“It overthrows the election or else it gets the hose again.”
– Donald J. Trump, probably
To be a cult leader one must have followers, but what convinces an individual to dawn buffalo horns and storm the Capitol in the name of their fearless leader?
The “Buffalo bill” hit the desks of Congress on Jan. 6, shirtless, brainless, and QAnonymous.
Forged by an idea, his lust for blood was sparked by conspiracy perpetuated by arch-villain Sitting President and his untrustworthy sidekick the Melting Attorney.
His purpose?
A good old-fashioned coup d’état.
A tactic usually reserved for “shithole countries”, this time the walls of the American people were scaled in an attempt to turn Capitol Hill into Hamburger Hill.
Thankfully the display of insurrection was more reminiscent of Hamburger Helper: disgusting and unconstitutional.
The stampede in the Capitol was not without its causalities however, for where the buffalo roam so to do the hunters.
Ashli Babbitt, 35, from San Diego, died that day for something she believed in.
Whether it was a cause worth dying for is up to you, but what led her there we may never know for sure.
What drives one to follow the buffalo? Is it Hunger? Desperation? Loneliness?
According to Rachel Bernstein, a therapist who specializes in the treatment of cult survivors, those who fall victim to cults are often looking to better themselves personally or professionally, are searching for a sense of community, or are in an extreme state of vulnerability.
Cults require a high level of commitment from their members.
Babbitt, who was shot while climbing through a window in an attempt to reach deeper into the Capitol, often re-shared videos on social media from right-wing and conservative figures and was an outspoken supporter of Trump, according to her husband.
On Tuesday, Jan. 5, Babbitt tweeted, “Nothing will stop us….they can try and try and try but the storm is here and it is descending upon DC in less than 24 hours….dark to light!”
24 hours later she was dead.
Through misinformation, social media, and an all too complicit political hierarchy, Trump has cultivated and convinced an alarming number of people that only he and those inside his circle can be trusted.
Perhaps Babbitt felt she could one day be a part of that circle or was doing her part as a member of that circle, and that her devotion and relentless commitment to Trump’s cause would not go unnoticed by her leader.
Trump has alienated his followers from reality and in turn created an alternate existence in which his alternative facts are his bond, and only he holds the answers to life’s biggest questions, like was the election really stolen, and is Joseph R. Biden really a secret pedophile controlled by lizard people?
In the reality Babbitt was living in, she was acting as a patriot, a freedom fighter, a true American to the end.
But what happened on Jan. 6, was the Sitting President’s attempt at a Jones Town massacre.
With any luck, the idea that conjured the “Buffalo bill”, the fastest bill to ever get past Congress, also died on that day, and while its stench still lingers, it is only a matter of time before Capitol Hill, the White house, and America is mercifully aired out.