Op Ed: Al Qapone’s Vault, Entry 1

The phenomenon known as Q

A little background on the post title – who was Al Capone? And what’s this Vault thing about?

Al Capone was a notorious gangster back in the 1920s; in 1986, a television reporter named Geraldo Rivera drummed up a TON of hype over the finding of Al Capone’s vault: it was presumed to contain any number of hidden treasures from old coins to gold to who-knows-what. The vault was finally opened after months of speculatory buildup; and here’s what happened in a now infamous clip.

Context lesson over for “Al Qapone’s Vault”, we move to the phenomenon of Q itself.

First off, the letter Q is the 17th letter of the alphabet. Anything (ANYTHING) with 17 is a big motif in the movement. Q was begun in 2017 on a forum called 4chan. Information supposedly comes from a high-ranking, unnamed government official who posts cryptic clues on 4chan and 8chan under the name “Q”.

I can’t remember when I first heard of Q as a movement; I loosely followed outlets for Q theories, predictions for roughly 2 months, between November 2020 and January 2021.

It took more than one failed, built-up (perhaps Trumped-up?) event, but I realized before long that nothing Q influencers were touting, was coming true. No one was being arrested. Trump had no installment (spoiler: he’s still not in charge). No military in charge, no white hats in charge.

After January 6, 2021, Q followers posited that the fence around the White House was touted as keeping the prisoners in—because they’d been arrested of course. At this point, as if on cue, Q Believers will begin saying—

“Patriots are in control.” —“White hats are in control.”—“Trust the plan.” —“If you know, you know.” (iykyk)—or the ever-hopeful, “God wins.”

Many people hopped off the Q bandwagon when I did, that January 2021; but more need to. This post is the beginning in a series — a drawn-out invitation to Q devotees, to stop getting sucked into false promises.

Those currently following Q, do so partly because their own life trauma requires a response. Understanding that adhering to Q, regurgitating the thought-stop phrases, is a trauma response geared toward hope over despair.

Part of Q’s wide appeal is due to the elements and events that appear to be true. It’s a big part of why the de-tangling can become difficult: the mixing of Truth with Almost-Truth. Still, it can get ridiculous in its pattern-finding; and therein lies the less-subtle hints — that most of the over-arching Q claims amount to opening Al Qapone’s vault.

The Q movement itself appeals broadly to many American patriots, and the appeal to God and His work are not without merit. Again, merely saying, “God wins” can, and has, attracted hundreds of thousands of unsuspecting people that desperately want to believe that a powerful force for Good is in effect even as the nation fractures.

But Q has religious elements that are not of God.

Among those religious elements is faith – not in God, but The Plan. No, there’s no “both/and” here. God has His Plan, and it isn’t Q’s cryptic drops.

The infamous phrase “Trust the Plan” evolved because Q-drop interpreters will act as though, if any prediction does not come to pass as YOU thought–well, that is your own inferior intelligence. Subconsciously you are being told that as a lowly Q follower, YOU are to blame for grossly misunderstanding a supposed Grand Plan event that still requires unwavering faith. In most circles, this is called gaslighting.

“If Q isn’t asking for money,” you might ask, “then what’s the big deal?”

People give other things: their time and energy into not just watching videos or reading reports with claims, but making elaborate Doomsday preparations – some of which DO require substantial funding. What you believe can drain your funds and savings.

Christians have the Word of God, tested over the millennia in proving His promises are true – there is no secret, uber-cryptic code, no special “in” knowledge one must gain for comprehension.

But Q Believers have the Q drops, most of which are mind-bogglingly cryptic–NOT meant for the common plebes. “Do your research” is also a favorite phrase among Q devotees.

While much of the Word of God is readily comprehensible, making sense of Q’s Mystery Plan requires the religious devotion ascribed to ascetic buddhist monks: only the strictest disciplines (watching videos, following the drops faithfully) – lead to Enlightenment: the “what” of this so-called Plan, apparently. No one seems to know the full scope, but plenty of claims lure Q followers into believing in the storm.

Yes, ‘The Storm’.

The “Storm” takes its name from then-President Trump’s enigmatic comment from October 2018 about “the calm before the storm.” Q began posting soon after, and said that the storm that Trump referenced is a coming series of mass arrests that would end the deep state forever.

In Q lore, President Trump was secretly working with special counsel Robert Mueller to bring the deep state down….and the Storm is a kind of Judgment Day in which the evildoers are punished. The Bible will say, “No man knows the Day nor the hour” – but Q will certainly give God a run for the money on that one.

Before going farther, the second installment will take a field trip back into history. Before Q, there were other elaborate efforts, notably one that comes straight out of Russia.

I close in saying one must examine Q as any other belief system — not with mere criticism, but critical thinking. Examine the fruit. This post series is an invitation to Q followers to resolve their trauma, outside of The Plan.