The Left’s “QAnon”: The New York Times Anonymous Op-Ed in Perspective
The Left now has their own QAnon to give them hope. After the release of The New York Times anonymous op-ed on Wednesday, those seeking signs of hope for the demise of a Trump presidency have a talisman, a smoke signal, a sign from a shadowy figure telling them they will be safe.
Those who don’t know the QAnon phenomenon probably have better things to do with their time than watching hour+ long YouTube conspiracy theory videos about posts from an alleged Q-level clearance agent or agents working close to President Trump to bring down the Deep State. “Q Clearance Patriot” (Q being the highest level security clearance) drops information and images into 4chan or 8chan for hordes of faithful to read and dissect, trying to find signs that patriots within the corrupt establishment are taking down the bad guys or exposing liberal sex trafficking. Q followers believe this is the “calm before the storm” (as Trump said himself) when the government judgement day comes.
The language sounds religious and adherents to the Q faith read postings with the attention to detail of a Talmudic scholar. This close reading of information in conjunction with other sources (Trump tweets, mainstream news, broadcasts) can seem uniquely conservative. Scholar Francesca Tripodi calls this close and comparative reading “scriptural inference” in a report from Data and Society called, “Searching for Alternative Facts: Analyzing Scriptural Inference in Conservative News Practices.” While her report does not touch the QAnon phenomenon, one could use that analytic tool to understand the extreme to which Q lovers (who include Roseanne Barr and Alex Jones) take their scriptural-style readings of Q text, but add a layer of religious longing for messiah to this Q clearance patriot’s prophecy. As for their part? They don’t have to do much, but support Trump and the “Great Awakening” will come.
Perhaps more mainstream, but with the the drop of the anonymous op-ed in The New York Times this week, those who loathe Trump also have an anonymous figure with high security clearance gunning for them in the White House. A reader of this piece can do little except guess which member of the administration would dare use “lodestar” in writing. Some machine learning algorithms think it is Vice President Mike Pence. But, if the author truly is a woman, given the New York Times used “he” in “error” in a tweet referencing the author, some put money on U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Nikki Haley or Secretary of Homeland Security, Kirstjen Nielsen. All have denied writing it.
For those already in the “know” (or rather, think they know), the op-ed didn’t tell anyone anything new that their confirmation bias did not already affirm previously: the President is unstable and even his staff knows it. Yet never fear! There is “cold comfort in this chaotic era!” There are patriots, “unsung heroes” in the White House trying to keep the establishment ship afloat! We just need to remain faithful that these Republican insiders with their heads screwed on will continue to do “what’s right even when Donald Trump won’t.”
Q folks know that this op-ed is either patently false or simply a sign that the deep state house-cleaning storm is coming (and allegedly signed off by Trump personally in a Q drop, see “Q+” photo). Yet those anonymous op-ed lovers see this piece of writing as a sign, a lodestar if you will, that even Republican insiders are waking up to the mess and keeping the steady state alive.
Regardless, these signs are from people — not God, lest we forget — and are ultimately just that, signs. We can all try to read headlines as if they are tea leaves, but ultimately the only thing going to truly change anything (whether you are pro or against Trump) is getting out, petitioning, organizing, running for office, and voting. Some real scripture might help inspire you to save your country. In the end, no amount of scripture reading of anything but real scripture is going to save your soul.
