Awakening from a Conspiracy ?

 When staunch adherents of an exclusive philosophy get confronted with the reality of their false predictions, they undergo some similar reactions.   

The recent collapse of the elaborate bizarre theories of the Qanon conspiracy network produced a rude awakening (as reported by News Literacy here) in its followers -- the conspiracy theories adapted to continuing real-life rebuttals, until the final blow on January 20th.  To the end, they believed their putative savior would swoop in and make the radical change to society that they dreamed of.

I saw a similar response firsthand in 2011 -- May 22nd, to be precise.  A close family friend (children's classmates) was an adherent of Harold Camping Family Radio, and was sure that the Judgement Day would occur on May 21st.  This had caused a rift in that family, though he maintained close relations with wife and sons.  On May 22nd, he checked himself into the nearby hospital, in a great depression, telling his wife that he had been wrong to follow such a false prophet.  However, only 24 hours later, he recovered from his depression and announced that (perhaps after listening to Harold Camping's own apology) the Judgement Day happened spiritually, but the physical Rapture would happen five months later -- and, by the way, he was truly in love with one of his fellow adherents, and would move in with her immediately.  Wow!  Such a delusion, that humans can experience so earnestly! 

We trust that some of the Qanon adherents no longer trust Q, but it is all too likely that they will re-adjust their sights to some other conspiracy in order to rationalize their failure to thrive in the modern world.

What can we do to de-program the cult members?  This is a question often asked by parents and concerned neighbors and relatives.  We often hear that we should sympathize with them, to understand the reasons for their adherence to such an exclusionary belief system.  In the case of Qanon, people and property and our system of government were severely hurt -- most cults are not as clearly dangerous to society; yet individuals fall prey to delusional thinking and separate themselves from others needlessly.  We try to lead them back to society, back to humanity in all its wonders and its flaws.  School helps, I think -- participating in education, in the act of opening minds to new ideas and new ways of thinking.