Friends And Family Members Of QAnon Believers Are Going Through A "Surreal Goddamn Nightmare"

[G_j]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.buzzfeednews.com/amphtml/janelytvynenko/qanon-families-friends

Almost 200 people told us what it’s been like to lose a loved one to the mass delusion. Here’s what they said.

Jane Lytvynenko
BuzzFeed News Reporter

“We literally watched as she became radicalized.”

“The level of heartbreak I felt was unfathomable.”

“It feels like we are losing her to an addiction.”

This is how friends and family of QAnon supporters describe what they’re going through. Most don’t understand how their loved ones could fall for something so unbelievable.

At its core, the QAnon collective delusion is a belief system that began in the innards of the social web before being vomited into the mainstream. Believers sign up for a slew of untruths. Most support Trump, oppose the “deep state,” deny vaccination science, say many instances of gun violence were faked, and set off on quixotic crusades for supposedly trafficked children that hinder the real fight against the issue. Much of their wrath is centered on purported elites who either faked the coronavirus pandemic or spread the virus through 5G technology, a scientific impossibility. Satanism and drinking the blood of children are common points of discussion. Paranoia surrounding Black Lives Matter protests and anti-fascist activists is widespread.

Taken together, the mass delusion seems outlandish, but a recent Pew Research Center survey showed that roughly half of US adults were aware of QAnon. Four in ten Republicans who had heard of it said it was good for the country.

..more..

[PatSeg]

1. "It feels like we are losing her to an addiction."

Last edited Mon Sep 21, 2020, 02:12 PM - Edit history (1)

I think that is how it feels to many people.

[Raster]

60. QAnon IS. A. CULT.

The same science applies.

[PatSeg]

61. Yes, that's true

There are all kinds of addictions. Cults tend to attract addictive personalities, though some fairly well-balanced people get sucked in too.

[diverdownjt]

94. What else do cult's do?

They make their people do crazy shit...right?

What is going to happen if Trump loses? What do you think the leaders will have
their zombies do? They could be quite radicalized and sent out to do harm.
They already are being violent. It's just another push, to kill someone.

[PatSeg]

102. Yes

A lot of these people are really riled up. It won't take much to incite them to violence. Many of them are heavily armed, waiting for a valid reason to use their arsenals. Of course, the majority will go back home and drown themselves in cheap beer and bad reality TV, but there are enough batshit crazy Trumpers with weapons to cause extreme chaos and destruction.

[rickyhall]

85. I feel the same about friends & family lost to the Trump Cult/Delusion.

[Maraya1969]

95. Me too. I can't believe what idiots I am related to

[Wicked Blue]

2. New high-in-demand careers available: cult deprogrammers

Deprogramming should be offered as a course at community colleges.

[soothsayer]

3. We'll need it if drumpf gets his curriculum

[Oppaloopa]

20. How to recognize a cult In high School

[NoRoadUntravelled]

54. That's really a good idea.

[CrispyQ]

4. My BIL isn't welcome in my house because of his whack job QAnon beliefs.

He went fast, too. He went from being completely non-political to right wing nut job in about 18 months. I doubt I'll ever talk to him again, unless he convinces me he's off the koolaid and apologizes for the shit he's said to me and my husband.

[backroadblast]

31. good on you

stick to your guns

[634-5789]

34. I'll see your BIL and raise it a brother.

Lost his marbles, believes that there's a deep state to remove trump, and has lost 2 jobs since he can't keep his mouth shut. Too bad, gonna miss him, but I told him i can't have a 63 YO coming around here with whacked out ideas.

[eppur_se_muova]

5. Wow -- it really is like al-Q'Aenon.

(not to be confused with Al-Anon, though maybe there should be more overlap than there is)

[bullwinkle428]

11. I was literally about to post - this is the exact same mechanism that

has been used to radicalize young men in the Middle East, in order for them to be completely sucked into a twisted and bastardized version of fundamentalist Islam.

[vercetti2021]

6. That's when you cut them loose

Count your losses and let them fall to the dark side. Some can become deprogrammed. But rather cut them off and forget them

[OAITW r.2.0]

7. QAnon is either the work of Russian trolls or GOP operatives.

Whatever happened with the Citi-corp VP who was found out to be running a major QAnon internet portal? Love to know his connection with Trump/GOP.

[niyad]

17. Perhaps those two groups are the same?

[MartyTheGreek]

70. a few years ago, a story stated that ruskies inserted pedophile lingo into hacked Podesta emails...

With hacked emails you can insert anything and that's what they did. They used the FBI's "pedo" manual or other reference, for key secret code words and they used the word "pizza" quite ofter to infer that they were talking about children. Hence, the birth of Pizza Gate! And, the crazed shooter that drove up from SC or somewhere to "Free the Children being held in the basement."

I can't F!@#ing believe that no investigative Journalist has connected these dots and reported out on it! This is really pissing me off!

[OAITW r.2.0]

71. Interesting...and totally believable.

The Russians most certainly hacked the DNC mail servers....but I think they also have the RNC server emails as well. And these emails implicate the collusion - where the Republican Party talked about taking Russian money - via the NRA - and the Russians have got the proof!

Hence the Russian delegation visit to Moscow on July 4th, 2017(?). Trump is owned and the RNC is complicitly implicated.

[BigmanPigman]

90. Bingo!

[Nortbnd101]

92. In Mexican Spanish--

---"Pedo" means Fart...In the colloquial, it's like No Big Deal--"No hay Pedo"

[SWBTATTReg]

8. The new 'Jones' cult. Idiots, they are going to kill themselves w/ drinking bleach or an ...

antiseptic of some kind, or some other stupid, lame a&& manner.

If these people are so adverse to the facts in doing anything, then how in the world are these people (morons) actually functioning in the world today?

These people need to live life and get off the damn 'Internet' or more relevant, get off the stupid and ignorant nonstop chat lines that run 24x7 nonstop with garbage in, garbage out. Live life (in the real world), get off the damn computer, get off the damn phone, and get outside or do something down to earth. I have to laugh (but sadly) for these workers are going to be our future hamburger flippers, our fast food workers, etc., since they don't believe in the real world of facts (vs. fantasy) and thus won't improve their chances of getting a decent job (requires too many facts etc. that they can't handle).

These people are obviously very insecure in themselves and their abilities to deal w/ the real world, and I have to blame the parents and their guardians for letting this happen. It's part of the world we live in that it was easier to let the kids play on the computer/stay on the computer since they are being quiet and in theory doing 'homework' or 'research', etc. (wrong!). For most people, this is okay as they are 'grounded' in reality and are able to separate themselves from fantasy to reality in an instant, separate facts from fiction, etc.

[kimbutgar]

14. My husbands 24 year old nephew is in the Qanon cult

Middle child very insecure and I can see how he got manipulated.

[Arazi]

46. Do you have an age breakdown on Q believers? Why do you think they're all young?

[AllyCat]

74. Family I know is in their late 30s/early 40s.

Even the kids are indoctrinated. My son won’t even hang out with them anymore.

[Arazi]

77. Ah ok. Anecdotal. I'd like to see some real data on age division

[yellowdogintexas]

80. 64 year old - my husband's brother

He has fallen for it hook, line and sinker
You should hear the two of them!

We do not associate with any of his siblings because they are not exercising precautions properly, but about once a week, he comes downstairs from his office with some new examples of his brother's delusions. Interestingly, this is the brother who is 'born again' .

[tblue37]

82. They trend older--i.e. seniors. nt

[Mariana]

100. Just like Trump supporters in general. That makes sense. nt.

[stevil]

9. I live with a Trump voter.

Luckily we agree to not discuss politics.

[DBoon]

10. QAnon is the 21st Century Blood Libel

Pogroms to follow.

This time it won't be only Jews who are targeted.

[cayugafalls]

15. It was never just the Jewish people who were targeted.

While it classified Jews as the priority “enemy,” the Nazi ideological concept of race targeted other groups for persecution, imprisonment, and annihilation. These groups included Roma (Gypsies), people with disabilities, Poles, Soviet prisoners of war, and Afro-Germans. The Nazis also identified political dissidents, Jehovah’s Witnesses, homosexuals, and so-called asocials as enemies and security risks either because they consciously opposed the Nazi regime or some aspect of their behavior did not fit Nazi perceptions of social norms.

As stated above, Thge Jewish people were the predominate victim and my post is in no way meant to downplay that fact as an estimated 6 million Jews perished.

However the other targeted groups accounted for an additional 5 million people, bringing the total to 11 million overall.

I agree with you wholeheartedly, there will be vast groups of people targeted if this is allowed to reach fruition.

We must win.

[DBoon]

19. I said "pogroms", not the Holocaust

I was referring specifically to Czarist Russia, which created the Protocols of the Elders of Zion as a complete forgery, similar to contemporary QAnon.

Classic pograms were strictly anti-Jewish and motivated by the blood libel. The blood libel has been around for centuries, predating the Nazis.

[cayugafalls]

23. Understood. My bad. I did say I agree wholeheartedly with you.

The democratic and liberal ideology is the target of the new pogroms. The new group encompasses any and all who deem themselves liberal or democratic, that is why vast groups of people will be targeted as it is about an ideology, rather than a race.

[COL Mustard]

57. I Have A Russian Friend

Who served in the waning days of the Soviet Army. They were taught as recently as the early 1990s that there were no Soviet POWs in WW2...anyone who was captured was a deserter and was treated accordingly on his return to the Rodina. Not a good place to be.

Dictatorships suck.

[cayugafalls]

12. QAnon equals Nazi's. It will not disappear when Biden wins.

We must win. America will not let this stand.

[uponit7771]

22. +1, it needs to be snuffed out yesterday

[Hugin]

13. A few weeks ago a neighbor literally jumped out of the shrubs between our houses raving...

It was clear she had been infected with the Q-worm. Yelling at my 92 yo parent that they didn't need to wear a mask because it was all a big Democratic hoax.

So much misery and stupidity.

:smdh:

[cayugafalls]

18. We are entering into a dark new reality.

The rise of the righteous raving lunatics is really concerning.

They seem to believe that they have a right to FORCE their viewpoints on everyone who disagrees with them.

The vitriol that they express is indicative of their own inner self loathing.

[Hugin]

27. Bullseye!

Yep.

Inner self loathing.

[OMGWTF]

48. It's like that annoying relative who pesters you to be Saved by Jesus, but worse.

[dlk]

16. How were the "Moonies" cult members deprogrammed?

Cults aren’t new. Only the names change.

[cayugafalls]

21. The difficulty here is that this is not just a normal cult. It is an ideology that is not beholden

to one man. Trump is their current manifestation of their ideology, but he is not their only savior.

That is why it will be harder to 'deprogram' a trumper as their views are much more ingrained in an idea, rather than devotion to an individual.

The Trumpist loyalty cult reflects at least as much loyalty to a long-standing ideology as loyalty to a man. Moreover, this loyalty has distant historic roots in the fabric of American society. Four particular strands stand out: anti-intellectualism, Christian fundamentalism, market fundamentalism, and racial resentment. These threads converge in a nexus of polarization that has fostered an exceptionally hard-line and anti-rational ideology.

https://newrepublic.com/article/158279/trump-cult-loyal-ideology-not-man

[Wicked Blue]

25. The Moonies worshiped their cult leader

Rev. Sun Myung Moon. I believe they thought of him as a new incarnation of Jesus.

[William Seger]

47. Trump will be more like the Dalai Lama

When he's gone, a new one will appear elsewhere.

[I_UndergroundPanther]

69. Did you know a bunch of years ago

Rev moon was crowned in the statehouse?

https://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/24/us/a-crowning-at-the-capital-creates-a-stir.html

[Wicked Blue]

101. yes, unfortunately

and I believe the Bush family had personal ties to Moon

[dlk]

32. Of course, there are a number of causes contributing to this irrational belief

The end result is the same, however, someone divorced from facts and reality, and being completely inflexible in that regard.

[cayugafalls]

35. This is why Nazism never went away. It is not something that is easily deprogrammed.

Inflexibility, perfectly stated.

[dlk]

39. From what I've read, the philosophy of QAnon has similar roots as the Nazi philosophy

It’s a cancer that may go into temporary remission but is never completely eradicated.

[cayugafalls]

40. Yes, here is a great article on that topic.

QAnon is a Nazi Cult, Rebranded

https://www.justsecurity.org/72339/qanon-is-a-nazi-cult-rebranded/

[dlk]

41. Thanks!

Just read the article. Have previously read of “The Protocols of the Elders of Zion.” If the number of people ascribing to this bizarre and deranged philosophy wasn’t so frightening, the actual ideas would be laughable.

[smirkymonkey]

58. Thanks for that.

Very informative. I did not know much about them other than that they were a radical right wing fringe group.

[Wicked Blue]

24. There were some professional deprogrammers

One of my friends from high school joined the Moonies in the 1970s. His father wrote him off as dead. My friend's younger brother and I looked into hiring a professional deprogrammer but neither of us had any money at the time.

[AllyCat]

75. I had a family member in the Jesus People.

18 years...finally got deprogrammed and now is a fascinating human to talk to.

[Oppaloopa]

29. The cult awareness network was sued out of exisence by another cult and actually taken over by them

decades ago. They used to contact the leaders of groups when members were seeking help. Do you remember the name of this group?

[reACTIONary]

63. "Deprograming" of cult members...

... particularly moonies and Krishnas, involved kidnapping, imprisonment and forced indoctrination, i.e., "brainwashing". And it wasn't very effective. They are not the same, but it seems similar to anti-gay "conversion therapy".

A very misguided effort.

[world wide wally]

26. 4 in 10 Americans think it is good for the country.

Hmmmm.... Isn't that the same number that supports Fuckface McIdiot?

[JI7]

28. 4 in 10 Republicans.

[world wide wally]

30. I thought he was polling at 40% nationally.

I just retread the post. You are correct.
Still scarey.

[mjvpi]

37. The fact that the other 6 out of 10 Republicans......

.....don’t take a long, hard look at their coalition is extremely scary.

[Duppers]

38. Oh damn!

So fucking sick.

[mahina]

64. Wasn't that 410 Republicans?

[panfluteman]

33. It Seems to Me That Now Is the Time to Expose Trump's Pedophile Tendencies Big Time!

Would that help in the deprogramming of QAnon believers?

[mac56]

36. Q-Anon is the trailer park Scientology.

[GoneOffShore]

97. Exactly.

[Duppers]

42. Related...

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214109271

[bucolic_frolic]

43. It's either a test or confirmation of gullibility

They don't want to believe in verifiable things - science, logic, covid, economic inequality

They do fervently believe in religion, QAnon, Trump, hoax theories, paranoia, illogic, fantasy conspiracies.

It's people who live in and believe in the real world, and those who prefer self-delusion.

[Duppers]

44. Walmart, Amazon among donors to lawmaker who promoted QAnon

Corporations donated to re-elect
Tennessee state representative Susan Lynn
who promoted conspiracy theories on social media


https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2020/sep/20/walmart-amazon-donated-tennessee-lawmaker-promoted-qanon

The state keeps marching backwards and further into corruption. SHAME on these corporations.

[C Moon]

49. We know 3 people who believe this crud.

And they don’t know each other.
Creepy stuff.
Considering their personalities, it’s not surprising they would fall for it, though.
They won’t listen to any reason. And when asked not to discuss it, one of them said “I can’t not discuss the truth.”
We cut off all ties with them. It’s useless trying to talk about anything. They are OBSESSED.

[Warpy]

50. Before this it was ISIS. Before ISIS it was crackpot Christianity

Last edited Mon Sep 21, 2020, 05:57 PM - Edit history (1)

like the Branch Davidians. It's been the FLDS under Warren Jeffs. It's been Scientology when Hubbard was alive. It's hard drugs.

It has always been one charismatic bunch of nutcases after another, preying on kids who are looking for something to give meaning to their lives when they get out into this mean and rotten world and realize they've been lied to about it by everybody, that they're not special and that their chances of making any sort of a splash are minute.

It's always a nightmare for families and there is nothing they can do except limit contact and hope their loved ones live through it so they can help pick up the pieces.

[LuckyLib]

89. This is it in a nutshell. I met the ex-wife of the Heaven's Gate leader who led his

followers into a suicide pact. The guy was relatively normal until one day he was not.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

51. QAnon increasingly sounds like an international mind control experiment....

as an extension of right-wing political brainwashing. In addition, the internet is increasingly becoming our biggest enemy rather than our savior, especially after its use spread to cellular "smart" phones.

Now, rather than cult members being "educated" only at in-person meetings, any human around the globe with a cell phone can become indoctrinated and there's no practical way to limit or control it.

Nefarious groups now have instant access to over a billion humans around the globe, with little government control over text or ad content and service providers not giving a damn about social, cultural and political destruction or crimes associated with content.

Perhaps it's time for humanity to step away from our immersion in technology.......

[DSandra]

93. +100

[Vinca]

52. Q could well be a fat Russian parked in his basement disrupting for rubles.

[Mr.Bill]

53. I have a granddaughter who believes in some of this crap.

She says the Covid virus doesn't even exist and after the election the media won't even be talking about it anymore. Guess what...she just tested positive for it and is developing symptoms. She has a two year old child.

Something I find in common with those people, especially the young ones is they have no regular television service in their house. They get all their information from Facebook and other social media.

[OhioBlue]

78. Oh my - I hope your grandaughter and her little one come through it okay.

I also hope she is taking it seriously now and not exposing others.

Yes, there is a large number of people that are now getting their information from social media and don't recognize the lack of journalistic integrity or lack of context. It is very scary what disinformation and intellectual laziness is doing to our country.

[Mr.Bill]

79. Thank you for your concern.

She is doing okay and is at her mother's house. Her mother is an RN and knows how to manage something like this and she may also be exposed and is showing symptoms. She was tested today. We await the results. We did some shopping for them and dropped groceries off at their hose today. The child is not showing any symptoms so far.

[thucythucy]

55. This reminds me of the Lyndon Larouchers of years back.

Thick web of conspiracies including the Queen of England as a drug dealer, contempt for liberals, members were "in the know" about the politics of "the real world."

They pretended I think to be left wing or progressive but seemed quite fascistic in beliefs and structure (total cult devotion to the Great Leader).

Haven't heard too much about them of late.

[dhol82]

65. They used to show up periodically in Grand Central and a place out on Long Island

Haven’t seen them lately, though. Total whackadoodles.
Larouche died in 2019. Maybe they are just laying low for now.

[sanatanadharma]

56. Whatever Qanon is, it is a public health danger

These people need to be drastically quarantined.

No family, no friends, no employers, nothing but complete social shunning. Some will see the light.
Others will retreat further into the darkness, but the rational world MUST lance this boil.

It will take a lot of time. There will be extreme hardship. The crazies will continue self-infection.
Eventually though social shunning will break the spell of ignorance.

Ignorance is not-knowing.
Those who do not know can be taught.
Ignoring can end, only then can teaching begin.
The ignorant refuse to be taught.

Don't argue, simply say, "you are bat-shit crazy" and walk away.

One man's rage; you do not have to accept or correct or believe. I happily let others' have the last words.

[Initech]

59. I used to wonder how groups like Al Qaeda and ISIS got started. I wonder no more.

[geretogo]

62. Sounds like a death cult to me not unlike the Nazi's in Germany in the thirties . Seventy years and

it returns again . We already have the concentration camps on the border and else where .

[Missn-Hitch]

66. I am alone. Parents are gone. Siblings are gone.

I do have a wonderful wife and a couple of nephews. That is it.

The rest are fellating Q and reading the Byebull.

[AllyCat]

76. Oh no. So sorry.

[Missn-Hitch]

84. I am sorry for all of us that have schisms within our families. It's a damn shame.

Thank you. Just coping the best I can, as is everyone.

[Initech]

87. Q Anon - combine all the worst aspects of a cult with all the worst aspects of religion.

And have the worst possible person in all of humanity as your messiah. That's a combination that won't end well for those people. k

[ancianita]

67. They buy what Ben Brennan(8chan) and Jim Watkins(Qanon) guys sell -- conspiracy bullshit.

A couple of potheads hiding out in the Philippines.

[StClone]

68. What QAnon is, is likely with Russia Aid

And contrary to QAnon followers beliefs, it is not Democratic "elites" efforts. But the evil elites (World oligarchs, dictators, like-minded freaks, antisocial end-timers) to control public discourse turn it into chaos and then picking up the pieces. The main thing is control of the followers to do the evils' bidding.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

72. So many of them just keep digging a deeper hole...

... for themselves.

A sane person would admit past mistakes, but those types just get worse and worse.

No WMD's in Iraq like they believed? Ignore that, and instead proclaim that Obama will put all of us in FEMA camps under UN control. That was wrong too? Ignore that, and now propose a worldwide pandemic is a hoax.

They're like religious nuts who get more extreme as their prayers continue to go unfulfilled.

[AllyCat]

73. Just had an interaction with a friend who believes this.

We used to talk, go camping, dinners. I can’t even talk to her anymore without some nutter stuff coming up. Tonight I got a 12 paragraph text about the dangers of BLM. Her family is black.

[Aviation91]

81. Is there a race break-down to QAnon followers?

Based on what I’ve seen of it’s followers, all seem to be Caucasian. Just wondering? It’ really sad that there are people in this world that are so evil that they have nothing better to do than to infect other people’s mind with their outlandish shit that is as crazy as anything I’ve ever heard of! I sure hope Trump is defeated and the sickness he has caused on this nation!

[JI7]

83. I think they are just racists and the conspiracy theories are what they make up as an excuse to

support the trash that they support.

Notice their conspiracy theories are all about accusing others of what we know Trump has done. Accuse democrats from the Clintons, Obamas , Biden to hollywood stars of supporting pedophile rings when it's Trump who is on record as being a sexual pervert.

[Quixote1818]

86. Anonymous needs to hack them and start sending out shit to turn them on Trump. LOL

Or at least get them so turned around and confused they won't know who the real Q is and just give up on it. Ten people claiming to be the real Q could get a bit confusing.

[AllyCat]

98. Anonymous has done nothing to help us the last four years.

Not sure they are on our side.

[summer_in_TX]

88. Social media turns out to naturally tend to radicalize vulnerable users.

According to The Social Dilemma, a docudrama on Netflix with Tristan Harris, Jeff Seibert, Bailey Richardson, Joe Toscano, who were in on the ground floor of a number of tech giants, the algorithms are designed to capture attention which tends to be done through the sensational and conspiracy theories. Then social media companies can sell the attention to advertisers.

Some of the dramatized parts are true to life and chilling. Some are hokey. But still they bring to life the dangers.

Pizzagate was one of those conspiracy theories that social media spread in 2016. Ridiculous stuff, but dangerous too.

My husband brought the movie up again today, wondering if anyone had responded to what I'd posted on my Facebook page and Twitter. A bit but not as much as I'd hoped. We are still talking about it more than a week later.It's compelling, and scary. The effects are happening in front of our eyes with Qanon.

[trueblue2007]

91. i bet my 2 nephews are into q .... i know they are trump lovers.

[Colleen8406]

96. The ex tries to brainwash the kids

My ex-husband has denigrated from Trump enthusiast to Trump cult (for getting a slightly larger paycheck after the tax cut), to a Q-Anon believer. When my teens, age 14 & 16, spend time with him, they come home to dump and release all the garbage he says and tries to convince them is real. The biggest one is that COVID is a Dem hoax that will go away after the election. He took them to the mall last weekend and embarrassed them by yelling at a poor little girl working at Aero over the fact the dressing rooms are closed. The Pizzagate revival is not far under there, and he listens to Trump make references to the “deep state” to manipulate this base. It doesn’t surprise me that he’sgone off the edge. I divorced him because of alcohol addiction. This is just another way of feeding that inner demon. Throughout history, 30% of our society has been susceptible to conspiracy theories and now we have leaders willing to not just refuse to denounce them or take action to sop the spread, but blatantly encourages it to boost his own political power. We are in some very interesting times.

[Woodwizard]

99. Reply all did a podcast in 2018 and a followup this month

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/122-the-qanon-code/id941907967?i=1000413199507


https://gimletmedia.com/shows/reply-all/llhe5nm