Parler, and other forums like it are the 21st Century "Jonestowns" [View all]

[essme]

My oldest friend- of 35 or so years has been going nuttier and nuttier for the past several months. Let me give a bit of background information:

We (I am a 56 year old female) met when I was 21, living in a communal atmosphere in Asheville, NC. It was so much fun; the entire group was pretty liberal, we all had jobs and contributed to the upkeep of the house, monthly bills, etc. We hung out, had friends over, wonderful conversations. I don't recall any of us ever drinking- I can't even remember seeing a bottle of wine in the house. We were pretty healthy; our greatest fun was cooking huge meals and enjoying each other's company. The house (which has been sold) is in North Asheville near the Grove Park Inn. We were all involved with something creative, whether it was school, the environment, bird watching, photography- etc.

Over the years, we all moved on as people do- got married, had kids, got divorced (in my case, I traveled- and decided to go back to school and attend grad school)--- the usual. Nothing serious- just normal life.

My friend (who is male) was always interested in the paranormal- UFO's, ghosts. I have an open mind, so thought it was interesting, and sometimes fun. He was also- at the time, a computer genius. This guy was on the forefront of installing satellite TV, then cable- Electronically, he knew what he was doing- no doubt about it. There was nothing electronic he couldn't fix.

He is also Poly. Again, not interested in that lifestyle for myself, but I really just don't worry about how others self identify their preferred family structure.

Since Trump was elected, I have been getting some pretty strange emails. Again, nothing new- usually it's about UFO's, ghosts, etc. But, now it's become weirder and political. He is sending me emails that read like Qanon crap. Political conspiracy theories. "Deep state crap." I don't need to tell you guys what they say, because you all probably have an idea.

However, now? I am getting emails with the same theme: "You don't know what I do- you don't know what is REALLY going on."

I am a firm believer now that we have a serious problem in the US: A cult- and one whose space is defined by URL's as opposed to a plot of land. This one is bigger than anything we have ever seen, and should not be taken lightly.

Cults require a few things to define them:

1. Leadership. (Trump, and minions in the House, Senate, and on the state level)
2. Membership in a defined space. (Parler, Qanon....There are probably many wesbites I don't know about)
3. Paranoia about "the other" --- don't talk to them, don't mix- hence, the rise of Parler for the middle class-
but, more importantly:

4. A belief that requires that one is a "member." Part of a "family." That feeling of "belonging," and that you and the others are privvy to information ONLY available to YOU and other members. All humans need a family, or a "pack." Even Incels- that's why they join Incel groups- there are very few TRUE loners- even Thoreau needed an audience.

Old fashioned cults would have hated the internet- they self-defined by physical geography. They hated the rest of the world, and went out of their way to NOT allow others in. Jonestown, Heaven's Gate, the Manson "family." The last thing they wanted was scrutiny.

This is going to be one of the biggest issues facing us as we move forward. It's scary as crap.

And yes- I miss my friend. I do. He's a neat guy- and I am NOT cutting contact. I keep writing him back and saying, "this is not a credible source," and explaining why.