Cults have been a part of US culture since before the 70s. With violent faiths and deadly cults, Charles Manson, Reverend Jim Jones, and many other cult leaders became common names in American households.
Cults are a breeding ground when people are craving community. By definition, a cult is a group or movement thats held together by a shared commitment to a leader or ideology. Hence, why the Coronavirus outbreak (COVID-19), mixed with lockdown, unemployment, and an excessive amount of time spent online, brought to light the wildest conspiracy theory morphed into a radical, far-right political conservative movement, Q-Anon.
Have no clue what Q-Anon or Q is? Read more about it, but reader beware. The movement is laced with anti-Semitic rhetoric and beliefs that only could be proven with a Hollywood script budget.
Who Joins Cults?
There’s no particular pathology that says who is susceptible to falling into a cult; however, a few characteristics of a leader mixed with deficiencies in followers lead to the perfect storm. People are more receptive to cult invitations when:
- Experiencing a high level of stress or dissatisfaction
- Have naive idealism
- Looking for fulfillment
- Lack of self-confidence
- Are gullible
- Desire to belong in a group
As an American, it’s important to support everyone’s choice to believe in what their heart desires. This is the promise of living on this “free” land. However, how radical are we allowing the mind to expand when it can become a threat to our nation’s security?
With the quick rise of Q-Anon conspiracies came unwavering support for President Trump. Did I add that we are less than a week away from the election? The question rings louder than ever for me as I consider what a Trump-less future looks like. One major plot hole I’ve found in all Q-Anon rhetoric is, what happens when you remove the main character? Does your belief still stand, or do you appoint a new superhero? It’s clear that thousands who were vulnerable enough to believe this will certainly be susceptible to more deviously planted stories by foreign parties in the future as warfare evolves from physical to technological.
In the thoughts, one can only beg to ask, what do we do with the Q-Anoners who believed poorly crafted Youtube documentaries meant to persuade you into believing that a man who has been in the entertainment and business world for years is now being attacked by the “satanic left” who are trying to take the children for trafficking and blood sacrifice?
The die-hard support of the new “wokeness” that comes from thinking outside of the box and believing these conspiracies as fact leads to the wonder of what is a nation to do with thousands of believers who are blindly following a movement with no leader or official face that distributes the information and no smoking gun proof?
Where do we go from here?
The rise of Q-Anon only showed me the true vulnerability that hides in the corners of the internet. The internet has made us more interconnected than ever, and in the middle of a pandemic with so many unknowns and many of our free liberties we are used to, being stripped temporarily for the greater societal good, left a gaping hole for community and gaining a piece of control back over one’s life.
Deprogramming the masses who have consumed and engaged in hours of divisive rhetoric in the name of patriotism won’t be easy. Especially considering so many are “brainwashed” in their belief that there will be some blockbuster ending where Trump, in a superpower way, saves the world from a mighty Cabal.
So, what will happen to Q-Anoners? Will they reintegrate into the world and chuckle over drinks with friends about the time in 2020 they fell so deep into the internet and away from reality and self that they believed in the elaborate conspiracy? With so many following the belief, it’s hard to believe that a cult spawn won’t or hasn’t already been created to provide a “safe space” for believers, which will only allow their beliefs to continue to transform in dormancy until another Trump-like figure appears and allows them to continue living their cinematic beliefs about the government and the American systems.
Do you have a friend or family member who believes in the Q-Anon theory? How do you plan to communicate with them post-election season when life needs to return to a sense of “normalcy”? Tell me below in the comments what you think would be best to restore people who were so easily duped by foreign interference and borderline domestic online terrorism?
No Comments