https://twitter.com/MysterySolvent/status/1351965595760259076?s=19
Maybe this is shitty of me, but I genuinely don't give the slightest shit. The argument that Trump and the GOP manipulated these people is weak at best; this conspiracy is one these freaks fabricated for themselves wholecloth on message boards, absolving them of that responsibility is dumb as fuck.
It's almost like demonising education and raising people to be capitalist sheep was a bad idea.
I don't like this take, they are totally being manipulated and abused. I'm not for "medicare for all but Trump supporters". They are still human just like everyone else.
I'm not against them having healthcare, but no they are absolutely not being abused. That's frankly a disgusting misuse of the term.
How, exactly? They are being taken advantage of, psychologically. Psychological abuse is just as real. They are very unlikely to get out of that hateful mindset for their entire lives and it was directly fueled by grifters who don't give a shit about them.
This isn't something that was done to them. Qanon isn't a cult, it's a conspiracy fabricated by 4chan users and spread on facebook. There are people who take advantage by selling merch and shit, but most of them are also true believers. This idea that it's some top down structure like the Church of Scientology where Trump and Republicans are fleecing them isn't true in any meaningful sense and absolves these people of their responsibility for their own hateful beliefs.
Qanon is 100% a cult, and it doesn't have to be a top down thing for it to necessarily be taking advantage of them. Qanon really functions like an addiction, and with any addict you can have accountability while also understanding the person in question is compelled by something they cant control.
When I think about praxis for how to deal with Qanon types I really think it should be thought of like helping someone with an addiction. Especially if you have family thats falling for this shit. They can be brought out of this radicalization process and reconnected to reality so long as they have a way out. Just my thoughts, I understand Qanon sometimes drives people to be abusive so I get if others would be uncomfortable with that though.
They would string you up if they got in power. They erected a noose, stormed the capitol, and beat a cop to death in the process.
I will have sympathy for these people when they're sitting in a reeducation center after a day's work helping their communities, and they're talking honestly about how fucking gullible and wrong they were. Until then, fuck 'em.
I have sympathy when the scam is pulled on decent people or those who couldn't have known better, but none of these people fit that description. They're all old enough to know they can get fooled, and they're all shitty enough that they hoped others suffered. These aren't kids learning that the ball and cup game at the fair is rigged, these are adults who bought guns and pledged loyalty to empire, capital, and white supremacy. In conclusion :charlie-kirk:
Eh I sorta feel bad for the lady that got worked so fucking hard she got her brains blown out. There's a level of brainwashing going on. Couple that with a lot of these people seem poorly read and highly uneducated. Just easy to manipulate.
I feel sympathy for them in that they felt alienated and demoralized enough to hop onboard this reactionary cult of personality, but beyond that, yeah. "Manipulated" takes away their agency.
This post but over a picture of a concentration camp guard crying as they're led to the gallows
These people are mentally ill. They deserve your sympathy and should be receiving care, not scorn. There's really no other humane way to look at this.
