I was listening to an episode of the Conspirituality podcast recently, and one of the guests was a former QAnon follower who shared what he had found to be so intoxicating about QAnon, and also why he believes such a surge of people started following QAnon shortly after Trump was elected.
QAnon also helped expose (to me) the deep crushing void felt by so many people who need to belong to something they perceive as bigger than themselves, a void filled by religion for millennia. For the religious, the layers of protection were slowly stripped away over the years by the combined march of science, reason and apathy toward doing something as “boring” as going to church & doing good. QAnon is a thrill ride by comparison. The fact that it has no leader and can morph into whatever the Internet says it is today has got to be pretty intoxicating.
QAnon also helped expose (to me) the deep crushing void felt by so many people who need to belong to something they perceive as bigger than themselves, a void filled by religion for millennia. For the religious, the layers of protection were slowly stripped away over the years by the combined march of science, reason and apathy toward doing something as “boring” as going to church & doing good. QAnon is a thrill ride by comparison. The fact that it has no leader and can morph into whatever the Internet says it is today has got to be pretty intoxicating.
Absolutely agree. Meaning and purpose are basic human needs, and QAnon fills that. It's something I'm obsessed with and write about often.