The Party Told You To Reject The Evidence Of Your Eyes And Ears. It Was Their Final, Most Essential Command

Way back when G and I were just starting out, she introduced me to her people. Many of those around her were religious and that almost immediately caused friction since I am not. One of her sisters liked me, the other one was more 'meh' (and also more religious), and the husband of that sister flat out did not like me. He kept a relatively small circle of almost entirely hardcore religious people. His children were not allowed to celebrate Halloween because he believed it was somehow demonic (thus highlighting one of my problems with religion - nobody actually educates themselves about ish, they just blindly follow). I was fresh off meeting the immediate family when G and I went to lunch with one of her oldest friends, who we'll call Q. Q is white, blonde, blue-eyed and a California transplant from back East. The moment we were introduced, she shook my hand and said, "Are you a believer?". It was like the beginning of a cult recruitment film. The minute I said I was not of the same faith as her, she became disinterested. Lunch was awkward and full of small talk. She had no interest in getting to know me and, later that afternoon, contacted G to say that she didn't believe things were gonna work out between us. Q was involved in a lot of G's family and friend get togethers and we largely just ignored each other at those events. G and I never really talked about Q, or the issue that existed in us not getting along. But apparently Q talked her ear off about me. Her favorite play was to talk about how if we decided to have children in the future they would be "misguided" and "confused" about their faith. The entire time G and I were together, Q was dating someone who struck me as non-committal. Sometimes he would be at events, most times he would not. He didn't engage much with anybody when he did show up. She talked about his work being super important and claimed that's why he rarely was around. I later found out he was a flight attendant who preferred to spend the time he was in town with his friends, rather than her. He never seemed all that into her, despite her raving about how she hoped he would propose soon. She would continue saying that for 7 years, but never when actually in his presence. One of the last conversations G and I had before we broke up was about how someone could be that out of touch with what's actually happening in their relationship. 

Breaking up with someone you're so interconnected with can be complicated, and especially in this era of social media. Despite the fact G and I rarely speak anymore and have been unfriended on all platforms for a couple of years, I still get suggestions from her friends list. Most of the suggestions are friends that I had no real issue with. A couple that have come up have moved me to click on their pages and see what they're up to. Earlier this year, Q popped up in my suggestions. I made mention of it to G who informed me that Q's now ex-boyfriend unceremoniously dumped her only after she found out he'd had someone on the side a couple of years. She's been single ever since and now that she's north of 40, she's desperate to get married and have kids. Since that's not happening anytime soon, she spends her time shopping, working and pushing Trump conspiracy theories on her social media pages. It did not surprise me when I clicked on her Stories and found 15 (FIFTEEN!) slides about Trump. This was back in, maybe, March. It was about "China Virus" being a hoax and "Liberals" this and "Fake News" that. As election week wound down to its conclusion, I thought of her again and wondered how she would handle that her cult leader had lost. The answer was not surprising. She posted a whopping 23 stories about Jesus willing Trump to victory (eventually), and screenshots of her barking back at people who called her a conspiracy nut, and random podcast quotes about how Liberals have tried to steal the election. Much like the rest of the cult, she's not coping, she's denying. Looking at her stories is like a journey to some alternate universe. I felt bad for her, not because she's an idiot but because I can't imagine being that fucking delusional. She and others like her are the base that has elevated Trump and put us in this hole.

Q is a college graduate, but never struck me as particularly...smart. Despite living in such a diverse, urban environment for a few decades, she still seemed quite sheltered. She's Evangelical and that tells her to follow blindly, don't ask questions, Jesus first in all things. She has many friends of color (G among them), but somehow does not see the damage Trump's faux presidency has done to them. I have no doubt she's one of those, "Oh, but he didn't mean you" types when it comes to his insults to various groups of people. Like so many Trump supporters, she picks and chooses what parts of him she reacts to. Children in cages? No reaction. Black Lives Matter? That's clearly salty Liberals blowing things out of proportion. Election fraud? Biden and company did that because they know Trump wants to outlaw abortion. Abortion is the big issue she, and a lot of Evangelicals, hide behind, despite the fact Trump has done absolutely zero about that issue in four years. Hell, the fact that he wanted his own daughter aborted (and has probably paid for more abortions than he can count) is of no consequence to these people. Everything is a conspiracy. Everything is fake news. Everyone and everything is conspiring against someone who they claim wants to ban what is, apparently, the only issue that matters to them. What do you call a group of people who follow a man whose mantra is, "Everything I say is 100% true and everything anyone else says is 100% false"? A cult. These Trump supporters can't see reason or truth because they need a deprogrammer. They're so deep in the mass delusion, they can't even see the light from the outside of that tunnel. The irony is Trump supporters calling everyone else sheep when they are the most gullible group of all. It's upsetting that over 70 million people decided Trump should have another term. It's distressing that so many people think the last four years of horror were just what the doctor ordered. But it's not surprising.