so, is qanon all because the internet and social media is converting us into a bunch of inbred retards?

the irony is that this is a position firmly rooted in historical ignorance. 

so, yes - this is a peculiar expression of abject human stupidity. no doubt. but, it's just a function of the technology, really. let's take a look at what existed with previous types of technology, and convince ourselves that this is not a novel phenomenon.

the protocols of the elders of zion & the book of mormon

you might look at these morons and desperately grapple with how the fuck anybody can take this ridiculousness seriously. but, what existed to spread nonsense and disinformation before social media? the answer is the printing press, and these are two great examples of fraudulent texts that only an idiot could take seriously, and that generated millions of followers. look them up. is what is written in the book of mormon any less ridiculous than qanon, when analyzed carefully? further, the protocols was still widely cited decades after it was exposed as fraudulent, and generated very scary mass movements. maybe, it's not really the technology, then?

the bible, the koran

and, what existed before the printing press? you had various slowly developing advances on hand-reproduced texts, which would often end up producing errors that were difficult to identify or undo. when reproducing plato or aristotle, those errors could lead to widespread confusion - not unlike what you see with social media, just at a much slower rate. but, let's look at these religious texts and ask ourselves if they're any less ridiculous than qanon, or if their followers are any less crazy.

if somebody came to you and said "i just got back from 40 days in death valley, where i talked to satan for weeks. he tempted me, and he tempted me, and he tempted me, but i was strong, and emerged convinced of the need to save the world from evil. join me.", you'd quickly deduce they're on drugs. but, how is that fundamentally different than being convinced that there's some evil group of pedophiles operating out of the back of a pizza joint? do you see the commonalities, here?

now, we could flip this over - no force in history is responsible for more death and destruction than christianity, so if you see something of early christians in these people, maybe it's reason to want to crack down on them. but, that never works.

and, don't be surprised if there's a billion qanon followers in 500 years, who speak of their persecution under the american emperor as a fundamental part of their origin myth.

mirrors. how do they work?