.

 

The evil villains in their stories are all members of “the deep state” that includes the Hollywood elite and top Democrats who are baby-eating, Satan worshiping, pedophiles. Some in this growing fringe of society believe that lizard-people, disguised as corporate leaders and celebrities and evil scientists and governments are all conspiring to use Covid-19 for their own dark purposes. Much of their rhetoric follows the racist and antisemitic lines of other Trump followers.

 

While I’m sure many of us have read the crazy headlines at the supermarket checkout counters, I don’t personally know anyone who actually believes those stories to be more than entertainment. But, enter the digital age and its collision with the folks who think the National Enquirer is a real newspaper, and you now have conspiracy theory followers dangerous enough to arm themselves and take action against the evil villains.

 

 

 

That there are people gullible enough to believe these stories is frightening. In 2018 a follower blocked traffic on the Hoover Dam with an armored vehicle. One early QAnon story was labeled Pizza-gate and claimed there was a pedophile ring operating out of a Washington, DC pizza shop. One deranged follower showed up at the business with his assault rifle and fired it during his “rescue” of the non-existent children.

 

Pizza shop falsely targeted as site of child sex ring

 

 

Researchers theorize that conspiracy beliefs may be tied to anxiety and a feeling of being powerless. Such individuals latch on to these wild theories to gain sociopolitical control by a rejection of official narratives that contradict their own interests. These people may feel otherwise isolated but, by sharing conspiracy beliefs with other like-minded individuals, they find solace.

 

One personality profile of conspiracy believers was the injustice collector. That individual finds the world an unjust place and is likely to be impulsive and overconfident. They were excited to expose the naïveté of others not “in the know.” By holding on to such outlandish beliefs, they got the attention that they crave and a sense of camaraderie with other believers. Our current pandemic and the deep political division within our country, have created the perfect storm that feeds the delusions of the QAnon adherents.

 

In the outer fringes of this group one personality disorder is prevalent and that is a pattern of thinking called “psychoticism.” Phychoticism is central to the schizo-typical personality disorder with its magical thinking and paranoid ideation. It is just a few degrees short of full-blown schizophrenia. In this extreme group are those who may act on their delusions and become a threat to others. Conspiracy theorists run the gamut from those who will just forward unvetted questionable stories supporting their belief system to those who actively look for lizard-like behavior in others.

 

The Lizard People are Everywhere

QAnon followers fall into the extreme end of the spectrum. Donald Trump refers to QAnon followers as “people who love our country” but the FBI has labeled them a potential domestic terror threat. It is not just domestic as it has a worldwide audience. The “Q” posts show up on the message board 4chan, the rebranded 8chan now called 8kun, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. There was a July crackdown on Twitter to curb QAnon content that affected 150,000 accounts. Facebook too has announced the removal of sites that “represent” QAnon and all supportive ads.

 

QAnon Supporter at Trump Rally

 

If you think we are now entering the Twilight Zone, just know that the last four years were not a dream. You’ve been living in that parallel universe for some time now. QAnon is with us. Two of its followers will be sworn into the new Congress. In a recent survey of 1,583 registered voters, 37% of Trump’s base believe that he had been elected as a savior to root out a secret Satanic child-sex trafficking ring run by Democrats.

 

 

“It is a dimension as vast as space and as timeless as infinity. It is the middle ground between light and shadow, between science and superstition, and it lies between the pit of man's fears and the summit of his knowledge. This is the dimension of imagination. It is an area which we call The Trump Zone.”