Qanon -- An Anthropological Perspective

 Qanon is a rich field of study for the anthropologist to understand what is happening today in American politics and comparatively with the rest of the world. Life has sped up and the result is psychological and cultural stress and fear. Where once culture and society advanced slowly throughout human history often shared by generations of the local community, today in many places it is not even shared between generations of the same nuclear family.

From an anthropological perspective, Qanon is like any other messianic movement that frequently arises or arose among "native peoples"​ when the IMMIGRANT (political, economic, and/or technologically) dominant took control of the NATIVE's land, culture, and children's education.

Messianic movement are the history of Christianity, Islam, Buddhism, that arose when traditional religions failed to adapt to the "new"​ reality. In modern times these have been in Europe -- the many forms of Protestantism which lead to the break with Catholicism and the settling in North America of the multitude of Protestant Sects.

This lead to American Indian societies response with Handsome Lake, Peyote, Ghost Shirt, etc, movements. Trumpism is messianic in that it builds on the fears of white, christian fears of the OTHER. We saw this earlier in the popularity of the American Democracy, Communism, Nazism. And more recently, we see it in the USA in the Left Behind phenomena, beliefs in the Rapture, Jim Jones and Other Cults.

The Movements create an audience, first of "True Believers" that then attracts the False Prophets, the Greedy and the Scammers. All of those who seek to profit from the fears of True Believers. In the past these movement were local and only the strongest that survived over time and through generations became a major Religion or Philosophy. Today, aided by a global technology, they spread like wildfire and engulf whole communities of believers, foster insurrections, and capture governments.

For anthropologists, this is a goldmine. For politicians and governments it can be a tool and route to power or the very threat they fear most.