Everyone loves a good conspiracy theory, but there is a point at which belief goes too far. In this blog post, I will not be commenting on fun and quirky conspiracies like bigfoot or aliens, but instead on a particular brand of right-wing conspiracy theories which have led people to literally break into the Whitehouse (killing 5 people). Here we will take a deep dive into the deep state, or what is more commonly called "Qanon."
To begin dissecting the mythology of Qanon, it is important to understand the cultural landscape from which it arises. In 1958, the john birch society was founded by H. W. Welch Jr. who was a candy salesman. Welch was not only a full-time candyman but also a full-time communism-fearing borderline schizophrenic (picture the guy from stranger things who never wore pants but was always checking his windows for black CIA SUVs, except with a touch of bigotry). He created this society as a means of disseminating his anti-communist propaganda through the creation of fringe conspiracy theories, the likes of which caused fellow right-wing politicians to fear for their own political legitimacy. Whether welch truly believed the information he concocted is up for debate. After all, he gained an extremely large amount of wealth through this endeavor.
Since Welch, it is hard to separate right-wing political thought with the conspiratorial ideas he once made popular, such as the concept that the government has nothing but our worst interests in mind. With the propagation of the internet, those who tended to hold more paranoid views of the political landscape gained a way of reinforcing their own beliefs through things such as internet forums and social media. As time progressed, it became impossible for a southern man to scroll through Twitter without having to glance upon his uncle larry's longwinded report on how the angel Gabriel sent him a message saying Obama sacrificed young virgins to an ancient Babylonian demon named Moloch (I wish this were a joke).
Now, thanks to 4chan, we have a systematic religion that has been adopted by many republicans. The main tenants of this faith are as follows: The higher-ups (politicians, business owners, Hollywood stars) are all in a secret cabal run by Jewish infiltrators, this cabal worships satan (or satan disguised as ancient Mesopotamian gods), its members torture and rape young children in order to extract "adrenochrome" which allows them to have such flawless skin, and Donald Trump is trying to infiltrate the American government in order to bring these things to light.
There are many reasons why people have fallen victim to such ideas, however, I will focus on one; this comprehensive mythology gives people a way to escape any criticism for their own personal beliefs. And by personal beliefs, I'm mostly referring to evangelical style Christian beliefs. According to "Qanon" doctrine, science is only one of many ways the government controls how we think in order to keep us from finding the truth about our overlords. All facts which refute Christian beliefs are a lie from satan himself. This is why most Q members don't get vaccines because the vaccine is actually a microchip (or what the book of revelation refers to as the "mark of the beast"). This doctrine also offers an avenue with which its believers can safely harbor racism, in the form of antisemitism.
Ironically, for a group of people that stress not trusting authority figures, they are the most likely to not fact-check information they receive from random cocaine addicts on youtube. It usually boils down to an internet guru who has received special information from a whistleblower deciding to freely administer this information for all to see online, other sources are not reliable because the government has its hands in every pie. This is why it is so hard to argue with such people, they are choosing to ignore any counterargument because their very soul depends on it. Their enemies are part of satans army sent to torment good Christians.
We are living in very tumultuous times, and it is no surprise people find solace in crazy conspiracies such as "Qanon." After all, it's better to believe in something completely absurd and dangerous than to have to think for yourself. Reality is painful when you've grown up with fantasy.
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