When one only reads meta-stories about Q-anon and the hardcore MAGAs as a group, the duck-sh*t insanity really doesn’t hit home. Sometimes it takes a personal story, a simple glimpse (not too close, it’s like staring at the sun), stories about one person at one time, to really absorb that about 30% of this country couldn’t pass a competency exam at any self-respecting Walmart.

As most know, the Q-anon Shaman, the dude in the horns, in a picture that circled the globe, one that sort of captured the essence of the movement, plead guilty this week. Pleading guilty to a crime one clearly committed (The pictures are right there) is usually a good idea. Whether it is right or wrong, judges and prosecutors tend to punish those who invoke their constitutional right to a fair trial and are obviously found guilty. So the Shaman (Jacob Chansley) plead guilty, showing some good sense.

Here comes the crazy. His family thinks it’s a bad idea because Trump will be reinstated and pardon him.

Which part did you think was crazy, the part about Trump being reinstated, or the part where they ignore that even a guilty plea can get pardoned and have the same effect, just in case – you know, just in case Trump isn’t reinstated? Both are crazy but… (More Below Tweet)

Family members of the so-called "QAnon Shaman," real name Jacob Chansley, were urging him not to plead guilty today because they believe Trump is going to be reinstated and then will grant him a pardon, Chansley's attorney said. Full story on the plea –> https://t.co/BQ2AbxWvBq

— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) September 3, 2021

Two things of which they are not aware, one is that pardons work, even after someone pleads guilty. Second, Trump ain’t going to be reinstated. But, see? When you hear the insanity applied to an individual in individual circumstances, it hits a different note than the more generalized stories.

There are tragic ones, too. A mother who lost her son in the Afghanistan bombing used her statement to complain that it’s Biden’s fault her son is dead because Biden is a cheater and cheaters shouldn’t be president.

They. Actually. Believe.

And they’re out there, perhaps behind you in line at Walmart, perhaps even working at Walmart, ready to take your money. But don’t be paranoid, just – you know, be careful out there, just in case.

****
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak