PSA: QANON is Back [View all]

[OneGrassRoot]

Just a reminder that this is primarily what we're dealing with in fellow citizens right now sharing dangerous nonsense. Edit to add: It never left but it is out IN FORCE now. I realize I'm largely speaking to the choir here in what I share below, but I had to remind myself that what we're seeing is QANON, not the traditional nonsense from right-wingers.

QANON, the RW conspiracy cult, is very active now w/help from troll farms. MAGA = QANON now. There is also a horseshoe effect happening (left-wing extremists overlap with right-wing extremists). They're irrational and very dangerous, spreading disinformation amidst the fear and suffering in the wake of Hurricane Helene.

It's much more sinister than traditional partisan politics and it's easy to get swept up in their fear and hate mongering if you believe most viral memes right now. Please be extra cautious. Skepticism with a desire to learn the truth is healthy, imo. But facts do not matter to QANON. I haven't found any approach that stops someone from going down that path, since they seem predisposed to it because of their biases, but I had to remind myself that's what is happening again. It's a full-blown conspiracy cult actively working to make people hate and distrust anyone or anything remotely associated with "government" - other than Trump, of course. Whether it's vaccinations, "Dem elites creating hurricanes" (yes, really), the evils of immigrants, multiple lies about relief efforts in Western NC and more. It's no different from what we saw happen in Springfield, OH. One person posts something completely fabricated or containing a kernel of truth, and it's shared as a firsthand account, which it isn't, and it becomes a feeding frenzy. People believe it and create suffering on top of suffering.

It's demoralizing to those of us for whom facts matter to see so many seemingly reasonable people almost eagerly believe things just because it's posted on social media. They put all of us in danger. I don't know what to do about it other than try to keep in mind that that's what we're dealing with: a full-blown conspiracy cult with a nefarious agenda to destroy democracies, destroy diversity, destroy women's rights, and install white Christian nationalists into power.

I recognize that I may be the one who sounds a bit extreme saying this, but I, along with some of you reading, have been monitoring the evolution of what is now QANON as far back as the mid 2000s and saw it absolutely explode and go almost mainstream during the pandemic. It is nefarious for sure. I suppose we just have to keep sharing facts in the hope of preventing even one more person from falling prey. The one thing I know is that the cult leaders want us to feel despair and lose hope, so we can't let their agenda win.

I applaud all of the regular people and mutual aid networks and other organizations doing AMAZING work helping our neighbors hit by tragedy. That's the way it should be. That doesn't mean that I don't recognize the need for efficient aid from the governmental sector as well, local, state and federal, which went into action immediately here in NC. I applaud their efforts as well, because they're also humans, helping other humans, not a faceless entity.