More Conspiracy Theory Thoughts

I have some family members who are deep into the QANON conspiracy theory. Well, a couple that are ear deep in and a couple that are toe deep in. My sister in law is totally consumed by it and it has caused her to cut ties with other members of the family (me and my family and my parents) over it. She sees this in such a way that anyone who doesn't believe what she does (the propaganda), is a blind sheep for which there is no help. She is absolutely 100% convinced that the conspiracy theories and the prophecies will come true. There is no convincing her otherwise and if you try she will just tell herself (and you) that YOU are the one that is brainwashed and YOU are the one who is wrong. 

That got me thinking. This is the same exact way a religious person (especially Abrahamic) approaches anyone who questions their God, religious texts or belief structure. They are just as vitriolic, just as temperamental, just as protective and just as unwilling to explore other possibilities. 

I came across a TikTok account this week of a woman who was deep into the QANON conspiracy theory and a rabid Trump supporter. When the inauguration day came and went and none of the things the leaders of Q promised would happen that day came true and Trump seemingly did nothing to fight, she began to start questioning things. The account is her deconstructing her QANON beliefs. I have been watching her explain herself and answer questions as she continues to wake up and rejoin reality and it has been very interesting.

One of the things I find so interesting about her and something I am starting to assume is more common than not is the fact that this woman admits she didn't have anything concrete to base her conspiracy theory opinions on. She admitted that she doesn't follow along with what is going on in politics and does not listen to politicians speak. She did not listen to any actual news or reporting. All of her opinions are based on either personal experience, anecdotal evidence from others or propaganda fed to her through these social media groups online. She never knew how to fact check and assumed everything she was being spoon fed was 100% true and anything out in the "mainstream" that contradicted the propaganda was the actual lie. It wasn't until inauguration day that she started to see through the charade and was able to get out. 

I actually feel for her as I listen to how she answers people's questions and about how strange she feels and how sad she is, learning and having to accept that everything she thought was true is actually false. She hadn't been in the Q stuff long; only a few months, but she still feels like she is lost, trying to move forward with all this new information and transformed perspective. I can totally relate to this! It is exactly how it feels to leave religion. 

If you look at Christianity in the same way you look at QANON (or any conspiracy theory/cult) you can see a lot of similarities. For example, the church doesn't want people thinking on their own or looking into other possibilities that threaten the survival of the church, so they teach that to do so is worldly and leads to evil. The church condemns anything that doesn't align with their preferred narrative and tries to discount it. I have already talked about the prophecy point, but just think about all the times religious people have incorrectly prophesied the end of the world. They even incorrectly predict it in the Bible! 

People who know the Bible and can quote it and do so to show people the contradictions and issues with it as a text are met with things like, "Even Satan can quote scripture." People do not want to hear it. They don't want their beliefs challenged and they have been taught that outsiders who question God are bad and they worship the devil. It is a very similar narrative extended to a non-believer of QANON. That tells me a lot about what the church ACTUALLY is.