“Now I know why people believe in QAnon.”

I had a lovely conversation today with a professional colleague who also keeps bees. He has lots of local customers who buy his honey because they believe eating local honey will help them with their allergies. The evidence for that is not good, and he tells his customers that. But they don’t believe him. They persist in the belief that eating local honey helps.

He said, “now I know why people believe in QAnon,” and we chatted about conspiracy theories and such for a while.

He mentioned his surprise that otherwise educated people would believe something for which there is little or no evidence.

I’m not surprised at all. I’m a skeptic about the alleged benefits of (what passes for) education. I know lots of educated people who believe very silly things. Part of the reason for this is that education has become mostly indoctrination. They don’t teach you to think critically. They don’t expect you to consider opposing viewpoints. Rather, the reverse.

A big part of the problem with false beliefs is that we’ve lost trust in our institutions. E.g.,

Beekeeper: Studies show that local honey doesn’t help with allergies.

Honey buyer: Those studies were probably funded by Big Pharma. They don’t make any money off local honey, so they want us to buy their stuff.

Note an interesting contrast here. It would be to my friend’s benefit to encourage people to believe that local honey helps with allergies. But he doesn’t. Because he’s an honest man.

We can easily believe that a particular man is honest. We have a very hard time believing that a corporation is honest. That’s worth thinking about.

He also mentioned the negative effect of right-wing media, which is always tearing down trust in our institutions. I agree, although I don’t believe it’s confined to right-wing media, and data I’ve seen indicates that belief in conspiracies is a bi-partisan problem.

The other thing to consider is the involvement of Russia and China. The silly Democrat lie was that Russia tried to promote Trump. The truth is that Russian wants to sow distrust in our institutions. “Trump v Clinton” is not nearly as important to them as getting Americans to distrust their system.

Same with China.

They want to undermine us from within.

5 thoughts on ““Now I know why people believe in QAnon.””

  1. QUOTE: The silly Democrat lie was that Russia tried to promote Trump. The truth is that Russian wants to sow distrust in our institutions. “Trump v Clinton” is not nearly as important to them as getting Americans to distrust their system.

    Much to the chagrin of some conservatives, this is not a Democrat lie. A Republican led bi-partisan Senate committee did a thorough investigation and found “evidence” of hundreds of actions by Trump, his campaign, and his associates in the run-up to the 2016 election that involve some degree of participation by Trump or his associates in Russian activity. The Senate committee highlighted how Russia and other countries looked for opportunities to embed themselves with Trump officials. They further enforced Mueller’s findings that Russia engaged in a sweeping and multi-pronged effort to influence the outcome of the 2016 election. When asked directly during a press conference in Helsinki, even Putin admitted he wanted Trump to win the election.

    Overall, it appears the committee found two things to be true…Russia meddled in the 2016 election to sow discord and distrust in our institutions. As well, part of its modus operandi was engaging the Trump campaign in its efforts. For the facts of the Senate investigation outcomes, an objective, detailed review can be found here:

    https://www.lawfareblog.com/collusion-reading-diary-what-did-senate-intelligence-committee-find

    QUOTE: He mentioned his surprise that otherwise educated people would believe something for which there is little or no evidence.

    After numerous vote recounts, over 60 failed court cases, multiple investigations, and direct testimony of several senior Trump administration officials, there is still a belief in the lie that the 2020 election was stolen. Even more frightening is some conservatives have resorted to threats and violence. A vicious mob of Trump supporters descended upon the nation’s Capitol Building, threatening to hang the Vice-President and harm other congressional leaders. Republican Representative Adam Kinzinger recently received a death threat to himself, wife and 5 month old child for participating on the bi-partisan Jan 6 congressional committee. The secretaries of state in Georgia and Arizona received death threats when they certified Biden as the winner in their respective states during the 2020 election. There were other incidents of this ilk…all in response to an unfounded allegation that is STILL being promulgated by the former President and Republican government officials and candidates.

    That said, the Democrat party is a major mess with its intra-party warring tribes and policy extremes. Even with that, it doesn’t seem to have taken on the character of the current Republican Party. When you have CONSERVATIVE congressional leaders like John Cornyn and Dan Crenshaw being boo’d and accosted by fellow Republicans for participating in bi-partisan congressional efforts something is seriously wrong! In proven cases of voter fraud…it has been Republicans that have been culpable. A judge had to block efforts by Republicans to unfairly redistrict an area in Florida. Likewise, a Florida judge blocked a new Republican-backed voting law, deeming it discriminatory. Where does it end? Will Republicans reign in the extremists in their party? If they can’t prevail honestly will lying, cheating and resorting to violence become the new normal? Given the deafening silence of GOP leaders and conservative media on matters such as this, I’m not hopeful that it won’t become the standard for political discourse and how so-called patriots respond to political outcomes they don’t favor…believing in and reacting to lies rather than facts and truth.

  2. PS…Exhibit A…You can’t make this stuff up!

    BREAKING NEWS…Texas GOP’s New Proclamation

    “We believe that the 2020 election violated Article 1 and 2 of the US Constitution,” the Texas Republicans said in their new platform. They accuse several secretaries of state of illegal actions, alleging that “substantial election fraud in key metropolitan areas” distorted the results in Biden’s favor. “We reject the certified results of the 2020 presidential election, and we hold that acting President Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was not legitimately elected by the people of the United States,” the GOP platform stated.

    https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1106229988/texas-gops-new-platform-says-biden-didnt-really-win-it-also-calls-for-secession

  3. EXHIBIT B: A political ad featuring “RINO hunting” from Republican Senate candidate Eric Greitens. So, is the implication that Republicans now shoot those in their party that don’t agree with their agenda or support conspiracy theories?

    https://www.npr.org/2022/06/20/1106228594/a-missouri-senate-candidate-holds-a-shotgun-and-calls-for-rino-hunting-in-a-new-

    This from a former Governor that resigned due to allegations of sexual assualt and blackmail of a woman. In a sworn affidavit his ex-wife accused him of abusing her and their children. He was also accused of misusing a charity donor list to raise campaign funds. Interestingly, a recent poll found primary voters preferred Greitens enough to lead in the current Senate race. If he wins, it will speak volumes about the character of the Republican Party…especially if GOP establishment leaders and conservative media remain silent.

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