Read on Twitter
For the past two and a half years, I've been learning the stories of middle-aged women who were convicted for January 6th, trying to understand who they are, how they radicalized, and the ways their beliefs have changed since January 2021.
🧵1/7
🧵1/7
The women I talk to have a lifetime of trauma. Sexual abuse, family violence, and addiction are common. Mental health care is hard to find and often too costly. In many cases the result has been dissociation and delusion.
2/7
2/7
Their alternative realities have moved far beyond Donald Trump, QAnon, and the long-debunked myth of a "stolen election." Most have found "Conspirituality," a set of new-age-apocalyptic conspiracy theories based on ETs and "love and light."
3/7
3/7
Some believe they are advanced beings sent to Earth to help "awaken" humanity. Two of the women I talk to identify as "starseeds." Another says she may be a "ascended master." Two more believe they are angels.
4/7
4/7
They spend most of their time combing social media for videos to post and messages to share. Their social networks are made up of virtual friends who share the same beliefs.
5/7
5/7
They find comfort in authoritarian figures and conspiracy theories that make them feel like heroes and give them hope that things will magically be ok.
6/7
6/7
For the women I talk to, participation in online communities has become their identity. In these spaces they find the acceptance, belonging, and purpose that the real world no longer provides.
7/7
7/7
@mollyfud *or at least were* before conspiracies convinced a few to quite their jobs and stop paying their bills.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
