QAnon Conspriacy theory

brihard

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OceanBonfire said:
QAnon, conspiracy theories, right wing/far-right, and anti-mask advocacy go hand in hand:

The anti-mask tantrum on Parliament Hill on August 29th was an interesting mix of this. Heavy mix of anti-maskers, general anti-government/conspiracy types, and several ‘qanon’ posters and banners. MAGA/Trump flags were being flown. La Meute and other far right groups were in evidence. Maxime Bernier’s speech to the crowd was apparently a hit.

So yeah, it’s fair game and factual to point to there being noticeable cross pollination between the groups / movements identified.
 

PMedMoe

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Bruce Monkhouse said:
Several hundred!!??  OMG, every right wing person in Canada was there...….what a crock.

I don't care about their politics.  I don't even really care if they're anti-vaxxers or anti-maskers.  But 700 people who believe that there is a secret cabal of child sex traffickers (mostly made up of Hollywood stars and the Democratic party) and who believe Trump is going to save us all, is 700 too many for me.
 

Colin Parkinson

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PMedMoe said:
I don't care about their politics.  I don't even really care if they're anti-vaxxers or anti-maskers.  But 700 people who believe that there is a secret cabal of child sex traffickers (mostly made up of Hollywood stars and the Democratic party) and who believe Trump is going to save us all, is 700 too many for me.

Well according to Wiki over 4200 Canadians voted for the Communist Party, I guess after some 50 million dead globally they eventually get it right.....
 

OldSolduer

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Colin P said:
Well according to Wiki over 4200 Canadians voted for the Communist Party, I guess after some 50 million dead globally they eventually get it right.....

50 million is on the low side.
 

Colin Parkinson

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I know, estimates under Mao alone vary from 20-80 million depending on source, I purposely used the low side, but staggering nevertheless when you consider how recent the concept of Marxism/Communism is.
 

mariomike

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I am guessing that Republican strategists who have studied modern history may be hoping the party will distance itself a little bit from Q.

They likely remember the John Birch Society and the 1964 presidential election. It did not end well for the Republicans.
 

boot12

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mariomike said:
I am guessing that Republican strategists who have studied modern history may be hoping the party will distance itself a little bit from Q.

I am confident that most veteran Republican strategists wish that QAnon never became a thing, much like they never wanted Trump to be their candidate in 2016. Now to be fair, I don't think anyone foresaw such a decentralized online conspiracy theory becoming such a powerful and enduring force (especially given how often "he" gives specific details of upcoming events that turn out to be plain wrong). I also believe that the GOP are now lying in the bed they've made, as both Trump and QAnon were only made possible as an unintended result of decades of GOP social strategy. I think though that the GOP's greatest issue with QAnon is not that the conspiracy theory has taken over large swaths of the conservative voter base who now follow it with fervor, but rather that they are unable to control it.

The modern GOP has always relied on stoking fear within the populace to foster a reliable voting base (note I am not saying that this applies to all GOP voters, but certainly a significant number). The specific targets of that fear have changed over time, but the strategy generally relies on demonizing an "other" who will supposedly come to destroy voters' way of life, and is often portrayed to be more powerful and influential than they truly are. See: Blacks, gays, communists (or whomever could be conveniently accused of being a communist during McCarthyism and the Red Scare), hippies/anti-war folk, Satanists, Muslims, transgender persons, Mexicans/Latin Americans, Antifa, BLM, etc.

Traditionally, that fear could be stoked strategically by way of coordinated (or at least semi-coordinated) messaging through specific avenues such as AM radio shock jocks, certain Evangelical preachers, Rush Limbaugh, the evening Fox News propaganda crew of Hannity/Ingraham/Carlson, etc. It was almost always framed in a US conservatives vs. the World way, but importantly always had the GOP as the defenders of the US conservative way of life.

Unfortunately for the GOP elite, the rise of Trump the populist has caused these sentiments of voter fear and anger to take on a life of their own. Trump came onto the scene as a fringe candidate, and wasted no time in capitalizing on this fear and anger with aggressive and inflammatory populist sentiments to get the nomination. Other than by stoking social and racial tensions (i.e. "telling it like it is", or more pessimistically "he hates the same people that I do"), how else could a New York City elitist who lives in a giant gold-plated tower in downtown Manhattan possibly make inroads as the anointed saviour of the US working class?

Trumpism has spawned a political orthodoxy among US conservatives unlike anything else I know of in US history. While this has always existed within politics to some extent (see for example the popularity of RINO accusations in the past), never before has an huge segment of the voting population delegated their political opinions on a topic or person so directly to whatever Trump says or tweets. How many members of Trump's former senior advisors or members of his cabinet have gone from being considered courageous "swamp-drainers" to members of the "Deep State" or "never-Trumpers" just by virtue of being fired or publicly criticizing Trump?

QAnon and Trumpist orthodoxy are symbiotic, and I really don't think that one can be viewed without the other. Trumpism capitalizes on voter fear and anger. QAnon is popular as an explanation for Trump's "Deep State" rhetoric, and also provides explanations for many of the seemingly illogical statements and actions that Trump makes, and also reassures adherents that there is a deep master plan unfolding that can't be revealed just yet (soon though, promise). The nature of conspiracy theory and online grassroots QAnon communities on social media provide regular positive feedback loops for voters who have hitched their horse to the idea that right and wrong are a question of whatever Trump's position on the matter is.

I am confident that QAnon will remain popular for at least as long as Trump is in office, and will likely continue to inspire infrequent acts of lone-wolf political violence by it's framing of Trump against an embedded Deep State of pedophiles and Satan-worshipers. I am not sure where the conspiracy theory will go once Trump is gone. Will it die out, or has Trumpism irreversibly changed the GOP which will allow QAnon or something like it to remain a powerful social force moving forward? Social media memes like the attached picture are in my opinion indicative of a political movement that has no guarantee of dying out following Trump's departure from office.
 

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Brad Sallows

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People are opportunistic and take advantage of what is available, which creates the illusion of symbioses and relationships that are ultimately just about what A can get from B (and vice versa) while it remains possible.  All political camps have out-groups they demonize.  Conspiracy theories about how the rich and powerful geo there and stay there are timeless.  Variations of "blood libels" (Jews, witches, goodness knows who else) have been around a long time.  Sexual exploitation is as old as the species.

In the absence of social media, QAnon would have about as much impact as the Illuminati - something most people might have vaguely heard of, often treated as a joke.  Whatever the media wants to hammer 24/7 to score political points is not necessarily something of real import or impact.

When Trump is gone there will still be progressive and conservative populists.  The libertarians and mainstream conservatives will still be interested in preserving the fundamentals of American governmental organization and culture.  The neocons will still be all alone in the unoccupied centre that was vacated as the political left receded further into the distance and will have to find someone new on whom to vent their frustrations.

Many elements of conspiracy theories are just exaggerations of mundane problems; the problem is that those exaggerations camouflage the mundane problems.
 

mariomike

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boot12 said:
I am confident that most veteran Republican strategists wish that QAnon never became a thing, much like they never wanted Trump to be their candidate in 2016. Now to be fair, I don't think anyone foresaw such a decentralized online conspiracy theory becoming such a powerful and enduring force (especially given how often "he" gives specific details of upcoming events that turn out to be plain wrong). I also believe that the GOP are now lying in the bed they've made, as both Trump and QAnon were only made possible as an unintended result of decades of GOP social strategy. I think though that the GOP's greatest issue with QAnon is not that the conspiracy theory has taken over large swaths of the conservative voter base who now follow it with fervor, but rather that they are unable to control it.

The modern GOP has always relied on stoking fear within the populace to foster a reliable voting base (note I am not saying that this applies to all GOP voters, but certainly a significant number). The specific targets of that fear have changed over time, but the strategy generally relies on demonizing an "other" who will supposedly come to destroy voters' way of life, and is often portrayed to be more powerful and influential than they truly are. See: Blacks, gays, communists (or whomever could be conveniently accused of being a communist during McCarthyism and the Red Scare), hippies/anti-war folk, Satanists, Muslims, transgender persons, Mexicans/Latin Americans, Antifa, BLM, etc.

Traditionally, that fear could be stoked strategically by way of coordinated (or at least semi-coordinated) messaging through specific avenues such as AM radio shock jocks, certain Evangelical preachers, Rush Limbaugh, the evening Fox News propaganda crew of Hannity/Ingraham/Carlson, etc. It was almost always framed in a US conservatives vs. the World way, but importantly always had the GOP as the defenders of the US conservative way of life.

Unfortunately for the GOP elite, the rise of Trump the populist has caused these sentiments of voter fear and anger to take on a life of their own. Trump came onto the scene as a fringe candidate, and wasted no time in capitalizing on this fear and anger with aggressive and inflammatory populist sentiments to get the nomination. Other than by stoking social and racial tensions (i.e. "telling it like it is", or more pessimistically "he hates the same people that I do"), how else could a New York City elitist who lives in a giant gold-plated tower in downtown Manhattan possibly make inroads as the anointed saviour of the US working class?

Trumpism has spawned a political orthodoxy among US conservatives unlike anything else I know of in US history. While this has always existed within politics to some extent (see for example the popularity of RINO accusations in the past), never before has an huge segment of the voting population delegated their political opinions on a topic or person so directly to whatever Trump says or tweets. How many members of Trump's former senior advisors or members of his cabinet have gone from being considered courageous "swamp-drainers" to members of the "Deep State" or "never-Trumpers" just by virtue of being fired or publicly criticizing Trump?

QAnon and Trumpist orthodoxy are symbiotic, and I really don't think that one can be viewed without the other. Trumpism capitalizes on voter fear and anger. QAnon is popular as an explanation for Trump's "Deep State" rhetoric, and also provides explanations for many of the seemingly illogical statements and actions that Trump makes, and also reassures adherents that there is a deep master plan unfolding that can't be revealed just yet (soon though, promise). The nature of conspiracy theory and online grassroots QAnon communities on social media provide regular positive feedback loops for voters who have hitched their horse to the idea that right and wrong are a question of whatever Trump's position on the matter is.

I am confident that QAnon will remain popular for at least as long as Trump is in office, and will likely continue to inspire infrequent acts of lone-wolf political violence by it's framing of Trump against an embedded Deep State of pedophiles and Satan-worshipers. I am not sure where the conspiracy theory will go once Trump is gone. Will it die out, or has Trumpism irreversibly changed the GOP which will allow QAnon or something like it to remain a powerful social force moving forward? Social media memes like the attached picture are in my opinion indicative of a political movement that has no guarantee of dying out following Trump's departure from office.

I've lived through six Republican presidencies. But, I've never seen such ecstasy as maga rallies.

Someone better with words than I am, put it this way,

E.R. Campbell said:
: the people who voted for Trump and will vote for him or his surrogate again, in 2020 and in 2024 and beyond, don't care about the data because it doesn't address their issues, their feelings.







 

Kat Stevens

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mariomike said:
I've lived through six Republican presidencies. But, I've never seen such ecstasy as maga rallies.

Someone better with words than I am, put it this way,

You’re telling me you don’t vote with your feelings? Because your posts on this forum leave little doubt where yours are. Everyone does, I vote for who I FEEL is going to better represent me and my FEELINGS. anyone who says they do otherwise is full of shit.
 

mariomike

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Target Up said:
You’re telling me you don’t vote with your feelings? Because your posts on this forum leave little doubt where yours are. Everyone does, I vote for who I FEEL is going to better represent me and my FEELINGS. anyone who says they do otherwise is full of shit.

Thanks for making it personal.



 

mariomike

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Maybe I should have highlighted the, "don't care about the data" part.

E.R. Campbell said:
: the people who voted for Trump and will vote for him or his surrogate again, in 2020 and in 2024 and beyond, don't care about the data because it doesn't address their issues, their feelings.

The bold and italics are not mine. They are from the original post.

 

Colin Parkinson

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Emotional based voting, I would argue that Obama benefitted greatly from that and it is the primary motivator of Progressive voters. Yes it motivates almost all of us as well to one extent or another, but I think it is a bigger chunk of the pie, significantly for younger voters.
 

Donald H

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Emotional based voting? In the case of Obama it would tell us that some would never vote for him, based on emotional disdain for him.

The same for Trump? It depends on the meaning of 'emotional'.

;)
 

OceanBonfire

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This lunatic tried to make a "citizen's arrest" by confusing a journalist with someone else and part of the growing conspiracy theorists here in Canada (article in French so I'll translate parts of it):

A reporter victim of a "citizen's arrest" attempt

Reporter Daniel Thibeault, a reporter at Radio-Canada, was pursued through the streets of Ottawa by an individual with the aim of carrying out a "citizen's arrest" - believing was the Bloc Québécois MP Mario Beaulieu. A complaint will be filed with the police.

...

The Canadian Revolution notably opposes the restrictions imposed to counter COVID-19, including the wearing of masks, and blames Justin Trudeau for having contributed to its spread due to immigration. This movement added some followers of the QAnon conspiracy theory, imported from the United States.

...


https://www.lapresse.ca/actualites/politique/2020-09-25/ottawa/un-journaliste-victime-d-une-tentative-d-arrestation-citoyenne.php


Furthermore about the rise of right-wing extremism and anti-mask/anti-covid restrictions movement mix that's been rising in Quebec:

How right-wing extremists, libertarians and evangelicals built Quebec's movement against COVID-19 restrictions

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/quebec-anti-mask-movement-qanon-covid-19-1.5737040
 

Remius

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I’m pretty sure you can get into quite some trouble if you mess up a citizen’s arrest.  Which is probably why you should not attempt it unless you know what you are doing.
 
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