Q: Into the Storm

[DanaK]

Quote

Q: Into The Storm, a six-part documentary series from director Cullen Hoback (Terms and Conditions May Apply) and Executive Producer Adam McKay (HBO’s Succession), charts a labyrinthine journey to uncover the forces behind QAnon.

Spanning three years in the making and traversing the globe, the series follows filmmaker Hoback as he investigates the movement fueled by conspiracy theories that has grown in scope and political significance, chronicling its evolution in real time, and revealing how “Q” uses information warfare to game the internet, hijack politics, and manipulate people’s thinking.

 

The doc series will premiere on Sunday, March 21 with 2 back-to-back episodes starting at 9pm ET and will continue in this manner for 2 subsequent Sundays

Hopefully this will be tighter and more hard hitting than the Nxium one

Edited March 12, 2021 by DanaK

[Robert Lynch]

This is going to be six parts, right?

[DanaK]

7 minutes ago, Robert Lynch said:

This is going to be six parts, right?

Yes, 2 episodes a week for 3 weeks

[Guest]

What a tragic collection of losers and grifters those "Q" people are.  

Also: Jim Watkins? Really loved him saying how he doesn't pay attention to politics in the Philippines because it's illegal for foreigners to do so and that he doesn't pay attention to American politics because he lives in the Philippines ... and yet, wears a MAGA hat. So, the pen reveal, while surprising, wasn't all that surprising because Jim Watkins is really bad at showing his hand.

[CherryMalotte]

Holy shit...this is a huge field with a whole lotta rabbit holes.  

I can understand conspiracy stuff and what is appealing about it - but this is a whole other belief system which is sorely lacking in logical thinking.  

[snickers]

This show so far was everything I’d hope it would be. I’m interested in Q because unfortunately I’ve had to cut people out of my life who got sucked down this rabbit hole-yet they say I’m the brainwashed one 😳

they would never watch this show because, mainstream media, but, I’d love to see the looks on their faces if they realized Q bred to life from a website that thrives off of child porn 😒

[revbfc]

I’d like some context for the intro with Ron Watkins.  Why was a camera crew there with a seemingly “unaware” neighbor?

 

ETA:  During the Pizzagate times, there was a bunch of people making outlandish claims about anyone they could connect in even a minute way to Comet.  Did your band play there?  Then you were in on it.  Did you own a house in the 90’s that the proprietor bought years later?  You were in on it.  It was insane, and they hurt a lot of people.

Edited March 22, 2021 by revbfc
More to say.

[Guest]

9 hours ago, CherryMalotte said:

but this is a whole other belief system which is sorely lacking in logical thinking.  

Which is pretty ironic considering all the "reSEarCh" these people always claim they're doing. 

I mean, honestly, the whole "JFK Jr is alive and fighting the global cabal of pedophiles!" is insane enough on its face. What kind of "research" is one doing to prove that that's a fact? Finding a picture of a a disheveled bum at some political rally that, if one squeezes one's eyes close enough together, could make him possibly pass as a Z-list JFK impersonator in an alternate universe? 

4 hours ago, revbfc said:

I’d like some context for the intro with Ron Watkins.  Why was a camera crew there with a seemingly “unaware” neighbor?

And why was the neighbor so eager to shake Ron's hand after he announced he was the owner of 8chan when the neighbor himself basically admitted to not even knowing anything about it? So, yeah ... I hope there's some clarity for that scene. 

I did get a kick out of the Q-nutters getting the boot from speaking at that conference. I'm sure they found some way to blame it on sex traffickers and baby-killing celebrities like Tom Hanks and Patton Oswalt. 

[revbfc]

I’m also glad they brought up that weird “Q is looking for you” moment from an old Trump rally.  Whatever the whole story is, it’s obvious that Trump was was encouraging people to believe it.  
 

It’s all so insipid: a movement that was to conspiracy theories, what the Twilight series was to vampire lore.

Edited March 22, 2021 by revbfc

[absnow54]

I was hoping they’d delve more into the timeline of Q and how the posts coordinated with real time and the people who got caught up in it, so I really enjoyed the first hour.

The second hour, not so much. Jim Watkins is such a troll, and I was annoyed to see that the “drama” surrounding the 8chan team is going to carry into (and possibly dominate) the rest of the series. 

[kathe5133]

That there are this many deeply unbalanced folks in the world who now have websites and a way to unite their various mental illnesses is truly frightening.  I know someone who espouses these beliefs.  She only leaves her house to stock up on beer, cigarettes, and food.  She does "research".  How?  She hits some google facsimile as Google "tracks" you!  She has a high school diploma and a couple of years of college under her belt, but she is comfortable "researching" any topic and proclaiming herself an expert.  Nothing anyone says to her can dissuade her.  I have cut her from my life as I have come to realize that she is truly mentally disturbed.  It does not comfort me to know there are others like her. I don't know if I'll continue watching as I feel like I'm reliving most of our arguments.  It's just fucked up.  There is no other word for it!

 

[revbfc]

1 hour ago, kathe5133 said:

That there are this many deeply unbalanced folks in the world who now have websites and a way to unite their various mental illnesses is truly frightening.  I know someone who espouses these beliefs.  She only leaves her house to stock up on beer, cigarettes, and food.  She does "research".  How?  She hits some google facsimile as Google "tracks" you!  She has a high school diploma and a couple of years of college under her belt, but she is comfortable "researching" any topic and proclaiming herself an expert.  Nothing anyone says to her can dissuade her.  I have cut her from my life as I have come to realize that she is truly mentally disturbed.  It does not comfort me to know there are others like her. I don't know if I'll continue watching as I feel like I'm reliving most of our arguments.  It's just fucked up.  There is no other word for it!

 

I know people who fell into the same things and they were far more educated.  It’s not just stupid people.

[Robert Lynch]

Jesus. This is just craziness among crazies. There is no sense to this.

Edited March 22, 2021 by Robert Lynch

[geekgirl921]

I really loved the former gossip columnist who said if people are eating babies , I can believe anything. See, lady, your premise is faulty; no one is eating babies!!

[Lady Whistleup]

I tried once explaining what Q was to my mom. She was like "Wait, who are the vampires again?" At which point I gave up.

But I always feel uncomfortable with exposes about Qanon and this documentary was no different, because I feel like no matter how well-intentioned it always seems like reporters manipulating some deeply unwell people to say nutty things on camera. I also think it gives these people an open mic to say stuff like "George Soros has a submarine full of babies to be eaten." These people do not need a megaphone. They need help.

[DanaK]

Normally I think exposing something dumb and/or bad helps to bring it down, but QAnon seems tough to beat down and it keeps growing tentacles.

If you are willing to believe the basic premise that Democrats, or a large group of them, are Satan-worshipping baby-stealing blood drinkers, you are willing to believe anything

[sadie]

Just watched both eps. First was better than the second, I hope it picks up the pace as we move forward.

The fact that people truly believe Tom Hanks is raping and eating babies, well, where does one go from there? I feel silly even typing it. Sorry but these people are nuts. Secret dungeons in pizza parlors? And to think I only frequent pizza joints for, you know, the pizza makes me feel like an under achiever at this point. 

And Jim Watkins is absolute proof that wealth is wasted on the rich. Ugh.

[Guest]

For all the blathering these Q-nuts do about their concern over "child sex traffickers," do they not realize their Q overlord shit posts on a message board where they actually ALLOW child pornography? 

Nearly fell out of bed laughing when Frederick Brennan posted that giant, plastic blue Q that magically appeared at his house one day and called it some sort of "sign." Yeah...it's a "sign" alright, chief. A "sign" you're in on the con, too.

[12catcrazy]

So far, this doc is interesting.  I always loved conspiracy theories back in the day (and I'm talking 20 plus years ago), but I'm talking things like the Kennedy Assassination and the Face on Mars and The Roswell Crash.  You know, fun stuff.  Back then, you'd actually have to read books and go to the library and look at microfiche news reports - do some real work.  For shits and giggles, there were always rags like the National Enquirer or the Weekly World News (which was almost entirely made up.  Supposedly, the Pizzagate story was started by a former WWN writer as a joke to show how stupid people were).    Now there are Internet FORUMS (like aren't Forums so 2005?), and any asshole can come up with some weirdness and if it gets to the right gullible folks (or cynical enough ones), and is done in such a way as to hook people in, well, you get Qanon.    You've got nice Christian housewives and LA Gossip writers actually believing that one of the most corrupt people to ever sit in the Oval Office is the person who is going to protect the world from the evil Hillary-led cabal of child sex traffickers and cannibals.     This is the sort of shit that led people to murder Jews (and accuse them of starting the Black Plague) and slaughter cats by the thousands (as they were minions of The Devil), which was one of the things that really did help spread The Plague.   This is 2021 and not the Middle Ages but people don't seem to have changed all that much.  I also think that so many people stuck at home due to COVID restrictions and not mixing with friends, family, and co-workers who would roll their eyes at this Qanon stuff helped fuel it.   People were bored and had nothing better to do so they got sucked into the rabbit hole.   If any of you remembered the Satanist hysteria of the 1980s, none of this is really all that surprising.   I worked at a place in Denver in the mid-80s and an old guy who worked there (a good Texas Baptist) came in with a flyer that stated Proctor and Gamble was really owned by Satanists because of their very old logo of the Moon and Stars., and here is proof - blah, blah, blah.    A few of us younger people practically laughed the guy out of the breakroom.   That was one old guy and a mimiograph flyer somebody from his church gave him.  Now MILLIONS can access this same misinformation with a few clicks on a keyboard!   And voila...

I'm looking forward to next week's installment - what a crew of likely suspects, but I don't really think that the Watkins son was the guy who dreamed this Q thing up.  The older Watkins seems like the sort of dickhead who thinks that he's the smartest guy in the room and has that air of a Trickster about him.  Yoga practicing pig farmer by day and the high and mighty Q, when the spirt moves him.  The guy in the wheelchair might have something to do with it as well.   He loves the letter Q - hmm.  There Are NO Coincidences...

Finally, I totally love the animated Rube Goldberg like title sequence (or whatever it's called).  A feast for the eyes and very clever! 

[Andyourlittledog2]

I felt like I had to take a brain shower after watching this, especially part two. These people (the 8chan folks) are so malignant and cheerfully irresponsible in the name of 'freedom of speech' that it makes me nauseous just to watch and listen to them.  They are loving the attention that this whole Q thing gives them and their barren stupid existences.  Someone should feed them to the pigs.*

This stuff is so pervasive among evangelical christians that my sister and her husband had to stop attending church the last few years. I have old friends on facebook whose entire posts have become nothing but conspiracy theories and hatefulness.  This stuff is toxic. They refuse to believe anything that is reality based as it is corrupt and tainted and lies. But they believe as gospel truth the flimsiest posts and vaguest references imaginable and inflate them into some grand scheme and conspiracy.  It's insane.

The documentary is really interesting but I am glad it's another week before I see parts three and four. I need to calm down.  😐

 

* Reference to the statement in the series that people accuse Jim Watkins of feeding his critics to his pigs and not an actual suggestion to be taken seriously by anyone who hasn't watched part two.

Edited March 22, 2021 by Andyourlittledog2

[Andyourlittledog2]

I just wanted to add that in the previews there was so much attention given to the Watkins and Brennan that it made me mad. I don't want to spend any more time watching or listening to these assholes strut around and make 'mysterious' statements and just generally bask in their fifteen minutes.  More time on Q and less time on 8chan and these assholes.  They are playing this for all it is worth. It's like the documentary filmmaker went down a rabbithole himself.

[absnow54]

23 minutes ago, Andyourlittledog2 said:

It's like the documentary filmmaker went down a rabbithole himself.

Yeah, when he started down the “what about the pen?” path, I almost noped out. I don’t care who Q might be. I don’t care if the original Q went away and the Watkins began to sock puppet the account to maintain the traffic. I’m more interested in how the movement bubbled out of control, which is why I wish they stretched out the first part. 

[Guest]

I read a review of the series, and -- no spoilers -- but the bulk of this documentary does not do a deep dive into the movement itself. 

OH! And I forgot about the Q-nut couple who have a YouTube channel. When the husband berated his wife for interrupting him, I wanted to slap his TV face silly. 

Also, the lot of these people need to do some "research" into what a DENTIST IS. Or maybe they have and thus the reason for all of their jacked up teeth.

[Lady Whistleup]

So ... I've never even known how to get to 8chan. Is it in the dark webs? I don't think you can just click on a link to get there.

But I looked up some of the "Qtubers" and it seems as if Liz Crokin still has her channel.

The Qtubers I thought were the most interesting group. I noticed that many of them seem intelligent and generically good-looking. Why would they do this? 

[Guest]

37 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

Why would they do this? 

Money and fame. That's why all these bullshit peddlers do anything.

[lyric]

2 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

I read a review of the series, and -- no spoilers -- but the bulk of this documentary does not do a deep dive into the movement itself. 

Well, this is disappointing but glad to know before I waste time on another 4 hours of it. I'm not here for the Tiger King perspective of this.  

[snickers]

5 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

For all the blathering these Q-nuts do about their concern over "child sex traffickers," do they not realize their Q overlord shit posts on a message board where they actually ALLOW child pornography? 

I KNOW!!!!! That cracked me up-but are we really surprised? I’m not, like Q really cares about kids....or anyone but themself (s)

It looked like from the “coming soon” footage that 8chan gets shut down? That might be why you can’t find it, I’m sure Q moved to like 10 other forums by the time we get to 2020, remember we are still in 2018.....

and I agree those message boards looked very....2001 😅

 

[Lady Whistleup]

I am so upset that I watched this documentary and now need to do a brain bleach because I can't unsee the "diaper porn" forums.

[Lady Whistleup]

I will say one thing nice: Fred Brennan's Pomeranian is cute.

Edited March 23, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[rlc]

Imagine living with a mindset that the only people you can trust are trump and people who post on a website that caters to people who are interested in pornography that is so repugnant (and illegal) that it can only be shared/watched anonymously, all while believing that you have the high moral ground. I’m torn between being so sickened that I don’t want to watch while feeling that I must watch this.

[Rlb8031]

My takeaways from the first two episodes:

• There are a lot of people making money off of Q theory dissemination. If being a true believer wasn't financially remunerative, I'm not sure how many of them would be in on this.
• The Watkins (father and son) have made their considerable wealth providing an offshore internet data haven for people seeking to do things that would be otherwise illegal in the US. 
• Its incredible to me that guys who declare themselves incels and blame women for their not being able to have sex, then shame guys who are able to have sex and therefore no longer incels. Shouldn't that be a cause for celebration?
• Am I the only one that ascribes some importance to the fact that none of the key players in this story thus far are actually living in the US? I'm thinking that one or all of these dudes are ex-CIA (yeah, I'm looking at you Daddy Watkins)
• Speaking of ex-CIA, it didn't pass me by that Daddy also intimated that he was an academy graduate (West Point? or VMI?)
• Roger Stone is literally the living embodiment of a DC Comics villain.
• Lady, if your uber-Christian husband is regularly on a site that was created to allow hardcore porn to be shared anonymously shouldn't you be asking "what made you go on that site to begin with" and isn't it a little strange he never mentioned the porn to you?
• There is barely one good set of teeth among this crowd. Folks are not living right...

[Lady Whistleup]

Watched the 3rd episode tonight. Anyone know the background of Ron's mom? He obviously has some Asian blood and speaks good Mandarin.

My personal theory is that Ron and Fred are both painfully shy introverts (Ron maybe being on the spectrum) and Q was some sort of online cosplay that they started. When they started noticing that they could get money from posting their nonsensical cosplay online that's when they really expanded the Q drops.

[spaceghostess]

On 3/25/2021 at 1:14 PM, rlc said:

I’m torn between being so sickened that I don’t want to watch while feeling that I must watch this.

I’m right there with you. When watching, I find myself in a weird mental space of zoning out during some of the coding/passwords/server wonkery; muttering profanities during every single interview with every single Q-Tuber and random Q followers; and feeling deep rage whenever Ron or Jim Watkins are onscreen, which is SO MUCH. But I feel like it’s important to know about this. But knowing about this feels totally gross.

Tonight’s two episodes made me so fucking angry, I can’t even. The Watkinses are such vile nihilists, and probably sociopaths. They make my skin crawl and I wish they’d do something illegal enough to land them both in prison in the Philippines.

[revbfc]

I don’t think it can be overstated that most of this documentary (about a conspiracy theory originally meant to hook a US audience) takes place outside of the USA.

[Guest]

The elder Watkins is such an atrocious piece of shit. While he's very slick and easy about his lying, "Oh I don't know that pen," "Oh, I'm not political," "Oh, I've never heard of Roger Stone" his actions completely contradict his lies. The man is a huge pen nerd and there's no way he couldn't have identified that pen from the director's phone. He wears a MAGA hat and operate a wholly political YouTube disinformation channel. And there is no conceivable way for a man who was well aware of PizzaGate, friends with Jack Posobiec, and plugged into nearly every controversy in the last few years, to be unaware of who Roger Stone is. 

And he can fuck right off with his First-Amendment-warrior nonsense. He owns a private business that can conduct their business as they see fit. And he sees fit to provide a platform to the worst of the worst of humanity. He is nothing more than a white suprmacist agent of chaos. Like Stone, like Bannon, like Posobiec, and like all the cretins and losers who utilize 8chan.

The explanation of the $14,088 donation sent chills up my spine. 

And how much money can the Watkins's have when it appears like they're both living in squalor? And that Ron can't afford to replace his obviously broken, horribly outdated glasses?

Fred continues to amuse me. He's a piece of shit, too, but I like his self awareness and moxie. 

Edited March 29, 2021 by Guest

[snickers]

UGH episodes 3/4 were hard to watch.  But I feel the information being presented here is too important not to watch.  I think the next two will be even worse.

 

Ron and Jim are psychopaths, there's no other term for it.  At least I truly believe Ron is.  He has no emotion, no feelings, if he did, he couldn't be admin of 8chan.  It takes a special kind of personality to be an admin for a site that vile, it broke Fred down pretty quickly, because I believe Fred actually does have you know, feelings. 

 

Between the antisemitism, racism, sexism, all the porn stuff is like, no big deal 😑 yet I have a feeling some of the Q holly housewives would be most bothered by the porn 🙄

 

So, Cullen did go to Soapland right???? Were the cameras not allowed in? Strangely I wanted to hear more about it, I'd rather hear about the sex stuff than anymore of the crazy conspiracy theories and racism. 

 

And I hate myself, for not actually minding, and seeming to like the lawyer from Citizens United??? I can't remember his name.....he had a look of "get me out of here,  I"m here for the paycheck" the entire time he was with Jim 😆

 

I have a feeling the series will end with more questions than answers, but, I'm learning a lot about the Q movement (I'm not surprised how small the first "rally" was) and for me this is not a waste of time to watch, despite how hard the subject matter is to watch.

 

I try to find humor in things that I find disturbing, so I got a good laugh to everything below (and a big YES to the Roger Stone/DC comics villian comparison 😆)

On 3/26/2021 at 3:21 PM, Rlb8031 said:

My takeaways from the first two episodes:

• There are a lot of people making money off of Q theory dissemination. If being a true believer wasn't financially remunerative, I'm not sure how many of them would be in on this.
• The Watkins (father and son) have made their considerable wealth providing an offshore internet data haven for people seeking to do things that would be otherwise illegal in the US. 
• Its incredible to me that guys who declare themselves incels and blame women for their not being able to have sex, then shame guys who are able to have sex and therefore no longer incels. Shouldn't that be a cause for celebration?
• Am I the only one that ascribes some importance to the fact that none of the key players in this story thus far are actually living in the US? I'm thinking that one or all of these dudes are ex-CIA (yeah, I'm looking at you Daddy Watkins)
• Speaking of ex-CIA, it didn't pass me by that Daddy also intimated that he was an academy graduate (West Point? or VMI?)
• Roger Stone is literally the living embodiment of a DC Comics villain.
• Lady, if your uber-Christian husband is regularly on a site that was created to allow hardcore porn to be shared anonymously shouldn't you be asking "what made you go on that site to begin with" and isn't it a little strange he never mentioned the porn to you?
• There is barely one good set of teeth among this crowd. Folks are not living right...

 

Edited March 29, 2021 by snickers

[Guest]

26 minutes ago, snickers said:

And I hate myself, for not actually minding, and seeming to like the lawyer from Citizens United??? I can't remember his name.....he had a look of "get me out of here,  I"m here for the paycheck" the entire time he was with Jim 😆

As a person whose cultural background was Ashkenazi Jewish, it's rather horrifying he accepted as his payment that $14,088 given its obvious Hitler-inspired amount. 

[Lady Whistleup]

The amount of porn is what shocked me. It didn't seem like vanilla porn either but porn that had to go on the darkwebs. 

I say this because the Q adherents I've run into on social media are extremely conservative, and accusing others of being "sexually depraved" and "pedophiles." I wonder how many of the "save the children" housewives have ever seen the child porn that is at 8chan. 

[spaceghostess]

37 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

I wonder how many of the "save the children" housewives have ever seen the child porn that is at 8chan. 

I’m thinking they know in the back (or front) of their minds that it’s there, but—like many evangelicals do re: Trump’s alleged rapes and sexual assaults of so many women—they hand-wave it in favor of their twisted idea of 8chan as a platform for Q’s “patriotic” voice. I also have the impression that they go along with whatever their husbands rubber-stamp, so...

Edited March 29, 2021 by spaceghostess

[geekgirl921]

1 hour ago, snickers said:

UGH episodes 3/4 were hard to watch.  But I feel the information being presented here is too important not to watch.  I think the next two will be even worse.

 

Ron and Jim are psychopaths, there's no other term for it.  At least I truly believe Ron is.  He has no emotion, no feelings, if he did, he couldn't be admin of 8chan.  It takes a special kind of personality to be an admin for a site that vile, it broke Fred down pretty quickly, because I believe Fred actually does have you know, feelings. 

 

Between the antisemitism, racism, sexism, all the porn stuff is like, no big deal 😑 yet I have a feeling some of the Q holly housewives would be most bothered by the porn 🙄

 

So, Cullen did go to Soapland right???? Were the cameras not allowed in? Strangely I wanted to hear more about it, I'd rather hear about the sex stuff than anymore of the crazy conspiracy theories and racism. 

 

And I hate myself, for not actually minding, and seeming to like the lawyer from Citizens United??? I can't remember his name.....he had a look of "get me out of here,  I"m here for the paycheck" the entire time he was with Jim 😆

 

I have a feeling the series will end with more questions than answers, but, I'm learning a lot about the Q movement (I'm not surprised how small the first "rally" was) and for me this is not a waste of time to watch, despite how hard the subject matter is to watch.

 

I try to find humor in things that I find disturbing, so I got a good laugh to everything below (and a big YES to the Roger orn

I'm torn between believing they are sociopaths or just adolescents who never grew up. They both seem so childish!

[revbfc]

40 minutes ago, Lady Whistleup said:

The amount of porn is what shocked me. It didn't seem like vanilla porn either but porn that had to go on the darkwebs. 

Just lump it with Roger Stone and Alex Jones calling people “Cuck.”  They’re into that shit, so treat it like the distraction it is.

[Lady Whistleup]

Fred, Ron and Jim all seem like extremely intelligent people. It's a shame they put their intelligence into running a hate-filled, porn-filled, misinformation-filled website.

Fred in particular is very funny. Snarky and amusing.

ETA: I do kind of believe Ron that Steve Bannon got involved in Q too but I don't think he's actually Q. Just someone who might tell the painfully awkward Ron what to write in the Q drops.

Edited March 29, 2021 by Lady Whistleup

[Rlb8031]

On 3/29/2021 at 3:21 PM, Lady Whistleup said:

Fred, Ron and Jim all seem like extremely intelligent people. It's a shame they put their intelligence into running a hate-filled, porn-filled, misinformation-filled website.

Fred in particular is very funny. Snarky and amusing.

ETA: I do kind of believe Ron that Steve Bannon got involved in Q too but I don't think he's actually Q. Just someone who might tell the painfully awkward Ron what to write in the Q drops.

As Fred and that RedPill wo(man?) pointed out, Jim and Ron show you what they want you to see. I don't believe either of them is nice or funny. Without jumping to too many conclusions, I note that there isn't a wedding ring within this bunch besides Fred, and in my experience men that are voracious consumers of porn (to the point of having it PLAY IN YOUR CAR AS YOU DRIVE!!!!) don't have normal relationships with women. I also think that the biggest threat to guys who make their money off the objectification of women, is more women taking power and control and shutting stuff the f*(% down. I can completely see Jim looking at even less progressive female Democratic representatives and being like, "Yup, that feminazi will make our offshore data farm for hardcore, violent, and extremist porn a target", and thus deciding to run a psy-ops that basically ruins democracy but guarantees his little business continues to run.

Remember, this is a guy who described himself as as "Industrialist" but the only legitimate businesses he's shown are the organic bakery and the pig farm. I think his industry is porn - where he has admitted to being "the King". 

Edited March 30, 2021 by Rlb8031
Because Fred and Jim are different people!

[Lady Whistleup]

I actually wonder about Ron's mom. Who is she? Not around, obviously, but who would have a kid with Jim Watkins? Ron does look like Jim though.

[Guest]

15 hours ago, Rlb8031 said:

Without jumping to too many conclusions, I note that there isn't a wedding ring within this bunch besides Fred,

I thought I spied one on Jim's ring finger ... but it might have been on the other hand.

[12catcrazy]

Yeah,  episodes 3 & 4 were kind of a slog to watch.  I think it's pretty apparent that at least Daddy Watkins is part of "Q".   I really don't think that the son has the imagination for it or sense of actually wanting to be a chaos causing Trickster, but Dad on the other hand....    The son does the techy dirty-work, but yeah, there must also be a degree of sociopathy to see all the damage Q Anon is causing and to continue to be a part of it.  

Did somebody upthread mention Psy Ops?  Because it seems that Q Anon has so many of the hallmarks of that.  And it's amazing how people are so stupid that they will fall for it.   And like members of any other cult, you can't reason them out of the belief with logic.   Apparently, there are now anti-cult "deprogrammers" who have been hired by family members trying to deprogram their Q Anon following relatives.  

[Maysie]

We’ve been watching this and always have to follow with a palate cleanser, like At Home With Amy Sedaris or Arrested Development.

My initial impression is that the Watkins are developing country wealthy-a lot of money for the Philippines but probably upper middle class for the US. Their offices and homes look pretty sparse, IMO. And there was no attorney involved in Jim’s testimony until someone put up some money for it (maybe he’s just cheap?) We wondered why they choose to live overseas and figured the ability to make the most out of money and the potential that they are sketchy as hell explain it.

 I tried to find info on the various players and from what I’ve read, Fred has had a tough life. It struck me that he was angry at his parents for choosing to bring him into the world with the knowledge of his condition. And while I don’t give him a pass on what he participated in with 8chan, and to some extent condoned and promoted, I do extend him some grace. I can’t fathom what it would be like to have his condition, be intelligent and inquisitive knowing that there’s so much he’ll never experience. Add in the mess of his home life (I read he was in foster homes for a while) and it’s easy to see how he found a community online where he could develop a persona that he controlled. And if I remember correctly he was only 19 or 20 when he got mixed up with the Watkins. Finally, he seems adept at critical thinking and at least a little self aware. I sense that he was beginning to question what 8chan was doing and what free speech really means and if it needs filters and when it needs filters. I am very curious to see where Fred ends up because he seems to have some potential.

 The Watkins on the other hand... There is almost nothing about Ron on the internet, including his age. Evidently Jim got married very soon after arriving in the Philippines and there may be another kid with that wife. But there’s nothing about Ron’s mom that I was able to find. Both Watkins come across as amoral and I wouldn’t be surprised if Ron was on the spectrum. I don’t believe anything they say at this point. 

[Lady Whistleup]

1 hour ago, Maysie said:

We’ve been watching this and always have to follow with a palate cleanser, like At Home With Amy Sedaris or Arrested Development.

My initial impression is that the Watkins are developing country wealthy-a lot of money for the Philippines but probably upper middle class for the US. Their offices and homes look pretty sparse, IMO. And there was no attorney involved in Jim’s testimony until someone put up some money for it (maybe he’s just cheap?) We wondered why they choose to live overseas and figured the ability to make the most out of money and the potential that they are sketchy as hell explain it.

 I tried to find info on the various players and from what I’ve read, Fred has had a tough life. It struck me that he was angry at his parents for choosing to bring him into the world with the knowledge of his condition. And while I don’t give him a pass on what he participated in with 8chan, and to some extent condoned and promoted, I do extend him some grace. I can’t fathom what it would be like to have his condition, be intelligent and inquisitive knowing that there’s so much he’ll never experience. Add in the mess of his home life (I read he was in foster homes for a while) and it’s easy to see how he found a community online where he could develop a persona that he controlled. And if I remember correctly he was only 19 or 20 when he got mixed up with the Watkins. Finally, he seems adept at critical thinking and at least a little self aware. I sense that he was beginning to question what 8chan was doing and what free speech really means and if it needs filters and when it needs filters. I am very curious to see where Fred ends up because he seems to have some potential.

 The Watkins on the other hand... There is almost nothing about Ron on the internet, including his age. Evidently Jim got married very soon after arriving in the Philippines and there may be another kid with that wife. But there’s nothing about Ron’s mom that I was able to find. Both Watkins come across as amoral and I wouldn’t be surprised if Ron was on the spectrum. I don’t believe anything they say at this point. 

Fred does seem like a very intelligent, funny person. I think you're right -- it's hard being such an intelligent, lively mind stuck in a tortuous physical condition. 

As for Ron my guess is he;s mid-20's. Jim is only 57. Ron seems totally on the spectrum, and I doubt he actually writes the Q drops. I think Jim writes them and Ron posts them. Maybe Steve Bannon writes them sometimes. But Ron seems so painfully withdrawn.

[TexasGal]

On 4/1/2021 at 10:06 AM, 12catcrazy said:

Did somebody upthread mention Psy Ops?  Because it seems that Q Anon has so many of the hallmarks of that.  And it's amazing how people are so stupid that they will fall for it.   And like members of any other cult, you can't reason them out of the belief with logic.   Apparently, there are now anti-cult "deprogrammers" who have been hired by family members trying to deprogram their Q Anon following relatives.  

I have a family member who has clearly been buying everything Q has been selling. At one point she made a reply to a social media post saying basically, everything happening had deeper meaning and that "queue" would help them figure it out.  I mean...

I do wonder how much the pandemic and people spending so much time isolated and at home contributed to the Q madness?  I can't imagine my family member would have ended up spending so much time going down those rabbit holes if she'd been able to live her normal life.  But maybe I'm giving her too much credit.

[snickers]

9 hours ago, TexasGal said:

I do wonder how much the pandemic and people spending so much time isolated and at home contributed to the Q madness?  I can't imagine my family member would have ended up spending so much time going down those rabbit holes if she'd been able to live her normal life.  But maybe I'm giving her too much credit.

I think it is part of it, but not all of it......I think had people been able to lead their normal lives, they wouldn't have been AS caught up in it?

 

I personally just think Q got more traction as the Trump rallies continued and got more frequent in 2020...but we will see, maybe the documentary will show us? that and the whole....."Q stops child trafficking" thing that got the holly housewives hooked in....that's how the person i know who i had a big blow up with got hooked in, and this person is a family member.....sad!

 

and she got hooked in right when the pandemic started....

 

I blew a gasket at her though...after January 6...i won't say anything more....I'm sure you can all guess what happened....and then she left Facebook shortly after.....

 

Luckily with lockdown I have not had to see her at family functions....cause there's been none

 

On 4/1/2021 at 7:09 PM, Maysie said:

Evidently Jim got married very soon after arriving in the Philippines and there may be another kid with that wife.

Someone spawned with Satan?

 

On 4/1/2021 at 8:13 PM, Lady Whistleup said:

Ron seems totally on the spectrum, and I doubt he actually writes the Q drops. I think Jim writes them and Ron posts them.

I disagree with this, if he is on the spectrum, a lot of his behaviors makes sense, but that to me, it would make more sense why he would be the writer of the Q drops, but I could also see daddy watkins being the writer as well, but to be honest, daddy watkins doesn't seem keen enough to me *shrug*

 

as for those that say for all the money the watkins have, why do they look so poor.....well.....i know someone who told me, according to the book, "the millionaire next door" the "average" millionaire man drives a Ford F150 and wears a suit from men's warehouse....if that is true...i'd say the watkins kind of fit this mold......

 

i do think most people in the world with the fancy houses/cars can't really afford them.....