Comedian turned MAGA conspiracy theorist Roseanne Barr was widely mocked online after she was filmed with a wine glass in her hand urging people to "drop out of college" because professors are "devil-worshipping Democrat donors."
Barr issued her QAnon-esque remarks during a night at Mar-a-Lago, former President Donald Trump's private estate and resort. Holding a glass of white wine in her hand, she was filmed saying that she'd come to the event to support former Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who, much like other Trump-backed candidates, lost her own bid for office after backing Trump's lies about the 2020 election.
Through slurred speech, she proceeded to attack higher education and spout QAnon-like conspiracy theories, accusing academics of being devil worshippers and blood drinkers:
"So I’m just going to say to you, please drop out of college, because it’s going to ruin your lives."
"Do me a favor, drop out, they don’t teach you nothing good, uh, email me or Twitter me or whatever you call me, and I’ll help you with your life, but you gotta get out of college, because it isn’t nothing but a bunch of devil-worshipping, baby blood-drinking, Democrat donors.”
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Barr is of course far from the only high-profile conservative to suggest that people give up on higher education, part of a radical movement to discredit academics and institutions amid a wide backlash against "woke" education and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Missing from Barr's recent diatribe is the fact that on average, those with bachelor's degrees earn a yearly salary of $64,896 and that those who a obtain master's degree and doctorate make $77,844 and $97,916, respectively.
Comparatively, those who only obtain a high school diploma make just $38,792 on average and those without a high school education make just over $30,000.
Barr's rant exposed her to immediate online ridicule.
QAnon's believers allege Democrats are part of a Satan-worshipping, baby-eating global pedophile ring that conspired against former President Donald Trump during his time in office.
Originating on 4chan, a platform known for fostering hate speech and conspiracy theories, QAnon followers place their trust in "Q," an anonymous poster whom they believe to be a highly placed member of the Trump administration. They perceive Q as aiding Trump in his crusade against the Satanic pedophile Democrats.
The theory gained traction during the pandemic, migrating from the depths of the internet onto mainstream platforms like Facebook, where it finds a receptive audience among anxious and trusting parents.
The concept of a clandestine, omnipotent "cabal" of Satanic worshippers preying on children is not novel. This aspect of QAnon draws heavily from the Satanic Panic of the 1980s, during which numerous Americans became convinced that secret Satanic cults were operating in daycare centers, subjecting children to torture and abuse in ritualistic ceremonies.
Likewise, the idea that Satanic Democrats are extracting children's blood underground bears resemblance to the ancient antisemitic blood libel, a medieval falsehood claiming that Jewish individuals killed Christian children to utilize their blood in religious ceremonies.
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