{"id":2558,"date":"2023-07-19T14:49:06","date_gmt":"2023-07-19T21:49:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/?p=2558"},"modified":"2023-07-19T14:49:06","modified_gmt":"2023-07-19T21:49:06","slug":"does-the-movie-sound-of-freedom-confirm-or-bolster-qanon-beliefs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/divergence\/2023\/07\/19\/does-the-movie-sound-of-freedom-confirm-or-bolster-qanon-beliefs\/","title":{"rendered":"Does the Movie \u201cSound of Freedom\u201d Confirm or Bolster QAnon Beliefs?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Is the currently released movie Sound of Freedom<\/i> based on a true story? Yes<\/i>. Is human trafficking in America a significant problem? Yes<\/i>. Should American law enforcement be doing everything in their power to prevent and stop human trafficking? Yes<\/i>. If found guilty, should we prosecute those who do such to the fullest extent of the law? Yes<\/i>. Should we as a society\/culture do everything in our power to stop human trafficking? Yes<\/i>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Do any of the affirmative answers above confirm, help, or give any credence whatsoever to the QAnon conspiracy theory? No<\/b>. Why is that? Well, because human trafficking is real. Contrary to that sad fact, the QAnon conspiracy theory is a mind-numbingly dumb and ridiculous fantasy. A dark fantasy. In fact, why anyone would be drawn to it in the first place probably says a lot more about them than they realize. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The movie is based upon this person and event<\/a>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSound of Freedom<\/i> tells the story of a government agent who busts a child sexual abuse ring operating in Colombia. The main character is based on Timothy Ballard, a former Department of Homeland Security agent who founded an anti-human trafficking organization, Operation Underground Railroad (OUR).\u201d <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

That\u2019s all great. Good for him. If any child or adult is rescued from slavery (of whatever type), then we should rejoice. And we should hope that those responsible are brought to justice, punished, and kept from harming others for the rest of their lives. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, this horrible fact (human trafficking) has been hijacked by people whose minds seem drawn to the sewers of this world. Small minds. Minds filled with ignorance, fear, and the propensity for turning something evil into a hammer they can swing wildly against their perceived political or cultural enemies.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Or consider this: Here is the question they asked themselves when presented with the fact of human trafficking: How can we make this about us and the people we hate?<\/i> What a completely normal and rational response, right? Ahem. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

If that line of thought sounds familiar, it\u2019s because it is. There truly is nothing new under the sun. First though, just in case one is unaware of how truly unhinged the Q people are, here is Jonah Goldberg<\/a>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe QAnon crowd\u2014which Trump openly embraces\u2014believes, among other things, that the government is shot-through with Satanic murderous pedophiles who sometimes drink the blood of children to get their midichlorians [sarcasm] or something.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Now to the familiar part. Here<\/a> we read:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThe term blood libel refers to the false allegation that Jews used the blood of non-Jewish, usually Christian children, for ritual purposes. The Nazis made effective use of the blood libel to demonize Jews, with Julius Steicher\u2019s newspaper Der St\u00fcrmer<\/i> making frequent use of ritual murder imagery in its antisemitic propaganda.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

QAnon is just the most recent version of this anti-Semitic, mind-warpingly dumb, incandescently stupid, conspiracy theory. To even say it\u2019s a \u201ctheory\u201d is to make a mockery of the very word. It\u2019s a complete bull-shit fantasy and not even a good one. This drivel they believe is just a modern version of the blood libel lie. It\u2019s a straight-up bald-face lie, told by lying liars and repeated by the easily befuddled. Marks they use to call them. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The name George Soros<\/i> or Rothschild<\/i><\/a> is only brought up by the Q people as a type, a filler, to represent Jews universally and especially the idea that they control finance, Hollywood, the \u201cmainstream media,\u201d politicians, and whatever else the Q\u2019s don\u2019t understand. It\u2019s where we get stories like this one<\/a>. I know, the perceptive reader is asking themselves, how can anyone be that dumb<\/em>? Well, for some congressional district in Georgia, it\u2019s called par.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Okay, do we get the difference here? Human trafficking is real, is evil, and every civilized and moral nation on the planet should strive for its demise.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

On the other hand, the QAnon conspiracy \u201ctheory\u201d is a reeking, putrid, flaming waste can of literally unbelievable garbage. The people behind it use the fact of human trafficking, the suffering of others<\/em>, to demonize their political\/cultural enemies\u2014just as the Nazis used the blood libel conspiracy theory to demonize Jews. To add insult to injury, the Q people even manage to hinder the efforts<\/a> of those doing the real work to stop this evil. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Supposedly, the people who made \u201cSound of Freedom\u201d didn\u2019t have QAnon in mind, weren\u2019t playing to that audience, and simply wanted to portray this story. Okay, fine. However, when your movie is being hijacked by Q people, that might be the time to speak up. Instead, we get this<\/a>:<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cBut the movie has nevertheless been promoted on QAnon message boards, and some accuse it of playing into the movement, which is based on the false belief that a highly organized network of global elites are kidnapping children, having sex with them and harvesting their blood. That\u2019s partially because Ballard and the actor who plays him, Caviezel, have both expressed support for some of the QAnon\u2019s movement\u2019s wildest claims.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Will I pay money to see this movie knowing all of this? No. I would rather donate money to people who are both doing something about human trafficking and also telling people the truth about QAnon. See here<\/a> and here<\/a>. I would suggest the reader do the same. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

I understand how people, whether because they trusted a friend or family member was telling the truth, may have innocently fallen down the rabbit hole of QAnon. They thought they were on to something true and could help people. They meant no harm and truly believed.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Many of them, perhaps due to limited educations, maybe didn\u2019t have the resources, whether intellectually, socially, or emotionally to know how to properly evaluate what they were being told. They were taken advantage of and for those who fall into this category, I blame the people who told them the lies to begin with. We\u2019ve all (hand raised) been fooled at one time or another or believed foolish things.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

However, my sympathy fades over time because these same people have the resources available to them to learn and understand what the great majority of rational people already do. The information is out there; most have people, friends, and family members available to them to help remove themselves from this fever swamp of vapid jackass-foolery. If they refuse to avail themselves of such, what are we to say then?<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As to those who first summoned this \u201ctheory\u201d from the dregs and dark corners of their stunted minds, we must reserve our strongest condemnation. What type of person(s) learns about human trafficking and concocts a nightmarish fantasy version far worse than the actual evil? And a fantasy, mind you, believed, asserted, and passed around without any serious or credible evidence. That takes a particularly addled, warped and demented mind. God help them and us. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Check out my new book<\/a>.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

I have a Patreon<\/a> Page\u2014please consider supporting my writing.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Is the currently released movie Sound of Freedom based on a true story? Yes. Is human trafficking in America a significant problem? Yes. Should American law enforcement be doing everything in their power to prevent and stop human trafficking? Yes. 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