Don't Go To Any 'Save Our Children' Marches — They Are Not What You'd Think
Yeah, it's QAnon crap, no, they're not actually trying to save any real children.
Today, in over 200 cities across the country, people will be attending "Save Our Children" marches. According to the Facebook event pages for many of these marches, they are simply meant "to spread awareness of trafficking and other crimes against children."
That is not what they are.
"Save Our Children," as regular readers will know, is simply the latest rebrand of the Qanon bullshit. At first it was "Save The Children," but now it's "Save Our Children" because these people realized that not only was "Save The Children" an actual, real-life organization, but that it was funded in part by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and they think Bill Gates is trying to mark of the beast everyone with 5G technology and vaccines.
It's an attempt to gain some respectability by people who are absolutely wacky but wish to pretend they are just normal people who really care about child sex trafficking and exploitation. Thus, these invites contain no mention of QAnon, no mention of Satanists, no mention of what they actually believe — and then, likely, attempt to "redpill" whoever shows up.
Via NBC:
On Saturday, more than 200 "Save the Children" events are scheduled to take place across the country, organized by a constellation of individuals and newly formed groups, according to an NBC News analysis of Facebook events.
The events themselves tend to follow a familiar pattern. People march along the main streets and chant, usually sticking to the broader topics of child abuse and human trafficking. When talking with local reporters, marchers rarely mention QAnon or wider conspiracy theories, sticking instead to demands like stricter laws against pedophilia and greater media attention on sex trafficking. The marches are neighborly and peaceful. Often young children are marching, too, wearing T-shirts emblazoned with bloody handprints and carrying tiny signs with messages like "I am not for sale."
Here's the one I found for the march happening in Rochester, New York. You will notice that there are no explicit mentions of anything kooky-sounding. There is, however, a dogwhistle.
"You have been seeing what's coming to light. You said it makes you sick to your stomach with what is happening to our children. You asked how you could help. Now is your time to rise up," the invite reads. "Dark to light," as you may know, is one of the QAnon sayings. They also call themselves "Children of Light."
Also the only things that have been "coming to light" are not real things that are actually happening. It's not as if there has been some kind of incredible bust of a pedophilia ring or anything like that. There's been no evidence, no complaining witnesses. So really, the only thing they can be referring to is the Wayfair shit and other things that are completely made up.
Even more concerning, however, is the fact that these marches are getting tangled up with legitimate causes. Not just actual child sex trafficking, but things like ... Abolish ICE. Like, things that children actually need to be saved from, like the cages Donald Trump is putting them in. This has apparently been an issue in Chicago. The page for the invite to the Chicago march includes a lot of people talking about abolishing ICE and other actual issues, combined with other people talking about their weird imaginary issues, and it is very fucked up.
The Q people are extremely upset about this, because they really love ICE and in their imaginary narrative, ICE actually saves all of the children.
This is just ... it is extremely bad. It is so, so bad. There is an increasing problem with this stuff spreading on the Left, and getting it mixed up somehow with legitimate and good causes is ... it's not gonna end well. I mean — I suppose it is possible that those doing these events are doing it to make the real wackos go "Oh no, it's associated with BLM and Abolish ICE now? I want no part in this!" and if so, that's clever, but does not take into account how very stupid people are.
Anyway! A whole lot of the people attending these rallies very likely don't know what they are actually about. Make sure that they do. Use whatever platform you have to let them know that these marches do not have a damn thing to do with actual ... anything and that they are being used to legitimize a crazy ass conspiracy theory.
Do your Amazon shopping through this link, because reasons .
Well, these are the dog days.
I belong to the Peer Network of New York. In the Before Times, we met monthly at Harm Reduction Coalition's office. Months ago, we held a presentation where two survivors of human trafficking told their stories; how they were groomed, drugged, exploited. It was horrific, yet I'm glad I attended. It has absolutely nothing to do with the Q-shit.