Why do I occasionally write about the complete and utter lunacy of QAnon?
Permit me to explain.
There exists in Ireland a prehistoric monument in County Meath called Newgrange. This is passage tomb built during the Neolithic period, around 3200 BC. That date makes it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. They did not simply throw this together, it has been very carefully structured so that at the Winter Solstice the rising sun shines directly along the long passage, illuminating the inner chamber and revealing the carvings inside. In years gone by a few, selected by lottery, could be inside to observe this amazing timing. These days we can all do so …
It is fascinating to watch and fascinating to ponder over what motivated our primitive ancestors to pour such vast quantities of their scarce resources into building this monument dedicated to beliefs that you and I would agree are not factual but completely mythological.
The beliefs are not totally unknown. Having grown up in Ireland I’m steeped in the myths and legends of the ancient culture via an oral tradition. Whispers of Tír na nÓg, Na Fianna, The Aos Sí / Aes Sídhe, The Tuatha Dé Danann and much more.
We love telling stories, it is all part of being human and so we still have these whispers from long ago.
In many respects QAnon is a modern complex religious mythology that taps into something similar. It explains the world through a series of myths and legends. Within the Q-verse there are also heroes, hidden supernatural forces, and dark evil that requires people to pour vast amounts of time and energy into it all. It completely consumes those ensnared in a complete fantasy and gives them, not only an explanation for their lot in life, but also a role to play as one of the select few who are an army of light resisting dark evil forces that threaten everything.
It ensnares because it is tantalising and mesmerising. It persists by tickling the human mind and meets a need that humans have to feel important and in control of complete and utter chaos and random events.
In other words, QAnon is very much a potent modern religious mythology that has been naturally selected because it is both enticing and psychologically potent.
I should of course also underline the word mythology. None of it is true. To those outside, it all appears to be batshit crazy on steroids. There is a reason for that. That reason is because that is exactly what it is, and yet it is still also fascinating to observe the machinations of it all from the outside.
Side Note: As a quick primer on QAnon. It is the belief that a cabal of Satan-worshipping pedophiles is running a global child sex-trafficking ring and plotting against US president Donald Trump, who is fighting the cabal and that he is the chosen one to save us.
What is new in the Q-verse?
With the defeat of Trump you have to wonder what is now happening inside the heads of those who embrace QAnon as the deepest of deep truths.
CNN highlights the following …
How QAnon’s lies are hijacking the national conversation
Here are a few insights from that …
…So substantial is QAnon’s following that many Republican elected officials have been loath to condemn it….
…there is something sinister. It’s something much more dangerous going on here…
…Cynthia Miller-Idriss, an education and sociology professor at American University in Washington, DC, said the QAnon movement expanded rapidly over the summer, and intersects with other conspiracy ideas….
…it’s also just amplifying a lot of content that undermines people’s faith in the election, in the integrity of election results, (and) that undermines people’s faith in the vaccine…
…You have 15-year-olds at home feeling like, ‘What do I do? My mom thinks she’s going to go fight child trafficking rings … she’s spending all her time online doing that and has lost touch with reality,’…
…Much of the group’s mystique stems from the anonymity of its “leader,” a figure who goes by “Q” and initially began periodically dropping encrypted messages…
…Trump himself has amplified accounts affiliated with QAnon more than 265 times, according to a comprehensive and widely cited analysis by Media Matters…
…It’s unclear how aware Trump is of QAnon’s coordinated efforts, but he has refused to condemn the group, and has even praised it….
…Riggleman, a former Air Force intelligence officer who has worked as a contractor for the National Security Administration in computer-network operations, told CNN that he recognizes in QAnon messaging the distinct “language of radicalization.” “This is very dangerous,” he said. “I think we’re on a bit of a knife’s edge right now.”.
This following story has also popped up and gives us a new insight into the mysterious Q …
QAnon Is Two Different People, Shows Machine Learning Analysis from OrphAnalytics
They have basically got this …
They speculate the following …
“The next step is to contribute putting a name on QAnon by comparing these signatures to those of the usual suspects,” says Roten. “To do that, we gather and cure written material from these persons to compare it with Q messages.” Recent investigations point to a handful of potential authors behind Q messages, most notably the owner of 8chan forum Jim Watkins. “Tracing back the history of QAnon is important. It could help to understand how and why a baseless and outlandish theory, initially destined to a few isolated hackers, ended up having such a broad social and political impact.”
… but the reality is that what will actually happen, regardless of what “revelations” come out, is that anything that threatens to undermine the belief will simply be dismissed as trickery by the “deep state”.
Meanwhile, NBC News gave us this new twist …
Female extremists in QAnon and ISIS are on the rise. We need a new strategy to combat them.
In essence this …
…Many of the acts of violence QAnon has inspired have been perpetrated by women. Most notably, Jessica Prim, a female QAnon supporter carrying a dozen knives, was arrested in May after authorities alleged that she had livestreamed her expedition to New York City to “take out” Biden. In Texas in August, another QAnon-supporting woman was charged with aggravated assault after, authorities alleged, she rammed her car into other people she believed were involved in the kidnapping of children….
…With women constituting the majority of QAnon followers, we should not be surprised that more women are involved in plots of violence. And the disproportionate participation of women in QAnon is not accidental. QAnon, like the Islamic State militant group, understands that the best way to appeal to women is by exploiting their inherent altruism and desire to protect children….
One Last Thought for now
QAnon is most probably here to stay. Like most beliefs that thrive, it will adapt to circumstances and evolve.
Why?
Basically because so many have invested a great deal into it emotionally. Letting go of that and coming to terms with such a waste of their time and resources for this modern myth is simply too big a leap for them to take.
What is perhaps also rather obvious is that QAnon will chief among the Biden national security team’s concerns. Rightly so, because it really needs to be on their radar.