This weekend, Gen. Michael Flynn and a gang of the biggest dopes on planet earth, many of whom appear to be related to him, took the Oath of Office. Were they being sworn in to an office? No, they were not. They were simply saying the "oath of office" in the same way all of the QAnon idiots were saying it last week.
Does he literally believe in QAnon? Probably not. But maybe! But he appears to have no qualms about leading these people to believe that he does.
For the record, Flynn's batshit lawyer Sidney Powell says that Michael Flynn wasn't taking the QAnon oath at all, but rather just taking an oath to "Constitution":
"The slogan comes from an engraved bell on JFK'S sailboat—acknowledging the unity of mankind. The oath is obvious—the federal oath in support of our Constitution. He wanted to encourage people to think about being a citizen. Don't read anything else into it."
OK.
Also this weekend, publicist Melissa Rein Lively of Arizona tore down a display of masks at Target while repeatedly screaming "This shit's fucking over!" Upon her arrest, she informed police that she was the Official Spokesperson For QAnon and also an official White House Spokesperson for Donald Trump.
I don't think all the people who believe in QAnon are mentally ill. This woman very well could be, but I certainly don't think they all are. There is a difference between believing something that is not true and being mentally ill. There has to be. And to some degree, many of those who believe this crap are acting the way a rational person would act if they were true.
Flynn is quite a conspiracy theory theorist in his own right, who does believe some strange things, but he also likely has enough knowledge of what's going on "behind the scenes" to know that it would be patently ridiculous for someone with "Q level clearance" to post clues to message boards known primarily for hosting extreme racism and child porn, about Donald Trump's secret battle against Hillary Clinton and her band of adrenochrome-addicted Satanists running a child sex ring, for a bunch of lonely seekers to decode.
But what he does know is that he is the hero of this story, that these people worship him, and that he enjoys being the hero of this story. He also knows that these people are very useful, on account of the fact that their devotion to him and to Trump is primarily faith-based rather than based in anything they believe or have actually done.
The fact that he's doing this Machivellian shit, however, is incredibly irresponsible. These QAnon people have hurt people. They've killed people. They've torn down innocent displays of masks in Target. They're dangerous, and Michael Flynn pulling stunts like this is only going to further confirm to them that they are right to believe this crap, and it will make them even more dangerous. Because really — the rational response to believing in an underground Satanic Sex Trafficking ring probably is doing something drastic. Especially when they keep not getting all of the mass arrests "Q" has promised them.
"Literally got the chills! Qanon is NOT a hoax ladies and Gentleman. We truly are digital soldiers fighting alongside the military to purge evil from our planet. What a time to be alive!!!!"
We can see these people getting agitated online, in real time. They're mad they haven't gotten their mass arrests. They've been promised satisfaction. They've been promised that their friends and relatives, who have stopped talking to them because of this crap, will come crawling back to them, saying "Oh why didn't we believe you! Can you ever forgive us?" and practicing their responses for when the time comes. How long can they "trust in the plan" or sit there and smugly type #EnjoyTheShow, with no payoff? Probably not that long. Even the Jehovah's Witnesses had to give up on predicting the end of the world after the end of the world kept not happening.
If we're lucky, they just give up and pretend they never went through this particular phase. If we're not, they're going to start taking things into their own hands and possibly hurting themselves or innocent people.
If General Flynn truly believes in this crap — and there is a good chance he does not — he should be very clear on it instead of merely dropping hints to these people like that and, frankly, taking advantage of them. That's only fair. He should get out there and talk to the media about it, or even do a little thread about it on Twitter. He should put up or shut up.
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