There was an early Q thing going on on 4chan. It was exactly the same kind of shit. He didn't start calling himself Q until after Trump made the Calm before the storm reference. In all likelihood, Q is just one of many people all engaged in the same conspiracy theory. He got lucky. What's frightening is that Trump has brought a lot of people into the govt who believe this stuff. Michael Flynn and his son, for example. And Flynn was no outsider--he's a career military man with lots of contacts.LanDroid wrote:I'm somewhat interested in the QAnon conspiracies, have looked into it a little bit. One fact: Q posts started in October 2017. So the pizza gate shooting in Dec. 2016 could not have been inspired by Q. The Las Vegas shooting was on 10/1/17 so that is also extremely unlikely to be influenced by Q, the shooter planned for a long time.
This is not the same thing. Satanic Panic was launched among the general public who believed it because of that idiot, Geraldo. The general public doesn't buy Q Anon for a second--it's just kooky. But that's the problem. It will always remain fringe--maybe even among the fringe--and there it will fester and spread until its hardcore adherents decide something has to be done because the public isn't listening.A lesson from the McMartin preschool panic of the 1980s is that when accusations of massive child abuse or pedophilia are claimed, you are most likely looking at a growing hysteria. That should probably be the default starting point, then look for compelling evidence to the contrary. That's what the Q phenom has become, sheer hysteria.
On the other hand, the best thing we can do is talk about it. Share the info. Shine light on it. It's like a mold. Throw light on that it stays contained. Ignore it and it grows an grows and grows until we're looking around and saying "Where did all this come from??" 4 chan and 8chan have been that mold. But now they are getting a lot of light thrown on them. Of course, even if they shut down, they'll just do to the dark web. Most of them are already on it. Eventually we'll need to raid the dark web and shine a light on all the huge array of disgusting creepy-crawlies breeding down there.
As I said, talking about it will likely force it more underground but we can't stop there. We have to keep pursuing. Chasing the termites into the cellar won't stop them from destroying your home.Just when QAnon is getting more into the MSM news cycle, it may be starting to break down. I've seen a few recent posts from Q supporters claiming Q = LARP = Live Action Role Playing = a hoax! (Evidently he made some huge predictions that didn't come true.) However I've also seen a few posts like "Even if Q is LARP it's a good thing because he is bringing us Patriots closer together and making us stronger!" Wow...
Disclaimer: this is after a cursory review, I could be way off...