How QAnon rode the pandemic to new heights - and fueled the viral anti-mask phenomenon

NBC News ^ | 14 August 2020 | Ben Collins

[Cboldt]

In February, five months before she became known as "QAnon Karen," there was no one more terrified of the coming pandemic than Melissa Rein Lively.

"I bought the N-95 masks. I bought the hazmat suit," she said. "In my mind, a zombie movie was imminent."

At the time, Rein Lively said her career was at its peak. Her self-owned marketing company had just helped launch the high-end restaurant Nobu in Scottsdale, Arizona. Hyatt Hotels had signed on for marketing help.

By July 5, she had gone into a Target store and trashed the mask section, streaming her rage in a viral post that drew over 10 million views. Before the police closed in on her garage, she livestreamed her own mental breakdown on her company's Instagram account, telling police to "call Donald Trump and ask him" why she shouldn't be arrested for her actions.

She was, she told the police, the "QAnon spokesperson."

[Cboldt]

Rein Lively said her viral outburst was in part a product of a depressive episode, a symptom of the bipolar disorder she was diagnosed with last year.

Interesting read. Rein is described as being interested in "world energy" type stuff (from the article, "n accessible fifth dimension, beliefs that frequencies were changing for the better across the Earth, and offered advice on how to 'ascend.'"), and Qanon somehow infiltrating.

The new age stuff isn't nutty, but Qanon is, Is, I think, the ultimate conclusion of the article.

And too, the scamdemic gives people anxiety, and time to surf.

[ClearCase_guy]

NBC seems to have taken the virus, and mental illness, and QAnon and mashed them all up together to reach the conclusion that Orange Man Bad. Or something.

[mkmensinger]

So many attacks on Q by the media lately.....and all for a LARP (live action role player).

[Crucial]

Instead of having to fear prosecution due to mask mandates, which give authoritarians an excuse to be oppressive, maybe we should embrace hydroxycloroquine as a treatment whose effectiveness other countries are implementing to keep their populations healthy.

[SamAdams76]

I don't play video games so can somebody explain exactly what a "live action role player (LARP)" is?

I don't know what is meant by that. That term just makes no sense to me whatsover.

[MNDude]

MSM continues to obsess about this LARP:

Politico
Rep. Kinzinger: ‘It’s time’ for leaders to disavow QAnon
19 hours ago

The New York Times
QAnon Was a Theory on a Message Board. Now It’s Headed to Congress.
1 day ago

Washington Post
An exotic dancer, a nuclear engineer, a QAnon enthusiast and Laura Loomer: The GOP race to represent Trump’s Palm Beach district
2 hours ago

CNN
QAnon is conspiratorial, dangerous, and growing. And we’re talking about it all wrong.
1 day ago

WIRED
From Ellen DeGeneres to Tom Hanks, QAnon Has Infiltrated the Hollywood Rumor Mill
2 days ago

The San Diego Union-Tribune
Racism, QAnon and ‘cold civil war’: Inside the 20,000-strong Defend East County Facebook group
1 day ago

Fort Worth Star-Telegram
‘These people are insane.’ Rallies, online posts promote fringe conspiracy fantasy ‘Q’
3 days ago

Axios
Trump refuses to answer question on whether he supports QAnon conspiracy theory
2 days ago

Chicago Sun-Times
Rep. Adam Kinzinger sounds the alarm over QAnon, stepping up his crusade against conspiracy theories
15 hours ago

Washington Post
QAnon is a menace. Ignoring it isn’t an option.
19 hours ago

[MNDude]

“Live Action Role Play. A LARPer is someone pretending to be something they’re really not.

In the 70’s and 80’s LARPs were people dressing up like dungeons and dragons for Renaissance Fair. Since the dawn of YouTube and social media, LARPs are the new psyops. People LARP on YouTube as Truthers, Christians, Social Justice Warriors, and civilians.”

[SamAdams76]

Thanks, the Renaissance Fair reference explains it perfectly. I always liked going to those things with their flagons of hard cider and the turkey drumsticks as big as your elbow.

[Bethaneidh]

Has anyone checked her political history? Bets on whether it’s leftist?

[Cletus.D.Yokel]

Why not just stop wearing masks?
Everyone, everywhere.
Just stop.
#MakeDemocracyGreatAgain

[Wuli]

They give QAnon too much credit.

They’re innuendo is that if QAnon supported anti-masking, that Qnon and QAnon followers alone were the largest influence in anti-masking.

That innuendo and its assumptions are just stupid.

There are tons of sources with no connections to QAnon that question the value of masking, and no none needs to be a QAnon follower to have discovered them.

[Laslo Fripp]

Ping (Q) 🇺🇸

[mac_truck]

Some of the biggest names in the Q-anon scam come directly from the new age/wellness movements. Jordan Sather and Praying Medic are two that come to mind immediately, but there are plenty of other you tube scam artists with similar backgrounds.

[SmokingJoe]

So fake news media is spewing out garbage and hyperventilating over “how dangerous” Qanon is, even as the real terrorist BLM/Antifa vermin burn, loot, destroy, murder at will and lay waste to the country?
How many riots, looting of murders have QAnon done? ZERO.

[Cboldt]

In the Qanon sense, the LARP is said to be pretending to be somebodies within POTUS circle. As a LARP, they are not somebodies within POTUS circle.

In Qanon world, critics such as the author of the NBC article mash remarks from followers with remarks from Q, and attribute every nutty thought expressed to "Q." It would be like attributing every remark in this thread to me.

Quite an interesting phenomenon though. Quite durable. Like any other controversial set of material, a mix of reliable fact and reliable fiction! Up to the reader to sort it out.

[Cboldt]

The article is typical meandering rhetoric with who knows what aims, other than be critical of anti-mask, and critical of Qanaon, and hope to draw reader into concluding one is the cuase of the other, or that the populations overlap, or something.

I think it’s purposely disjointed. Readers will take away whatever their bias is.

[bagster]

There are tons of sources with no connections to QAnon that question the value of masking, and no none needs to be a QAnon follower to have discovered them.

Truth.

While Qanon says of the rona hoax, that ITS NOT ABOUT HEALTH. ITS ABOUT POLICICS, so called anti-masking is a movement independent of Q. Its more a product of liberty loving Americans who won't be fooled again.

Though people being awakened to the all pervasive government lying who weren't previously so are more susceptible to seeing deep state lies and manipulation.

We definitely can thank President Trump's Q program for that.

[bagster]

As a LARP, they are not somebodies within POTUS circle.

Qanon is 'somebodies within POTUS circle'.

That has been proven beyond a doubt.

[USMC79to83]

This article was pinned to my Mozilla "Pocket" this morning

Seems like a lot of coverage in the news for a wacky conspiracy...

[Cboldt]

I was attempting to define LARP, not define Q.
Defining LARP using Q as the specific example:

If Q is genuine, Q is somebodies within POTUS circle (Q+ = POTUS)

If Q is a LARP, Q is not somebodies within POTUS circle.