QAnon can’t be Qkilled, but it can mutate into a new form, a bit like the Borg, apparently. At present, if you’re a QAnon-er awaiting the Second Coming of Donald Trump in Washington, that plot line is wearing a bit thin. In response, the focus of QAnon has been forced to change from obsession with the Big Lie, to Trump’s inauguration as 19th “real president,” with all the shape shifting dates, to its latest gambit, COVID denialism. And there for the moment, it sits, and focuses its dementia and destructive powers. Like the Borg, if it can’t make it in one form, it will morph into another. Washington Post:
“Nothing so far has been able sink QAnon, whether it be massive purges by social media companies or the failure of its so-called plan to manifest,” said Rita Katz, executive director of the SITE Intelligence Group, which tracks online extremism. “Now, as energy around its election-related conspiracy theories loses momentum, the Q movement has doubled its focus on themes like covid-19 denialism and vaccine skepticism.” […]
Within the alternative universe of the “Q NEWS OFFICIAL TV” group on Telegram, coronavirus vaccines aren’t saving lives and bending the pandemic toward its eventual end. Rather, they are bioweapons concocted by an evil cabal of corrupt government officials and drug companies.
Their goal? Depopulation. Social control. Altering the very genetic structure of our species. […]
Videos with names such as “Murder By ‘Vaccine’ — The Evidence Mounts!” and “Doctors and Nurses Giving the coronavirus vaccine Will Be Tried as War Criminals” have been viewed tens of thousands of times after being linked on QAnon-themed channels, including “Q NEWS OFFICIAL TV,” which has more than 50,000 members. Other QAnon groups on Telegram have more than 200,000 members — and endless streams of misinformation about the pandemic.
Whomever this nuttiness appeals to and why is one of the wonders of our age. It’s not surprising that somebody has done a documentary on it, and the trailer looks interesting. I know I will be tuned into this. It’s probably not coincidence that it starts March 21, since March 20 is the last drop dead deadline for Trump to reappear at the White House, and you know how that’s going to end, even if QAnon doesn’t.
This should be interesting. It premieres on HBO as a 6 part series starting March 21. pic.twitter.com/qQiW1O7kUP
— PatriotTakes ?? (@patriottakes) March 11, 2021
Take careful notes if you watch this, you may see future Republican House members and Senators. I wish I was joking.
I have loved science fiction my entire life and I always have enjoyed other people with the same interest. As a kid, I read the genre voraciously, went to science fiction conventions and participated in fandom. Some people mocked sci fi fandom, and the people attracted to it, considering us oddballs at best, social cripples at worst. But I’ll tell you something: however off beat or totally out there some of those folks may have been, they knew what was real and what wasn’t. They didn’t get the comic book plots mixed up with day to day life. They could tell the difference. And that is more than I can say for QAnon. That’s what scares me.
Ursula and all, I love to read all kinds of stuff, but discovered science fiction as a kid and it always has had a special place for me. And yes, readers and writers of science fiction know the difference between reality and fiction. But why don’t these crazies? I think it may be due partly to social media and partly a refusal to exercise any critical thinking. It’s a mystery.
They’ve spent too much time sitting in front of a TV screen watching what is risibly described as ‘reality’ TV. TV so faked that it portrayed Dimwit Donny as a successful businessman, when in actual reality he was the literal biggest money loser in US history. Primed by this TV treatment they no longer believe actual reality. This is a shame for them because you can’t live in a fantasy forever, and reality with it’s inconvenient truths and uncomfortable facts ultimately comes back at you. Transferring from a fantasy back into reality is often a painful experience, just ask any recovering addict.
They still consider me an odd-ball regarding Sci-Fi. However, watching events unfold in the right wing of US politics feels like watching a re-run of the Twilight Zone (and I do have all 5 sesaons of it here)
My theory is all of this started when Reagan threw thousands of unmedicated mental patients on the streets and upon society with little or no recourse……in time, they blended into the fringes of society, grew in numbers and united in a sense of belonging to something larger than themselves and reproduced amongst themselves to become today’s militia types, RWNJs and gullible Q-Nut types who remained mostly hidden and quiet, until their psycopathical Orange Grand Pooh-bah arrived on the scene, blowing dog whistles through a megaphone.
Thinking about this Q crap and science fiction at the same time has caused a question to pop into my head. When it comes to science fiction I can’t say I’ve read all that much of it although I’ve certainly enjoyed Arthur C. Clarke’s forays into the genre with the 2001 series – in addition to the original work there were two follow up books. In general though I don’t know much about science fiction classics or even the big name writers. I have however enjoyed science fiction in TV and film over the course of my life.
I do however know that there was a certain failed (so I am given to understand) science fiction writer who decided to do a twist on traditional science fiction writing. What this writer did was create a religion based on crappy science fiction writing. The writer’s name was L. Ron Hubbard and the “religion” is (sadly) alive and thriving financially. It’s called Scientology. It has the hallmarks of a cult, although not everyone goes full cult member. It’s rather elastic that way. Happy to take money (serious money) from the curious to full on cult level immersion. It is pervasive (I never cease to be surprised at famous people who turn out to be members, although many are little more than ornaments who apparently don’t have to jump through all the hoops) and the believers have funded a financial powerhouse. To me it’s just one giant con of a cult.
Anyway, what occurred to me reading this article is that the mysterious “Q” (an even worse asshole than the dude in Star Trek – The Next Generation) might be the dude who took over the “church” of Scientology when Hubbard died. The believers in the whole Q thing are gullible sheep to be sheered financially for someone who knows how to use the right bait, get them to nibble on it and then set the hook. Right up David Miscavige (or however his last name is spelled – I’m not going to dignify him by looking it up) alley!
I for one wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if one day it turns out the Q movement turns out to be rooted in Scientology, either started as a branch or formed as an offshoot by a long-haul Scientology member who became disgruntled about not moving up to the level they felt they should be and borrowed many of the principles to create their own brand of cray. Those Q flags, t-shirts and other stuff aren’t free. It would be interesting to trace who makes that stuff and sells it, and where all that money goes because it’s starting to look like a LOT of money is being spent.
When I want to escape, I paint or read. The difference between me and these people, is that I do not want others to experience it too. For some reason, these people can’t deal with their own reality, so everyone else must suffer too. They are angry because others can be happy, they want to destroy that. Bullies who like to inflict pain.
My comment is garbled, oh well.
When I jumped out of a plane with the responsibility of pulling my chute, it felt like I was flying. I wasn’t flying. I was falling from thousands of feet. When the ground suddenly started approaching, the illusion was over. If not, SPLAT. These folks are begging for a SPLAT. Granma always said be careful of what you ask for. You just might get it.