Senator QAnon and the power of projection
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The problem with claims that conspiracy theories should just be ignored is that when they go mainstream they can have very material discriminatory effects. Turning QAnon into anti-LGBTQ+ legislation under the specious label of “anti-grooming” is a classic example of this:
During Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson’s confirmation hearings, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) repeatedly and erroneously claimed that Jackson had been soft on those convicted of possessing child pornography. This baseless line of argumentation was not designed to spark debate over federal sentencing guidelines or to assess Jackson’s qualifications to serve on the Supreme Court. Rather, it seemed to be an attempt to smear Jackson, while courting a growing Republican constituency: adherents to QAnon, an extremist ideology based on a sprawling set of false claims that the FBI has deemed a domestic terrorism threat.
QAnon falsehoods have generated increasing attention over the past several years, many involving outlandish claims concerning organized networks of pedophiles in the top echelons of government. For example, the “Pizzagate” shooter believed that he was rescuing children from an underground network of pedophiles.
But what begins on the ideological fringe can easily move into the mainstream and ultimately into policymaking. Although few mainstream politicians openly embrace QAnon’s radical ideology, these same ideas can be folded into the malleable language of child safety and protection as a means to promote reactionary policies. This has become abundantly clear in Texas, where Gov. Greg Abbott (R) and Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) have worked to criminalize gender-affirming care for trans children, and in Florida, where officials have portrayed recently signed legislation restricting LGBTQ discussionas an “anti-grooming” measure.
To express their support for these efforts, some conservative commentators such as Rod Dreher and James Lindsay have deployed similar “anti-grooming” language, emphasizing the presumed link between the LGBTQ community and child sexual abuse. Such rhetoric taps into a dark history of smearing members of certain marginalized communities — particularly gay men and trans people — as sexual predators who must “recruit” children.
Again, while Dreher and Jimmy Concepts are absolutely total clowns, that doesn’t mean they can be ignored. They have real influence among actual legislators!
And needless to say:
I know it will be waved away as ancient history, but it is amazing to me that the party of Dennis Hastert and Mark Foley has settled on "grooming" as their new moral panic.— Jordan Weissmann (@JHWeissmann) April 4, 2022
Not to mention Gym Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Roy Moore, etc. Every accusation is a confession, you might say.