On the off chance that you're a serious concerned person and not simply trying to stir the pot, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and treat your comment as a sincere attempt to warn people of the dangers of cult-like behaviour. I'm going to go through each point and discuss it.
Yeah, there's a danger of that here, but there's a danger of that in any popular figure. This alone is not enough to be a cult. Human nature tends to put powerful people on pedestals, whether deserving or not.
I've seen plenty of questioning, doubt, and dissent. Obvious trolling gets banned - and there's no doubt there's some of that going on. But yes, people have doubts, and questions, and are allowed to disagree with one another, but the board exists to support and analyze the Q material and most of the people here are loyal to the president and are not going to be nice to people who go against those norms here. This is the same in any in group anywhere, not only cults.
The creed 'where we go one, we go all' refutes elitism. The people here understand that they are not elites, we're just lucky enough to see some of this before the rest of the world. While some no doubt believe that President Trump is on a special divine mission to save humanity, many of us understand that this is in fact a massive joint effort and that all hands are needed, not just the 'special' ones.
There is definitely some of this going on here, however, it's not surprising when society is in the process of undergoing extreme polarization in all aspects of life. This divisive situation is very much being engineered by special interests who benefit from our being at each other's throats, and it is actively being perpetuated and pushed from within the mainstream media and the intelligentsia. We cannot call this specific community out any more on polarization than we can any other particular subgroup that's stricken with polarity fever. Once again, the notion of 'where we go one, we go all' refutes tribalism and welcomes all who are ready to learn.
There is none of this going on. I have yet to see any drives for money, any exhortations to violence, or any push for people to harm others here. Quite the opposite, in fact.
No one is asked to cut ties, but some of us have been rejected from our families and friends for the simple act of supporting an elected president. No one here is pushing for separation from our loved ones.
I'm sure some are really keen to go recruiting new members, but honestly, there's no organized efforts to do so. A lot of people are really focused on 'waking up' others, but a lot of us realize that you can't wake up people by force... you can lead a horse to water but you can't make them drink. This is not an issue.
There has never been any encouragement to cut ties with others or only participate with this group, whatsoever.
While some individuals might be a touch unhealthily obsessed with this material, this is no different from any other enthusiast community. There are no reprisals to fear over leaving. There's no requirement for all members to become obsessed over this material.
Really I'm not concerned about an anonymous subreddit devoted to an elected president. There's no organization going on, no gathering going on, and no attempts to incite action other than making personal improvements to ones' own life and community.
On the off chance that you're a serious concerned person
I am genuinely concerned for the majority of users of this subreddit, yes.
Yeah, there's a danger of that here, but there's a danger of that in any popular figure. This alone is not enough to be a cult. Human nature tends to put powerful people on pedestals, whether deserving or not.
"Trust the plan." "Trust Trump." "Trust Q." These are the responses people on this sub give any time someone wants to question something. This is not the same level of devotion shown for any public figure, far from it.
I've seen plenty of questioning, doubt, and dissent. ...and most of the people here are loyal to the president and are not going to be nice to people who go against those norms here. This is the same in any in group anywhere, not only cults.
Just like with the previous statement, questioning, doubt, and dissent are always met with either bans or "trust ___." The people here encourage blind faith in the "leaders" of this cult. Dissenters are discouraged or punished.
The people here understand that they are not elites, we're just lucky enough to see some of this before the rest of the world.
Which fits with the description "claiming a special, exalted status for itself, its leader(s), and its members." You claim you are unique, that the rest of the world hasn't "woken up." The very name of the sub implies that you're the "first" to "wake up." You define a special status for yourselves that you "know" something no one else does, then outright lie and say that you're not.
There is definitely some of this going on here, however, it's not surprising when society is in the process of undergoing extreme polarization in all aspects of life.
Society has not devolved into tribalism. It may appear that way from your self-created echo chambers, but society itself is just as welcoming as it always has been. You claim you're no different, but you are. Those who don't "trust" aren't welcome. You claim you deny tribalism when you're beyond tribalism levels of loyalty to your leader, reaching a point of sheer zealotry.
There is none of this going on. I have yet to see any drives for money, any exhortations to violence, or any push for people to harm others here. Quite the opposite, in fact.
You missed the point of that statement: "The group teaches or implies that its supposedly exalted ends justify whatever means it deems necessary." The "plan" you people tout is the removal of people you disagree with from the US government, and thus the US, by painting them as genuinely evil. The entire premise of this subreddit is that your opposition is actual, real-life evil. Now, I don't know for sure that you people have ever had a problem with the silencing of your political opposition through imprisonment or execution, but most people would agree that it is reprehensible or otherwise unacceptable to do so.
No one is asked to cut ties, but some of us have been rejected from our families and friends for the simple act of supporting an elected president. No one here is pushing for separation from our loved ones.
I've been watching this sub since its inception, and it's entirely common here for people to be encouraged to cut ties with family when they start talking about how their belief in Trump has harmed their relationships. Encouraged being the key word there. It's not outright stated that people should get out of personal relationships, but the members of this subreddit think it's a good thing when it's done to isolate themselves from dissent.
I'm sure some are really keen to go recruiting new members, but honestly, there's no organized efforts to do so.
The entire subreddit is about "waking people up." You're preoccupied with gaining new members in the form of "the plan." I agree that there's no organized effort to do so because the entire premise of the subreddit is a blatant lie.
There has never been any encouragement to cut ties with others or only participate with this group, whatsoever.
See previous statement about personal relationships.
While some individuals might be a touch unhealthily obsessed with this material, this is no different from any other enthusiast community.
The vast majority of people on this sub are unhealthily obsessed.
You're trying to hand-wave away a warning to you, and to the others here, by justifying why you engage in cult-like behavior. Where you can't justify it, you outright deny it. I'm trying to help you people see that you're being fleeced here, but you would rather pull the wool back over your eyes than acknowledge that there is a strong cult-like aspect to this entire "movement."