I keep trying to figure out why people believe all these blatant lies. And I create all these circumstances of class and shattered ambitions, of comatose educational upbringing, of fractured real-world exposure, etc., to try to understand it all. And then oft times, most times, nothing fits. And then I think of Hannah Arendt's description of "the banality of evil." And how that description wrought her many enemies. She attributed to Eichmann what she termed “thoughtlessness,” an inability to think from the other’s point of view. Maybe these folks who bludgeoned to death a capitol police officer with a fire extinguisher or all of the other marauders hellbent on tearing up Congress were pure evil. Or maybe they have just been so forsaken and so low that their only way to go high is racial purity.
Hi Helen, I also am trying to make sense of the appeal. How do these people fall down the rabbit hole to such a degree? I think it's about cults, and QAnon being like a cult. It weaves an entire narrative. They have an answer for everything. They have right and wrong, and they believe they are on the side of right. They believe once they vanquish the evil cabal of global elite, that includes the democrats, they will be rewarded by the Rapture. A new day will dawn, a day in which they are the heroes. The fact that "Save the Children" has become a rallying cry, the rioters consider themselves patriots and are truly confused as to why they're not being celebrated, the fact that by kicking Trump off Twitter is now fueling conspiracies about how Big Tech is more powerful than any government and is on it's way to total domination (and Big Tech, of course, is part of the elite cabal), it's like up is down, black is white, right is left. The fact that I've seen with my own eyes how the far right is not turning into the far left like a snake eating its tail... it's terrifying and very confusing and difficult to parse. BUT, it does have a distinctive whiff to it, a sort of odor I sense when I read some of this stuff. My nephew, for example, sent me an article from RT.com (a Russian government news channel), and it has the "scent" -- it's a slightly hysterical edge. It's the smell of conspiracy theories. Some people it seems just don't have a nose for it. Also, the other disturbing and honestly interesting thing about QAnon is that it appears to be a kind of reality game, with Q breadcrumbs and a vast network of folks deciphering messages from "Q," who of course is a government operative deep within the machine trying to get the truth out. The sad thing is, if you actually believe all of this, you absolutely "did the right thing" by attacking the Capitol. I'm afraid we may see more mayhem.
I keep trying to figure out why people believe all these blatant lies. And I create all these circumstances of class and shattered ambitions, of comatose educational upbringing, of fractured real-world exposure, etc., to try to understand it all. And then oft times, most times, nothing fits. And then I think of Hannah Arendt's description of "the banality of evil." And how that description wrought her many enemies. She attributed to Eichmann what she termed “thoughtlessness,” an inability to think from the other’s point of view. Maybe these folks who bludgeoned to death a capitol police officer with a fire extinguisher or all of the other marauders hellbent on tearing up Congress were pure evil. Or maybe they have just been so forsaken and so low that their only way to go high is racial purity.
I remain puzzled.
Hi Helen, I also am trying to make sense of the appeal. How do these people fall down the rabbit hole to such a degree? I think it's about cults, and QAnon being like a cult. It weaves an entire narrative. They have an answer for everything. They have right and wrong, and they believe they are on the side of right. They believe once they vanquish the evil cabal of global elite, that includes the democrats, they will be rewarded by the Rapture. A new day will dawn, a day in which they are the heroes. The fact that "Save the Children" has become a rallying cry, the rioters consider themselves patriots and are truly confused as to why they're not being celebrated, the fact that by kicking Trump off Twitter is now fueling conspiracies about how Big Tech is more powerful than any government and is on it's way to total domination (and Big Tech, of course, is part of the elite cabal), it's like up is down, black is white, right is left. The fact that I've seen with my own eyes how the far right is not turning into the far left like a snake eating its tail... it's terrifying and very confusing and difficult to parse. BUT, it does have a distinctive whiff to it, a sort of odor I sense when I read some of this stuff. My nephew, for example, sent me an article from RT.com (a Russian government news channel), and it has the "scent" -- it's a slightly hysterical edge. It's the smell of conspiracy theories. Some people it seems just don't have a nose for it. Also, the other disturbing and honestly interesting thing about QAnon is that it appears to be a kind of reality game, with Q breadcrumbs and a vast network of folks deciphering messages from "Q," who of course is a government operative deep within the machine trying to get the truth out. The sad thing is, if you actually believe all of this, you absolutely "did the right thing" by attacking the Capitol. I'm afraid we may see more mayhem.