Trump base latches onto ‘Q’ internet conspiracy cult

The Seattle Times ^ | August 2, 2018 | Marc Fisher and Isaac Stanley-Becker

[2ndDivisionVet]

Energized by the internet persona Q’s complex web of conspiracy notions about the forces aligned against President Donald Trump, Q’s followers have spread virally online and now, in real life too, forming a movement known as QAnon.

From somewhere in the vast and mysterious “deep state,” a dissident agent rises up to give the people cryptic clues about how their heroic president will push back the forces of evil and make America great again. The renegade informant is known only as “Q,” and if he actually exists, it’s not as a character in a movie, but somewhere in the Washington, D.C., bureaucracy.

Energized by Q’s complex web of conspiracy notions about the forces aligned against President Donald Trump, Q’s followers have spread virally online and now, in real life too, forming a movement known as QAnon that is making itself visible at Trump’s rallies and other public gatherings.

QAnon is the latest in a string of conspiracy ideas that take hold of the public’s imagination in times of social stress and technological change. And QAnon is something new, a leaderless popular movement made up of people who believe in no one and therefore are willing to believe almost anything.

To believers, Q is a pseudonym for a well-placed U.S. government agent who is posting online distress messages and bits of intel, known as “breadcrumbs,” in an effort to save the country — and Trump — from hostile forces within the government. Q’s missives started appearing last October on 4chan, the mostly anonymous website where fringe ideas incubate and blossom....

[familyop]

"Did you see the FLA rally? There was a sea of Q posters and cut outs. So either POTUS knows exactly who Q is, and is endorsing the movement. Or he doesn’t care if his supporters are, as you put it, showing themselves to be low IQ narcissistic people. Which one is more likely?"

Neither is more likely. The President is most likely trying to ignore them.

Look...okay, followers of conspiracy theories have not been checked for IQ, at least not that I can find documented in any research reports. From their attraction to puzzles, we see that IQ is not much of an issue.

But narcissistic, many of them, yes. Too much into seeking entertainment, yes. Many of us know of one or two in our own communities. Many of us have met quite a few more along the way, and we're aware of some of their other preferences (like getting high, for many of them, and odd, insufficiently tested health remedies, old wives' tales, etc.).

"All it would take is one tweet “Q Anon is fake news”. and the whole thing would be over. Why hasn’t that happened?"

Because the President is trying to avoid any connection that the media lefties will jump on to hurt our election chances.

[magglepuss]

Man, are you ever full of yourself.

[Kartographer]

So where is your proof that he has done one damn thing to warrant you hero treatment? You have nothing, nada, zilch zero, nought, nil........

[Jamestown1630]

I don’t know a single person in my Real Life who has ever mentioned Q.

I only see reference to this entity online.

The people I know are too busy making their livings, caring for families - living real lives - to waste time on this dreck.

[Vermont Lt]

Don’t kid yourself. Some of them are. Probably “closeted”, but they are.

[TXnMA]

"I’ll leave the Q games to those who enjoy such pursuits. I’ve no interest in it myself."

Now, that's a fair enough position! :-)

Sadly, others -- with no more research or understanding of the Socratic method than you -- immediately launch into denigration of and snarkiness toward those who do understand.

From somewhere in my past I can draw on familiarity with Mil-Intel lingo and methods -- and on some ability with spatial and graphic analysis -- and have extracted much valuable evidence -- starting with "clues" which might be senseless to you...

Indeed, not all are suited for intel/psyops efforts...

But all have the choice of being civil toward their fellow FReepers...

FRegards,
TXnMA
 

[higgmeister]

Please don't compare this to the Birth Certificate. The Birth Certificate was dead on arrival because once a president is elected there is no method other than impeachment to remove him from office.

If it didn't get traction during the campaign that's the end of it. I heard people advocate Federal Marshals being sent to the Oval Office and that is impossible in any administration.

[Jamestown1630]

I doubt it very much.

The few of my acquaintance who are still wasting time on Facebook are just checking out what other people look like, what they’re wearing, what they’re boasting about; and buying stuff.

They could care less about politics; more’s the pity, but at least they aren’t ‘Q’ infected.

[magglepuss]

Can you point me to my so called “hero treatment”. You guys are getting kookier by the minute.

[EasySt]

Wow. Yup, pretty shredded.

[Conservative Gato]

I hope you’re not being difficult on purpose after trying to help explain what Q is. Many of us have put in many hours reading and researching this and it’s nothing about telling Americans how to think. What it is in part, is it gives the American people another channel to get good info which goes around the filters of the enemedia.

I hope you understand just how corrupt or media, many in our government and culture, is. We are being prepared that is much more worse than any of us can imagine. If you don’t understand any of this, then you will not understand having this good channel of info, that goes completely around them.

I’ve given you good links and names on Youtube to find out for yourself. I and others have already put in the hard work. I’m not trying to be difficult myself, as I have been trying to help you understand the work that has already been put in but remember, it was you that responded to a Q thread.

CGato

[Conservative Gato]

Please don't compare this to the Birth Certificate. The Birth Certificate was dead on arrival because once a president is elected there is no method other than impeachment to remove him from office.

If it didn't get traction during the campaign that's the end of it. I heard people advocate Federal Marshals being sent to the Oval Office and that is impossible in any administration.

My points are still valid. It was the deep state machinations which kept anything from happening, even before he was elected. BO is a fraud but I agree, there really isn't anything we can do about it now. What we can do is we can continue to expose the deep state machinations and corruptions through this good movement.

On a side note one of the Q drops explains BO is looking to claim Kenyan citizenship in order to avoid his crimes here. BO recently at a speech in Kenya actually admitted he was from Kenya, so there is a lot of discussion on whether he is there to try to set this up. This is still playing out but interesting, none the less.

CGato

[60Gunner]

Why doesn’t Trump put a stop to it?

That's certainly a valid question, and one I have asked myself. He could do a lot to crush this coup by firing the main actors- especially while he has a Republican congress. There is no way in hell they would step aside and let the shitheads on the left side of the aisle have him. Not if they don't want to swing from a lamppost.

[vpintheak]

He’s just a man turned politician. I’ll trust him only so far. Like what I see economically.

[higgmeister]

Q strikes me as something like a psychic. Psychics are very good at picking up on clues and using them to tell people things they thought no one could know. But in reality, they aren’t saying anything at all and they have no supernatural knowledge.

You probably should not compare Q Anon to psychics when you actually mean "cold readers."

Cold reading is a set of techniques used by mentalists, psychics, fortune-tellers, mediums, illusionists (readers), and scam artists to imply that the reader knows much more about the person than the reader actually does.

It gets your point across better where the word "psychic" just misses the mark.

[higgmeister]

From somewhere in my past I can draw on familiarity with Mil-Intel lingo and methods -- and on some ability with spatial and graphic analysis -- and have extracted much valuable evidence -- starting with "clues" which might be senseless to you...

Indeed, not all are suited for intel/psyops efforts...

But all have the choice of being civil toward their fellow FReepers...

And that is why I keep an open mind. I have not followed Q much at all. But, I was an Air Force Telecommunications Systems Controller and held a Top Secret clearance for six years. I am retired from Verizon (legacy MCI) after 31 years. Ten years of that as a PMI and ITIL certified Project and Program Manager. Just out of the Air Force I worked a year and a half both at ITT and then at Sprint. With my background I am familiar with a few narrowly known lexicons that the average person would be amazed by. Your description of your familiarity seemed to reflect my own but I went further than you with my background.

Here is one hint: I knew of the fall of the Soviet Union two years before it came to pass. That was only a matter of time too.

I keep an open mind and try to be civil.

[exDemMom]

I’ve never heard the term “cold reader.” I was referring to people who look at clues that others may not even notice, and make predictions or assumptions based on the observations. Psychics come to mind since they build a career out of doing just that. I think that Q does the same thing. I also think he is working out of his parent’s basement somewhere.

[magglepuss]

So not only are you going to agree with CNN on q, you are also going to act like them. You know how cnn leaves off the illegal part of immigrants, and tries to get their viewers to believe POTUS is racist because he doesn’t like immigrants.

You just very dishonestly took a few words at the end of my question to try to change the question.

[60Gunner]

Actually, no. I thought you were asking why Trump was not putting a stop to Mueller et al. I didn't see anything in the post in which you included me that had anything to do with illegal immigration.

You need to check your outrage, babycakes.

[higgmeister]

I’ve never heard the term “cold reader.” I was referring to people who look at clues that others may not even notice, and make predictions or assumptions based on the observations. Psychics come to mind since they build a career out of doing just that. I think that Q does the same thing. I also think he is working out of his parent’s basement somewhere.

Lookup "Cold Reading" and you will see that it the actual name of the method you ascribed to psychics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_reading