# What happens to the QAnon movement now-- do they mutate & move the goalposts, or die out? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [January 22, 2021, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211 "2021-01-22T13:55:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 10
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/181 "2021-02-11T16:00:34Z")
Right in front of me (and I assumed she knew I am a Democrat), one of my wife’s Republican friends said, “Anyone who voted for Biden is as stupid and corrupt as he is! If you hate Trump so much, just don’t vote!” Pretty sure that’s not how elections work … ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/182 "2021-02-11T16:26:45Z")
> [@Daithi\_Lacha](#): > > “Anyone who voted for Biden is as stupid and corrupt as he is! If you hate Trump so much, just don’t vote!” You should have replied, ‘Anyone who voted for Trump is as stupid and corrupt as he is. If you hate America all it stands for, you should move to a fascist country.’ ---
**Author:** ![Kimera757](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kimera757/32/3765_2.png) [@Kimera757](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimera757)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 4:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/183 "2021-02-11T16:27:28Z")
There are so many channels for this. Social media is the most obvious, but so are Fox News and now game chats. My brother fell into it, mainly because he fell for Christian prophecy channels on Youtube. Many of those preachers support(ed) Trump. He also watches Fox News. He has no social media beyond Youtube. ---
**Author:** ![Daithi\_Lacha](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/daithi_lacha/32/5430_2.png) [@Daithi\_Lacha](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Daithi_Lacha)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/184 "2021-02-11T17:02:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > You should have replied, ‘Anyone who voted for Trump is as stupid and corrupt as he is. If you hate America all it stands for, you should move to a fascist country.’ Eh, I was outnumbered 6 to 1. I’m not that great a brawler. It was funny, though – right at that time, Powell had “released the Kraken.” One of those present at that occasion was a former federal prosecutor in the Bronx, now retired. Big Trump supporter, but he said with a note of uneasiness in his voice, “I heard her brief was riddled with spelling errors.” My wife handwaved that away but you could tell it didn’t sit well with him. ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 5:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/185 "2021-02-11T17:43:00Z")
> [@sachertorte](#): > > Eh? People have been saying they are voting against X for decades now. Yes, I am aware of that. Biden however got more of those votes. No Presidential candidate, not even Hillary or Nixon, garnered the hate and desperation to beat him that Donald Trump did. For good reason. ---
**Author:** ![sachertorte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sachertorte/32/3727_2.png) [@sachertorte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sachertorte)\ **Post date:** [February 11, 2021, 6:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/186 "2021-02-11T18:08:24Z")
> [@RickJay](#): > > Biden however got more of those votes I don’t agree. Well maybe in the sense that far more people voted in 2020 than ever before (which includes _more_ Trump voters), but I think the central point, that as a percentage of the electorate, this is nothing new. I’d also argue that Hillary hate absolutely gave Trump the 2016 election. ---
**Author:** ![Guest-starring\_Id](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guest-starring_id/32/21736_2.png) [@Guest-starring\_Id](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guest-starring_Id)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 3:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/187 "2021-03-04T03:55:26Z")
This goofiness seems to be gaining a foothold in the church. (Could be a better source out there, for this, but I’m just feeling too lazy as fuck; it’s culled from my email homepage newsfeed, and this _does_ seem to more or less check, anyway) (basically pastor’s anecdotes) > **[QAnon and other conspiracy theories are taking hold in churches. Pastors are...](https://ca.news.yahoo.com/qanon-conspiracy-theories-taking-hold-110008408.html)** > > The Jan. 6 Capitol attack has compelled many pastors across the country to speak out on their struggles to combat the spread of misinformation, conspiracy theories and QAnon beliefs among their congregations. > [@](#): > > Vern Swieringa, a Christian Reformed Church pastor, agreed to leave his post in the small western Michigan village of Hamilton in December after months of disputes with his congregation over his request to require masks. “That was the biggest part of it but there was so much more,” said Swieringa, 61. “There were elderly members of my congregation that would share videos with me saying that Democrats were going to turn this country to socialism, that they were evil and QAnon was right. I tried to say with love that these were conspiracies and they would thank me but I’m not sure if it worked.” > [@](#): > > Jared Stacy, a Southern Baptist pastor, had a similar experience. Over his four years minister in Virginia, Stacy noticed a gradual uptick in conspiratorial conversations beginning to divide his congregation, which was split between young professionals and retirees. After George Floyd died at the hands of police in Minneapolis last summer, he said the problem got worse. “Older members would ignore Black Lives Matter and instead say we had to focus on sex trafficking,” he said. Stacy, 30, tried to tell congregants that both issues — racial justice and sex abuse — needed their prayers and attention. But he noticed that the concerns about sex trafficking were more specific to a QAnon belief in “Democrat pedophilia.” “It’s like 2020 just exposed so many undercurrents that were already there and growing,” Stacy said. “How could I compete with an hour of a sermon on Sunday with a person who was committing hours and hours to media and information on YouTube and Facebook?” Stacy left the church in November. Today, he lives in Scotland, where he studies theology at the University of Aberdeen, and hopes to one day return to the U.S., possibly again as a pastor. Good to see, however, pushback from the clergy: > [@](#): > > The trends led a group of more than 500 influential evangelical pastors, thinkers and faith leaders to recently publish an open letter condemning “radicalized Christian nationalism” and the “rise of violent acts by radicalized extremists using the name of Christ.” Signers of [letter ([https://saynotochristiannationalism.org/](https://saynotochristiannationalism.org/)), called “Say No To Christian Nationalism,” included Jerushah Duford, the granddaughter of the late Rev. Billy Graham, and the Rev. Jim Wallis, the founder of Sojourners, a prominent progressive Christian advocacy organization. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 6:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/188 "2021-03-04T06:13:27Z")
I’m of the opinion that while democracy may or may not be the best system for choosing good leaders, it’s definitely the best system for getting rid of bad ones. Voting against someone instead of for someone isn’t a bug - it’s a feature. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/189 "2021-03-04T14:36:22Z")
Could it be that people who are already searching archaic texts for meaning, life direction, and the blueprint for their life could also be more susceptible to modern conspiracy theories, including QAnon? ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 2:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/190 "2021-03-04T14:40:06Z")
Maybe, but I doubt it. For one thing, they’ve already _got_ an Explanation for Everything. I personally think it’s much more likely that people that have drifted _away_ from mainstream organized religion will be searching for alternatives to fill that same niche, which conspiracy theories can fill. ---
**Author:** ![wguy123](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wguy123/32/3161_2.png) [@wguy123](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wguy123)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/191 "2021-03-04T14:44:00Z")
That article isn’t about ex-church members. ---
**Author:** ![gdave](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gdave/32/3683_2.png) [@gdave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gdave)\ **Post date:** [March 4, 2021, 2:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/192 "2021-03-04T14:46:08Z")
I…yes? I certainly didn’t mean that church-goers are _immune_ to conspiracy-theorizing. I just don’t think they’re “_more_ susceptible to modern conspiracy theories”. Of course, I could be wrong. ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 1:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/193 "2021-03-05T13:57:12Z")
Looks like the goal posts have been relocated, to other indeterminate stadiums. [QAnon Theorists Switch Date to March 20 After No Trump Inauguration, Call the 4th ‘False Flag’](https://www.newsweek.com/qanon-theorists-switch-date-march-20-after-no-trump-inauguration-call-4th-false-flag-1573871) Excerpts: > “Can’t help but get the feeling that these ‘March 4 true inauguration’ stories are planned disinfo being peddled by the [injected] anons to dupe people into spreading probably nonsense theories that make the whole movement look dumb,” one QAnon influencer wrote in an online forum early last month, according to a screenshot that Kaplan shared to Twitter on February 10. Kaplan redacted all QAnon supporters’ names prior to posting the screen captures. > “Caution,” another wrote last week. “All the irresponsible talk about March 4th is very likely another setup to target members of the ‘Q community’ as extremist. Spread the word and do NOT go to any big events that day.” So which one of you is the mole? We only believe these theories because you planted someone among us to put false information in our heads. > Two additional influencers, who Kaplan said previously backed the March 4 conspiracy theory, seemed to have changed their minds entirely by Wednesday. The influencers respectively described the theory as a “false flag” and “a trap” in messages that appeared on separate social media platforms. So the QAnonites didn’t actually think of the date March 4 date themselves. The MSM reported that they did, and they always lie. > Responding to a Telegram thread that referenced “taking the fences down Around DC,” one influencer wrote: “So let me get this straight…they want to take them down 2 days before they ‘think’ something will happen on the 4th!!! False flag coming!” > “March 4 is a Trap! Q knew,” the other said in a different post. “Is it a trap for [them] or is it a trap for us?” > Earlier, the same influencer claimed: “Anything/anyone hyping March 4 is suspect,” and called the March 4 conspiracy an “MSM false flag set up.” (MSM stands for mainstream media.) As for March 20 being the actual date: > Some QAnon supporters seemed to rebrand the March 4 conspiracy in the wake of community suspicion. While two individuals affiliated with the false theories simply suggested that Trump’s inauguration would take place some time in the spring, one man, identified as Ken, [told](https://twitter.com/daveweigel/status/1366105390920966149?s=20) _Washington Post_ reporter Dave Weigel that the former president “will be inaugurated again on March 20” in comments over the weekend. Ken also believes that “Trump is still in command of the military” and “Biden is acting as president as a ruse while the Pope and others are rounded up,” according to Weigel. I was wondering when the Pope would make a comeback. He hasn’t been a conspiracy darling since the New World Order era. > The upcoming date will mark the 167th anniversary of the Republican Party’s founding. Former members of the Whig Party are said to have technically established the GOP during a meeting in Ripon, Wisconsin, on March 20, 1854. So the GOP will be reinstated into power because it’s their 167th birthday and they get a present. At least the math is simple. ---
**Author:** ![solost](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/solost/32/11776_2.png) [@solost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/solost)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/194 "2021-03-05T14:37:33Z")
> [@Knowed\_Out](#): > > Looks like the goal posts have been relocated Them goal posts gotta be smack-dab in the middle of the locker room by now, if not out in the parking lot. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 3:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/195 "2021-03-05T15:19:43Z")
The goal posts have passed the event horizont in the black hole at the center of the galaxy by now, they are now completely out of reach, continuosly accelerating and getting farther and farther from us, yet never completely dissapearing from our point of view… ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/196 "2021-03-05T15:28:52Z")
I suspect that 4/20 will be the date that Trump gets stoned. (I hope they use really pointy rocks.) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/197 "2021-03-05T15:34:30Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I suspect that 4/20 will be the date that Trump gets stoned. Somebody here definitely needs to start the rumor that the true date of the Storm is 4/20. And when that fails, 6/9. They want stupid, let’s give them stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Atamasama](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/atamasama/32/12961_2.png) [@Atamasama](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Atamasama)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/198 "2021-03-05T15:36:19Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > Somebody here definitely needs to start the rumor that the true date of the Storm is 4/20. And when that fails, 6/9. > > They want stupid, let’s give them stupid. It shouldn’t be too hard. Anonymous people posting ridiculous hoaxes that gullible people grab onto and cultishly believe is the entire Qanon movement. ---
**Author:** ![Euphonious\_Polemic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/euphonious_polemic/32/3002_2.png) [@Euphonious\_Polemic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Euphonious_Polemic)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 3:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/199 "2021-03-05T15:49:23Z")
> [@Atamasama](#): > > I suspect that 4/20 will be the date that Trump gets stoned. > > (I hope they use really pointy rocks.) I’ll have two points, two flats and a packet of gravel please. ---
**Author:** ![Bonum\_Legatum](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bonum_legatum/32/6183_2.png) [@Bonum\_Legatum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bonum_Legatum)\ **Post date:** [March 5, 2021, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211/200 "2021-03-05T15:50:12Z")
April 31st! Oh wait, that will probably start another conspiracy theory, why April 31st is being suppressed. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211.md?page=9) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-happens-to-the-qanon-movement-now-do-they-mutate-move-the-goalposts-or-die-out/931211.md?page=11)