“As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight. And it is in such twilight that we all must be aware of change in the air—however slight—lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.” —Justice William O. Douglas
I recommend everyone familiarize themselves with Étienne de La Boétie’s prescient 1552 work, “The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude,” which I also quote in that piece:
“It is incredible how as soon as a people becomes subject, it promptly falls into such complete forgetfulness of its freedom that it can hardly be roused to the point of regaining it, obeying so easily and so willingly that one is led to say, on beholding such a situation, that this people has not so much lost its liberty as won its enslavement. It is true that in the beginning men submit under constraint and by force; but those who come after them obey without regret and perform willingly what their predecessors had done because they had to. This is why men born under the yoke and then nourished and reared in slavery are content, without further effort, to live in their native circumstance, unaware of any other state or right, and considering as quite natural the condition into which they were born.”
de La Boétie offers the secret to escaping tyranny:
“You can deliver yourselves if you try, not by taking action, but merely by willing to be free. Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break into pieces.”
The Solzhenitsyn quotes I cite in that article are also especially relevant to this piece:
“We didn’t love freedom enough. And even more—we had no awareness of the real situation. We spent ourselves in one unrestrained outburst in 1917, and then we hurried to submit. We submitted with pleasure!”
“The majority sit quietly and dare to hope.… At what exact point, then, should one resist? When one’s belt is taken away? When one is ordered to face into a corner? When one crosses the threshold of one’s home? An arrest consists of a series of incidental irrelevancies, of a multitude of things that do not matter, and there seems no point in arguing about any one of them individually—especially at a time when the thoughts of the person arrested are wrapped tightly about the big question: ‘What for?’—and yet all these incidental irrelevancies taken together implacably constitute the arrest.”
I've been asking The Compliant since the beginning of the hysteria (and definitely when mask mandates first reared its ugly head) "what do YOU think is the first step in tyranny?" Usually no response or being ignored (on comment threads). One person pretty much said "when I see tanks rolling down the street". I said, "so none of the hundreds of other steps that HAVE TO happen before tanks roll down the street?!" I mean these people really do think they'll go to bed one night in a fully-functioning democratic republic and then the next morning will be goosestepping troops and tanks on the streets.
You are so right, Darling, and good on you for attempting to talk sense to the automatons, however bootless it appears. Their ignorance of history is nearly as staggering as their ignorance of science.
The majority sit quietly and dare to hope.... very powerful words. I wonder how many in the US will be the majority if push comes to shove. May we have the courage and wherewithal to make a difference.
I fear that those who chose not to protest when the cost of protest was low aren’t going to move when the cost is much greater. Would love to be wrong.
Looking at the infection rates in the Gato's inset graph, it appears that we've vaccinated all that want to be vaxxed in the US hence our infection rate peaked this October and has been decreasing. Whereas in the UK and Austria it seems to be climbing. The only way I know how to understand that is "all that's gonna get covid got it" by October in the US regardless of vaccination state. Maybe the next mutation to come out here will create another peak in US. In UK and Austria I don't know how to explain that rising curve. Is it different test measures? Different vaccines hence different times to failure? Data tampering?
The bullying is unspeakable. This is Austria, that rolled over for Hitler after the Anschluss. I'm praying American unruliness hasn't been killed by decades of comfy living and PC brainwashing. Thinking maybe half of us here are going to make measures like Austria's a tough proposition.
The abject ignorance and lack of interest in the last thousand years of human history we see in so many under a certain age is nothing short of stunning. So many young people apparently were taught nothing of value in school. They have experienced only good times in their short lives, with mostly a solid, good economy, never wanting for much of anything. They simply can't conceive of tyranny and loss of freedom and what that entails, so they appear incapable of being concerned or worried about losing it. The very real threat of tyranny that is on their doorsteps is a non-reality for them. The proverbial frogs in the pot of water, they'll perhaps comprehend it when it's too late.
When I started college in 1968 I had mildly liberal (but not radical) ideas as did so many students at that time. Looking back, I now see that what I knew about the world would fit on the head of a pin. However, my eyes were opened in 1976 after I finished college and went to live and teach in Iran for 2 years, followed by 8 years in Saudi Arabia, two countries not exactly noted for their freedoms. My views did a complete turnaround as I very quickly realized how great and unique America is, and this experience and a life total of 12+ years abroad provided a starkly real perspective on the world and how it actually works, plus a sad realization of how deeply corrupt most of the world's governments are. Above all, experiencing a lot of different and distinctly unfree places gave me a deep appreciation for our Constitution and the brilliance of how our country was established, and a sense of needing to always cherish and protect this gift we Americans have inherited.
I don't know what kids are being taught these days in terms of science, but apparently not much. Nor are they taught about debating ideas and understanding that not everyone has the same ideas, and furthermore, that's a good thing. It's really appalling and sickening what has happened in education, but it's clear that the failed Marxist/Communist takeover of the 1960's wormed its way deeply and systematically into the educational system over the past 40+ years. The 1960's (and 1950's before that) radicals failed to overthrow our government and realized they couldn't get elected to implement their ideology, so they set about brainwashing the next generation via infiltrating the educational system. They correctly figured that what they were doing wouldn't be noticed by the mainstream, and that's exactly what happened, right in plain view for nearly 50 years. First the universities, and now they've worked their way down into elementary school, all under our noses. One example: Bill Ayers, a radical activist from the 1960's Weather Underground (self described as a "communist revolutionary group" that wished to overthrow the government). Ayers was a terrorist himself (participated in several bombings, including the Pentagon). After evading government charges through technicalities, he got a degree at Columbia and then he ended up as a professor at U of Illinois, Chicago, where he met and became good friends with Barack Obama. All under our noses. Go read about Ayers if you don't know all the details. It's amazing to realize how he influenced Obama, and by extension, Biden (who is most likely being directed by Obama). Obama's 3rd term after all.
I truly hope there is an awakening to what is going on and that more and more people become aware each day, but sometimes it's hard to be too hopeful. I know too many people who are cemented into the leftist mentality (including a few in my own family) and they are pretty adamant about not listening to any other point of view. They are part of the useful idiots, who live in a world of “Stage One Thinking” (Thomas Sowell). I do have a bit of hope, though. While my 3 siblings seem to be eternally stuck in their mindless ideology (driven strongly by climate change lunacy), my own 2 children and 3 grandchildren (20's and early 30s) are conservative and see the craziness with clear and open eyes, as well as with disgust. I think they came to their conservative conclusions on their own, based on what they observed. So that's encouraging.
Thank you for sharing your story. I enjoyed reading this. Having lived abroad as well, I came back to the US appreciating our rich history and liberties in a way I could not have before living elsewhere. I highly recommend every person live someplace else for a time. The grass in not always greener...
I agree with much of what you say but this "climate change lunacy" debate can wait until after we emerge one side or other of this bottleneck, please? Not the time or place to aggravate disagreement in those with a common cause.
CMCM, YOU. NAILED. IT. Thank you for this exhaustive and impressive synopsis of the slouching-to-Bethlehem metamorphosis that has occurred over the past half-century. Have you considered starting a Substack blog? Your international experiences lend your observations a depth and breadth of perspective most lack.
I am encouraged to hear about your kids and grandchildren seeing the light. So many of my subscribers are disheartened to see how hard their kids/grandkids have fallen for the propaganda. I agree that the intentional infiltration of the education system is primarily to blame for the rot that is at the core of our society. Collectivism is emphasized over individualism, obedience over questioning, authoritarianism over democracy. Not only is the substance of the education (science, history, math, literature, etc.) lacking, but students are no longer being taught how to critically think. They are conditioned to unquestioningly submit to authority so they will be good little corporate automatons. I assume you are familiar with Curtis Yarvin’s (Mencius Moldbug) concept of the Cathedral (https://anti-empire.com/a-brief-explanation-of-the-cathedral-an-oligarchy-inherently-converges-on-ideas-that-justify-the-use-of-power/). All propaganda flows from the Academy and is disseminated in alliance with the media, hence we need to salvage the education system if we wish to recover sanity in our society.
Solzhenitsyn?! People in the West: don't try to measure yourselves by the Russian ruler. Those people (the populus, I mean) lived in abject slavery for seven hundred years. They are messed up in their heads so much, you can't even start to comprehend. So better don't. Unless you have a melancholic streak, bordering on suicidal. Then indulge yourself, by all means.
Haha, I adore Russian literature, so yes, I have and I will continue to indulge ;-) While you’re right to a certain extent about the Russian psychology, that doesn’t mean we can’t learn relevant lessons from their trials and tribulations—indeed, that history of slavery makes the wisdom gleaned from that suffering all the more pertinent to the circumstances we find ourselves in today.
Andreas, *lol*, too late ;-) Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Gogol, Solzhenitsyn, Pasternak, Turgenev, Bulgakov, Nabokov, Pushkin, and Goncharov (Oblomov is a riot for those who haven’t read it!), among others I’m likely forgetting. The Russians’ passion for philosophy, poetry, and truth runs deep. The volatility and intensity of spirit that led them to create such great works is also what made many vulnerable to the ideology of Bolshevism, while also helping them to ultimately triumph over it.
Chilling to read this. My grandfather's sisters lived in Vienna during the war. Even though they weren't Jewish enough to get carted away, their Jewish last name made them fear they were potential targets. To be on the safe side, they burned family documents that showed the Jewish lineage in case the authorities broke into their home and snooped around. The history is there to learn from. So sad to see how soon people forget.
Reading this, while living in SE US, watching jammed packed football stadiums, feels unworldly.
Am afraid until the youth of these countries start pushing back, to their family elders especially, and hard, this won't stop. The parents who are acquiescing to these drastic policies do not deserve respect from their children, whose future lives are being destroyed by the adults' cowardice.
I do not see a problem with children (and other family members) shunning those who are in support, either directly or through cowardice, of these policies. Remember, these people are willing to sacrifice you and their children, for their own selfish survival.
So turn the tables. Cut them off completely or at least limit what you are willing to talk about/do with them. Don't engage in casual conversations. Be polite but only just. Be prepared to walk away or hang up the phone.
Unwordly is the word! I live in the south of Sweden (no restrictions) with a 30 min train ride to Denmark (no restrictions). Last weekend I went to a packed stand up show while this weekend I had a lovely time at a beer festival in Copenhagen. No covidpasses and no travel restrictions. No one cares if you're unvaxed or vaxed. Reading all the freedom-crushing s**t going on in other countries is inapprehensible.
You are fortunate. I do believe it is regional around the globe. It has to be. Depending on where you are, people are doing different things. I am 66 and I do not wear a mask normally when I am out and about, but if I go into a store sometimes I wear a mask just to help the snow flakes calm down and to be honest, I am feeling old, I like hiding behind a mask, I can murmur to myself, or walk around with my mouth hanging open like a fool and no one sees, hahahahah hahahahaha
**The parents who are acquiescing to these drastic policies do not deserve respect from their children, whose future lives are being destroyed by the adults' cowardice. **
The number of parents of kids and grandkids that I've berated. I keep telling them, "This isn't about you or me. What if I'm right?"
Sadly, the opposite is happening with Millennials disowning their parents for being awake and refusing the jab. We are so thankful our only child is awake and informed. Definitely a lion not a sheep!
Screw the millennials, they are adults who are selfishly destroying CHILDREN's lives.
We need to refer to them for what they are selfish, immature, cowardly adults.
Parents and grandparents who are willing to tolerate the behavior of their adult children, because they don't want to break up THEIR family (and to hell with everyone else) deserve some of the blame for what is happening.
And my point applies to them, treat them with the disdain they deserve.
If they make eye contact, immediately look away.
If you see them with their fabric and plastic face masks, look at them and them purposefully move farther away and don't make eye contact again.
If you walk into a store/restaurant that is filled with these compliant soulless wonders, if possible, look around and then leave.
Make eye contact with children forced to wear and let them know - through your facial expressions alone - you feel their pain.
Do not speak with these individuals. Do not try to dissuade/persuade. Treat them with complete silence. Do not give them any overt reason to cast aspersions on you, your behavior or comments, which will be twisted, in their mind, as support for their position.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about "stupidity" as Germans/Austrians stood silent during the rise of the Nazi party:
‘Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed- in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.'
Bonhoeffer was correct. We - at least in the US - are surrounded not by malice at the local level - but sheer and utter stupidity. Malice often has some warped intelligence behind it, but what I’ve witnessed at every level is weapons-grade stupidity. And it’s this ignorance that’s certainly more frightening. And thus is makes what we do next all the harder - you can’t argue, reason or convince stupid. They are absolutely more dangerous and more detrimental to our freedom and there are many, many more that fall into the stupid category than we care to admit.
I was just disinvited to a friends home not because I was unvaxxed (while he is) but because he wants to wait until his 5 and 7 ry old boys are vaxxed. I didn’t disclose my vaxx status to him so he assumed I was. So I gently asked the reason for his wanting his boys vaxxed when they, as healthy boys (for the time being), and at no risk from the virus whatsoever. He actually said “thousands of kids die a day from this virus and I need to protect them.” I explained that many less than a thousand have died over the course of the entire panic and almost every last one of the children that did die were already severely ill or had serious pre-existing conditions. He said I was lying, and I didn’t understand the data.
This is a well-educated man. Granted, a leftist but I never felt a far-left loon. We have always gotten along. But he’s gone off the deep end and fear created in him a true and deep ignorance. I feel sad for him but also, by the tone of his voice, know that he cannot be convinced that he may not be seeing the whole truth.
At the end of the call he pronounced that anyone not vaxxed “needs to be forced to.” Stupidity is quite frightening.
Over time I've unfortunately concluded that there isn't actually a big difference between "normal" leftism and far left extremism. There have been too many experiences like the one you recount here - an apparently normal-but-left-wing person will suddenly and quite unexpectedly become entirely crazed and tyrannical, apparently without any kind of transition period or stepping stones in between. Also a common experience: people who seemed normal and moderate watch the person who just became extreme and quietly approve and support of it.
The conclusion I drew from this is that leftism doesn't seem to have the shades of grey that we might like to think it does. The gap between a centre-leftist and a full blown Stalinist seems to be more one of opporunity and perceived risk than any deep-seated philosophical convictions :(
According to Bonhoeffer "stupidity is not an intellectual defect but a moral one".
Namely, you can be intellectually capable (educated, book smart, etc.) and yet
stupid and vice versa. Taleb coined a term "Intellectual Yet Idiot".
He also says that stupidity is a sociological phenomena rather than psychological.
Under certain circumstances, people are made stupid, or better yet, they allow themselves to become stupid. This is exacerbated in large groups (George Carlin:
"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.").
When somebody in power rises, it necessarily needs stupidity of others. We give up independence and autonomous position. Stupid person is not independent. When
you have a conversation with such person, you never really have a discussion with that person, but with slogans, etc.
The sad reality is that we have all been participating in this for a long time.
Think about the "security" theater at airports after 9/11. After 20 years
we still totally willingly submit to the charades of taking shoes off, going through machines and allow ourselves to be harassed and groped by high-school bullies...
wow, very well put. 9-11 was the first major political event I was concerned about as an adult. I fought against the measures with the limited means available to me at the time. I think I sent actual letters among other things. lol. I will still make trouble at the airport, even with my kids around. but to what end? nothing changes. I'm just one person.
For a while I always requested to be patted down instead of going through the body scanner. Patting down is obviously way more intrusive and annoying, but I wanted to make
it irritating and unpleasant for them. It was obviously completely futile, so after a while I stopped, accepted defeat and submitted.
Authorities count on people either being passive and distracted (for 9/11 we didn't even have social media and Netflix to divide us and really be distracted) or scared ("we want you to be safe", "public health", etc.), preferably both.
My subversive go-to was making them test my children's drinks that I brought on board--we always had long haul flights and the airlines don't stock what they liked. I did that until the youngest was 5 and it got harder to pull off the act, so a good 8 years. We used to fly quite a lot. But we can't wear down thousands of Napolean agents before they were us down.... Absolutely the distracted and scared crap seems to work every time and just keeps getting easier.
Security theater, mask theater, covid theater - all part of the same plan, right? Way past time for the lions to rise up. If we roar, will the sheep wake up?
We never do anything -- we just whine, talk a lot and complain. And then we accept everything and they count on that. And they are really good at dividing us. We keep electing the same clowns, voting for "least bad"
I wish I shared your optimism. If 70%-80% of people are vaccinated or perfectly happy to comply with anything, do you think that group cares if you can't go to a restaurant, or fly or go to work?
But if you took out Twitter/FB/Instagram/Netflix, or alcohol was not available for a couple of weeks, you would have riots on your hand pretty quickly. Take away mind-numbing gadgets and substances and people would be forced to confront the reality and the real world.
Don't forget "lazy". People call me out saying they don't see the evidence for Fauci's complicity in unleashing covid. Then when I point them to the proof they say they don't have time, and who can you trust, blah blah blah.
But yet their cousins the Scandinavians are allowing themselves to be ruled by reason. Funny, the actual blond haired blue eyed Vikings that Hitler worshipped are actually the only sane ones on a country wide basis in the world.
Pondering what state has a firewall. Is it Wyoming with its tiny population and vast spaces? Texas with its independent spirit? Florida with its smart and effective liberty minded governor? I’m picking one and going with it next year. Free my children first from Newscum and Commiefornia.
Jim, if you come to Florida, just know that South Florida ( Miami, Ft. Laud and Palm Beach) are very blue. Go to the West Coast of Florida or northern Florida.
Tell her to hold her head high as she exits and not give them an ounce of emotion. Have a party with balloons and celebrate her breaking free from the heathens.
Tampa and Orlando are big busy cities. Tampa on the west coast is better, nice beaches but if you want time at Disney, Orlando or the city of Celebration is the place to be. Jax has gorgeous beaches and nice atmosphere. Unfortunately, you will need a car. Public transport is lacking and not always dependable. the further you are away from SFL, the more peace of mind you will have.
He is really trying to keep federal mandates out of Florida and allow parents to make choices for their children (jabs and masks). Wants Florida to have robust workforce. He also believes that unjabbed citizens should be given the same health care availability as the jabbed. He is moderate and does not suffer fools. I do hope he sticks around bc Florida is doing ok right now.
Agree about him sticking around. FL may be the only island of sanity in a few months. I've written him a few times and last time told him a big part of me hoped he wouldn't run for president in 2024 bc we need an outpost of sanity. I'm in a red state with a RINO governor who's regularly MIA. At least we have an AG with a spine.
Tennessee’s legislature meets beginning this week to push back against mandates. I’ve been suspicious about Gov. Lee and think he might be in the same category as Kristi Noem and her “special relationship “ with Sanford Health. I am hopeful the legislature will get it done. We have a decent attorney general, as well. But DeSantis and his top leadership are hard to beat. I’m a California native, too. I love my Tennessee mountains.
Williamson County schools (Franklin TN area) are segregating unmasked children into their own classrooms like unmentionables, and Gov Lee is standing by and doing nothing. Knox county not far behind. I seriously considered TN but with its RINO guv and it’s nighttime tornadoes I gave it a pass. Look up Dixie Alley. Godspeed!
I hate to hear that. He did file an appeal this week in the Knox County case. The kids in the more rural areas haven’t worn masks since last year. I don’t think they missed more than a couple of weeks of school, either. The closer you get to the Smokies, the less extreme weather we get.
Hoping that TN pulls thru with abandoning mandates. We are all quite capable of making our own decisions. Wishing you the best and yes, the TN mountains are gorgeous.
Lee got rid of mask mandates for school children by executive order but was stopped by the courts. We never had a statewide mask mandate, just some strong arming. But the jab mandates have started, the university system just started pushing them for employees.
there is just no way any remotely informed health agency could come up with this “solution.”
Probably the most critical sentence. Are the actions of so many of the world's governments consistent with the hypothesis that they are acting rationally in response to the evidence or in the interests of health? Right from the very start it was known this was not a super-duper deadly virus. Serious maybe. Serious in the same ballpark as flu. Not even close to the severity of something like Ebola.
Yet here in the UK we've essentially trashed our economy, restricted freedoms, locked down, masked, sanitized, injected ourselves in an almost religious frenzy, closed businesses, closed schools, messed up our kids mental health AND their education, delayed vital treatments and diagnoses consigning thousands to long-term suffering and even death, turned ourselves into hypochondriacs frightened of the merest sniffle . . . and for what?
We're not appreciably better off now than we were a year ago, and I would suggest even worse. Yet here we are, facing more restrictions and lockdowns - the very things, along with the vaccines, that have been such a stunning "success" for us.
At least we haven't gone as far as Austria seem to want to . . . . . . . yet.
Does any of this seem reasonable as a response to a disease that might be about twice as bad as a severe flu in terms of overall mortality? Do vaccines passports make any sense whatsoever in terms of public health? Do we imagine our leaders to be quite so stupid and inept not to see what is so obvious to anyone taking an honest look at the data?
The question has to be why. The scale of the deceit, deception and duplicity have been quite remarkable - not to mention the extraordinary propaganda and suppression of information. Does any of this measure up to the actual threat level posed by this double-flu?
We've acted, or rather been continuously driven to act, as if we were facing an Ebola-level threat. A lot of people seem to still be terrified, the spectre of covid is the thing that seems to consume them, being the only thing they can focus on. Why have we been driven to this point?
One thing you can bet your house on. It's not about health.
i completely echo your feeling. i am in spain and have the eerie feeling it's just a matter of time until we go the france/italy/lithuania/austria route. currently, in catalonia, covid passes are 'only' needed for night clubs but the catalan government has been talking about extending them to restaurants, coffeeshops, gyms, movie theaters, etc. for months. they haven't done it yet because it is likely that, either the catalan supreme court of the spanish one will overrule it. however, i am also positive that, sooner or later, the gov will find a way to bypass that, maybe by voting some new law into existence. vaccination rates are very high over here and cases are low at the moment, it doesn't matter. to make things even better, the national pediatrics organisation has started advising parents to jab kids 6 months and older with the flu vaccine this year. this has never been the case. ever. meanwhile, civil society doesn't bat an eye and even clamour for stricter measures :(
the catalan government has announced that once we reach 100 ppl in the icu, they're extending covid passports to gyms, restaurants, cinemas, etc. they're about 90 people in there at the moment, so we're probably a few degrees drop away from that happening
waiting for the next set of rules tonight. so far it's been leaked no gyms for unvaxxed. I think they are trying to get to the control group that's messing with their data. the health conscious conscientious objectors. the screws are being tightened.
This is in addition to being forced to wear a N95 their entire shift, not just with covid patient's. Of course when covid arose and there were shortages of PPE, these folks wore just surgical masks or used the same N95 masks with covid patients for several days in a row. This is the hospital's way of firing those with exemptions. The badge let's everyone know they have one. The N95 allows them to be reported and fired if removed briefly to breathe or drink while away from patients.
this story pisses me off. I would make a huge badge that all could see very easily and wear it as a badge of honor. i would turn it around on those MFers and brag how I am unvaxxed. Shove it right up their asses. You want to "f" with me, I will "f" you right back bigger and better and louder.
At least in Germany people learn a lot about the war. But it’s always said only right wing people do such things. Extremists of other ideology basically. Are good. 🤦♀️
Yes, the "right wingers" who created the National Socialist Workers Party are to blame. The distortion of German history by leftist academics and teachers is surely at the root cause of a lot of this.
i've been thoroughly disgusted with the general publics compliant response to the government abuse since this whole "pandemic" began. however, as pessimistic as i've grown over the past 18 months, i truly believe there will be a point that those in 'power' go too far, and the real american spirit is finally unleashed. *this* will be the country that eventually ends this shit. it will probably be a bit ugly, but we didn't start it, so i won't apologize.
I agree that it will take a horrible "event" to wake the sheeple from their slumber and to unveil the evil intent of Fraudci et al. I am afraid to say that it will likely be the deaths of severe vax injuries of HUNDREDS if not thousands of kiddos. I see so many young parents walking without masks but masking their littles on their way to school (walking OUTDOORS!!). These are the parents who are probably vaxxed and eagerly waiting to jab their babies. I don't see any other scenario capable to provoking the massive outrage needed to topple this tyrannical takeover by the WEF/Great Reset/Gates/Fauci mafia.
I fear for the children that will get the jab. They don't need it. And if something wicked happens to the children, that should be the straw that breaks the camels back and a firing squad for all those involved making, pushing ,mandating the jab. You just don't fuck (pardon the french) with peoples children. That line is sacred and must not be crossed.
Sadly, I'm not buying it. There is no American spirit that you claim that remains. The citizens of this country see nothing except blue or red. To see reality and live free is a bridge too far; each side looks for some magic leader to tell them what to think or how to act. Like school children, we seek to be told what to do.
When your ugliness comes, it won't be anything except violence and hatred. Thinking it will lead to reconciliation or a new beginning is a pipe dream. It will only be the new normal.
Although I see your point and somewhat share your view on a few points Dana, I have American Spirit and the bridge for me is not too far. I do not need any numbnut telling me how to live or act. I do not seek to be told what to do bc most of those that try to tell me are a cookie short of the jar. However, your point on red and blue is valid. I am an independent so I have no dog in that race but fanatics on either side piss me off. And fanatics on one side are running wild. Will there be violence, probably. Will there be hatred, indeed. But for me and IMHO, keeping our republic safe from fanaticism and tyranny is worth bloodshed if need be (I truly hope not) and as for hatred, time will tell. No new normal for me and I will fight it to the end if needs must. Thank you for a different view. Always good to have robust opinions.
Americans just went through totally fraudulent elections but half of people were cheering and the other half are sitting on their asses, doing nothing. Maybe useless flag waving with new slogans, new social media memes, parades and weekend barbecues. Oh yeah, that will show those fuckers in DC! Any minute now they will surrender!
Australia, Canada and New Zealand are really fucking losing it, despite being solid western democracies for hundreds of years.
In other words, a tyrannical takeover can happen anywhere and there is no special magical sauce against it. Your americanism, australialism or whatever-ism will not protect you from it. All you can do is fight against it but the end results are not guaranteed. Just look at North Korea. 80 years of hard pain for the populace and no end in sight.
Those "solid western democracies for hundreds of years" you speak of were built on the genocide and oppression of their native populations, so the fact that they are now turning even a small part of that energy towards a different subset of their populations should be no great surprise. What goes around always comes around eventually. Those who did not speak up against it then should not be so shocked to find that it's their turn now.
That SJW twisted history fiction bullshit about whites being especially bad and everybody else being just noble innocent savages taking a beating from evil whites is getting fucking tiresome. It was a brutal world out there.
Native Indians resorted to cannibalism, tribal wars were brutal, slaves were common, rapes of enemy tribe women were common, there were no POW laws. It was the whites who started the change for better like abolishing the slave trading, going on for thousands of years everywhere. Still going on in Africa and Middle East.
Indeed, don't get a cat pissed off at you...next thing gifts left on beds and outside the box if you know what I mean. Too bad we can't arm cats, they have more bravado than anyone I know. They would get the job done with a whoop-assing so bad the other side would never have seen it coming.
Following on the the Karens piece earlier, perhaps people have no need for freedom. They had that and didn't like it because it created the expectation that they do something with it.
Just last night, I said to my wife that we should sell everything, go to the Russian embassy in Vancouver, and ask for Political Asylum. We are prisoners in Canada, no way out of the country otherwise, with our rights stripped away. What have we got to lose? Could that rock the world?
😹😹😹 Too bad they’re psychopathic sadists, but I suppose watching people enjoy happy, peaceful, kind, and loving lives is awfully boring compared to mayhem, villainy, and torture.
Perhaps they should look at vaccination status for ICU admissions, and if the majority are vaccinated, then house-arrest the vaccinated instead of the unvaccinated.
Of course this is insane, unless your goal is to increase vaccination rates at all costs.
Infections and hospitalizations would continue to climb among the vaccinated even if all unvaccinated, including babies, are locked at home. Then who woukd they blame? Animals? I guess the next step would be killing all of nature. But still the infections would climb even after more boosters so then they would say that certain vaccinees must be locked away, based on social credit score, to save the rest. And so on. First they came for the unvaxxed …
Short sharp conversation between 3 in my house in Wales this morning: Me regretting 1 vax back in Jan born of panic and ignorance. My wife and her bosom-buddy both double-jabbed and not getting boosted.
We are in the twilight described in the quote I opened “COVID IS OVER! … If You Want It” (https://margaretannaalice.substack.com/p/covid-is-over-if-you-want-it) with:
“As nightfall does not come all at once, neither does oppression. In both instances, there is a twilight. And it is in such twilight that we all must be aware of change in the air—however slight—lest we become unwitting victims of the darkness.” —Justice William O. Douglas
I recommend everyone familiarize themselves with Étienne de La Boétie’s prescient 1552 work, “The Politics of Obedience: The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude,” which I also quote in that piece:
“It is incredible how as soon as a people becomes subject, it promptly falls into such complete forgetfulness of its freedom that it can hardly be roused to the point of regaining it, obeying so easily and so willingly that one is led to say, on beholding such a situation, that this people has not so much lost its liberty as won its enslavement. It is true that in the beginning men submit under constraint and by force; but those who come after them obey without regret and perform willingly what their predecessors had done because they had to. This is why men born under the yoke and then nourished and reared in slavery are content, without further effort, to live in their native circumstance, unaware of any other state or right, and considering as quite natural the condition into which they were born.”
de La Boétie offers the secret to escaping tyranny:
“You can deliver yourselves if you try, not by taking action, but merely by willing to be free. Resolve to serve no more, and you are at once freed. I do not ask that you place hands upon the tyrant to topple him over, but simply that you support him no longer; then you will behold him, like a great Colossus whose pedestal has been pulled away, fall of his own weight and break into pieces.”
well said.
The Solzhenitsyn quotes I cite in that article are also especially relevant to this piece:
“We didn’t love freedom enough. And even more—we had no awareness of the real situation. We spent ourselves in one unrestrained outburst in 1917, and then we hurried to submit. We submitted with pleasure!”
“The majority sit quietly and dare to hope.… At what exact point, then, should one resist? When one’s belt is taken away? When one is ordered to face into a corner? When one crosses the threshold of one’s home? An arrest consists of a series of incidental irrelevancies, of a multitude of things that do not matter, and there seems no point in arguing about any one of them individually—especially at a time when the thoughts of the person arrested are wrapped tightly about the big question: ‘What for?’—and yet all these incidental irrelevancies taken together implacably constitute the arrest.”
I've been asking The Compliant since the beginning of the hysteria (and definitely when mask mandates first reared its ugly head) "what do YOU think is the first step in tyranny?" Usually no response or being ignored (on comment threads). One person pretty much said "when I see tanks rolling down the street". I said, "so none of the hundreds of other steps that HAVE TO happen before tanks roll down the street?!" I mean these people really do think they'll go to bed one night in a fully-functioning democratic republic and then the next morning will be goosestepping troops and tanks on the streets.
You are so right, Darling, and good on you for attempting to talk sense to the automatons, however bootless it appears. Their ignorance of history is nearly as staggering as their ignorance of science.
Oh I gave up between June/ July 2020.
😆
The majority sit quietly and dare to hope.... very powerful words. I wonder how many in the US will be the majority if push comes to shove. May we have the courage and wherewithal to make a difference.
I fear that those who chose not to protest when the cost of protest was low aren’t going to move when the cost is much greater. Would love to be wrong.
Perhaps that will move them to act, when the curtain of demise is inching ever closer; no more time for procrastination.
Looking at the infection rates in the Gato's inset graph, it appears that we've vaccinated all that want to be vaxxed in the US hence our infection rate peaked this October and has been decreasing. Whereas in the UK and Austria it seems to be climbing. The only way I know how to understand that is "all that's gonna get covid got it" by October in the US regardless of vaccination state. Maybe the next mutation to come out here will create another peak in US. In UK and Austria I don't know how to explain that rising curve. Is it different test measures? Different vaccines hence different times to failure? Data tampering?
The bullying is unspeakable. This is Austria, that rolled over for Hitler after the Anschluss. I'm praying American unruliness hasn't been killed by decades of comfy living and PC brainwashing. Thinking maybe half of us here are going to make measures like Austria's a tough proposition.
We will Zade, not to worry.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going!
The abject ignorance and lack of interest in the last thousand years of human history we see in so many under a certain age is nothing short of stunning. So many young people apparently were taught nothing of value in school. They have experienced only good times in their short lives, with mostly a solid, good economy, never wanting for much of anything. They simply can't conceive of tyranny and loss of freedom and what that entails, so they appear incapable of being concerned or worried about losing it. The very real threat of tyranny that is on their doorsteps is a non-reality for them. The proverbial frogs in the pot of water, they'll perhaps comprehend it when it's too late.
When I started college in 1968 I had mildly liberal (but not radical) ideas as did so many students at that time. Looking back, I now see that what I knew about the world would fit on the head of a pin. However, my eyes were opened in 1976 after I finished college and went to live and teach in Iran for 2 years, followed by 8 years in Saudi Arabia, two countries not exactly noted for their freedoms. My views did a complete turnaround as I very quickly realized how great and unique America is, and this experience and a life total of 12+ years abroad provided a starkly real perspective on the world and how it actually works, plus a sad realization of how deeply corrupt most of the world's governments are. Above all, experiencing a lot of different and distinctly unfree places gave me a deep appreciation for our Constitution and the brilliance of how our country was established, and a sense of needing to always cherish and protect this gift we Americans have inherited.
I don't know what kids are being taught these days in terms of science, but apparently not much. Nor are they taught about debating ideas and understanding that not everyone has the same ideas, and furthermore, that's a good thing. It's really appalling and sickening what has happened in education, but it's clear that the failed Marxist/Communist takeover of the 1960's wormed its way deeply and systematically into the educational system over the past 40+ years. The 1960's (and 1950's before that) radicals failed to overthrow our government and realized they couldn't get elected to implement their ideology, so they set about brainwashing the next generation via infiltrating the educational system. They correctly figured that what they were doing wouldn't be noticed by the mainstream, and that's exactly what happened, right in plain view for nearly 50 years. First the universities, and now they've worked their way down into elementary school, all under our noses. One example: Bill Ayers, a radical activist from the 1960's Weather Underground (self described as a "communist revolutionary group" that wished to overthrow the government). Ayers was a terrorist himself (participated in several bombings, including the Pentagon). After evading government charges through technicalities, he got a degree at Columbia and then he ended up as a professor at U of Illinois, Chicago, where he met and became good friends with Barack Obama. All under our noses. Go read about Ayers if you don't know all the details. It's amazing to realize how he influenced Obama, and by extension, Biden (who is most likely being directed by Obama). Obama's 3rd term after all.
I truly hope there is an awakening to what is going on and that more and more people become aware each day, but sometimes it's hard to be too hopeful. I know too many people who are cemented into the leftist mentality (including a few in my own family) and they are pretty adamant about not listening to any other point of view. They are part of the useful idiots, who live in a world of “Stage One Thinking” (Thomas Sowell). I do have a bit of hope, though. While my 3 siblings seem to be eternally stuck in their mindless ideology (driven strongly by climate change lunacy), my own 2 children and 3 grandchildren (20's and early 30s) are conservative and see the craziness with clear and open eyes, as well as with disgust. I think they came to their conservative conclusions on their own, based on what they observed. So that's encouraging.
Climate change wasn't a big enough boogie man, so out trots a pandemic.
Thank you for sharing your story. I enjoyed reading this. Having lived abroad as well, I came back to the US appreciating our rich history and liberties in a way I could not have before living elsewhere. I highly recommend every person live someplace else for a time. The grass in not always greener...
And now add CRT to the curriculum...
I agree with much of what you say but this "climate change lunacy" debate can wait until after we emerge one side or other of this bottleneck, please? Not the time or place to aggravate disagreement in those with a common cause.
CMCM, YOU. NAILED. IT. Thank you for this exhaustive and impressive synopsis of the slouching-to-Bethlehem metamorphosis that has occurred over the past half-century. Have you considered starting a Substack blog? Your international experiences lend your observations a depth and breadth of perspective most lack.
I am encouraged to hear about your kids and grandchildren seeing the light. So many of my subscribers are disheartened to see how hard their kids/grandkids have fallen for the propaganda. I agree that the intentional infiltration of the education system is primarily to blame for the rot that is at the core of our society. Collectivism is emphasized over individualism, obedience over questioning, authoritarianism over democracy. Not only is the substance of the education (science, history, math, literature, etc.) lacking, but students are no longer being taught how to critically think. They are conditioned to unquestioningly submit to authority so they will be good little corporate automatons. I assume you are familiar with Curtis Yarvin’s (Mencius Moldbug) concept of the Cathedral (https://anti-empire.com/a-brief-explanation-of-the-cathedral-an-oligarchy-inherently-converges-on-ideas-that-justify-the-use-of-power/). All propaganda flows from the Academy and is disseminated in alliance with the media, hence we need to salvage the education system if we wish to recover sanity in our society.
If you want something done right, do it yourself....homeschool.
Christmas gift idea: a list of books on history, philosophy and poetry, to help them understand the insanity around us.
To let them know it's happened before, that adults sometimes are idiots or worse, and there are avenues for escape.
Books that we should all start walking around with, so others', who feel alone in this battle realize there is an army.
Great idea, Holly! I'm offering bulk discounts on signed copies of my fairy tale (https://margaretannaalice.substack.com/p/the-vapor-the-hot-hat-and-the-witches) — the perfect gift for children and adults, awake and asleep alike! 😁 https://margaretannaalice.substack.com/p/get-the-book-the-vapor-the-hot-hat
Solzhenitsyn?! People in the West: don't try to measure yourselves by the Russian ruler. Those people (the populus, I mean) lived in abject slavery for seven hundred years. They are messed up in their heads so much, you can't even start to comprehend. So better don't. Unless you have a melancholic streak, bordering on suicidal. Then indulge yourself, by all means.
Haha, I adore Russian literature, so yes, I have and I will continue to indulge ;-) While you’re right to a certain extent about the Russian psychology, that doesn’t mean we can’t learn relevant lessons from their trials and tribulations—indeed, that history of slavery makes the wisdom gleaned from that suffering all the more pertinent to the circumstances we find ourselves in today.
I give it to you. But don't go too deep, lest you want to drown!
Andreas, *lol*, too late ;-) Dostoyevsky, Chekhov, Tolstoy, Gogol, Solzhenitsyn, Pasternak, Turgenev, Bulgakov, Nabokov, Pushkin, and Goncharov (Oblomov is a riot for those who haven’t read it!), among others I’m likely forgetting. The Russians’ passion for philosophy, poetry, and truth runs deep. The volatility and intensity of spirit that led them to create such great works is also what made many vulnerable to the ideology of Bolshevism, while also helping them to ultimately triumph over it.
Crushingly true.
Absolutely astounding where we are.
.... come Lord Jesus.
Bravo (clapping hands) Bravo!
True, no pain no gain. We have to be prepared for emotional and physically pain and be willing to pay that price if needs must.
missed the comment. what did "deleted" say?
same thing as below but with a bunch of typos, deleted bc was faster, LOL!
Oh.... haha okay. I thought I missed out on some entertaining discussion. Thank you Laura!!
If there is not other way, then sadly yes.
And what does History teach us, again?
I know:{
Chilling to read this. My grandfather's sisters lived in Vienna during the war. Even though they weren't Jewish enough to get carted away, their Jewish last name made them fear they were potential targets. To be on the safe side, they burned family documents that showed the Jewish lineage in case the authorities broke into their home and snooped around. The history is there to learn from. So sad to see how soon people forget.
Reading this, while living in SE US, watching jammed packed football stadiums, feels unworldly.
Am afraid until the youth of these countries start pushing back, to their family elders especially, and hard, this won't stop. The parents who are acquiescing to these drastic policies do not deserve respect from their children, whose future lives are being destroyed by the adults' cowardice.
I do not see a problem with children (and other family members) shunning those who are in support, either directly or through cowardice, of these policies. Remember, these people are willing to sacrifice you and their children, for their own selfish survival.
So turn the tables. Cut them off completely or at least limit what you are willing to talk about/do with them. Don't engage in casual conversations. Be polite but only just. Be prepared to walk away or hang up the phone.
Unwordly is the word! I live in the south of Sweden (no restrictions) with a 30 min train ride to Denmark (no restrictions). Last weekend I went to a packed stand up show while this weekend I had a lovely time at a beer festival in Copenhagen. No covidpasses and no travel restrictions. No one cares if you're unvaxed or vaxed. Reading all the freedom-crushing s**t going on in other countries is inapprehensible.
You are fortunate. I do believe it is regional around the globe. It has to be. Depending on where you are, people are doing different things. I am 66 and I do not wear a mask normally when I am out and about, but if I go into a store sometimes I wear a mask just to help the snow flakes calm down and to be honest, I am feeling old, I like hiding behind a mask, I can murmur to myself, or walk around with my mouth hanging open like a fool and no one sees, hahahahah hahahahaha
**The parents who are acquiescing to these drastic policies do not deserve respect from their children, whose future lives are being destroyed by the adults' cowardice. **
The number of parents of kids and grandkids that I've berated. I keep telling them, "This isn't about you or me. What if I'm right?"
Dr. Yeadon - have you seen this information? https://brandnewtube.com/watch/a-manufactured-illusion-dr-david-martin-with-reiner-fuellmich-9-7-21_hPChWe1no7nxGDM.html And what do you think of it?
Sadly, the opposite is happening with Millennials disowning their parents for being awake and refusing the jab. We are so thankful our only child is awake and informed. Definitely a lion not a sheep!
Screw the millennials, they are adults who are selfishly destroying CHILDREN's lives.
We need to refer to them for what they are selfish, immature, cowardly adults.
Parents and grandparents who are willing to tolerate the behavior of their adult children, because they don't want to break up THEIR family (and to hell with everyone else) deserve some of the blame for what is happening.
I come across many like you describe, but there are others like our son who are awake and seek to influence those who are hypnotized.
And my point applies to them, treat them with the disdain they deserve.
If they make eye contact, immediately look away.
If you see them with their fabric and plastic face masks, look at them and them purposefully move farther away and don't make eye contact again.
If you walk into a store/restaurant that is filled with these compliant soulless wonders, if possible, look around and then leave.
Make eye contact with children forced to wear and let them know - through your facial expressions alone - you feel their pain.
Do not speak with these individuals. Do not try to dissuade/persuade. Treat them with complete silence. Do not give them any overt reason to cast aspersions on you, your behavior or comments, which will be twisted, in their mind, as support for their position.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote about "stupidity" as Germans/Austrians stood silent during the rise of the Nazi party:
‘Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice. One may protest against evil; it can be exposed and, if need be, prevented by use of force. Evil always carries within itself the germ of its own subversion in that it leaves behind in human beings at least a sense of unease. Against stupidity we are defenseless. Neither protests nor the use of force accomplish anything here; reasons fall on deaf ears; facts that contradict one’s prejudgment simply need not be believed- in such moments the stupid person even becomes critical – and when facts are irrefutable they are just pushed aside as inconsequential, as incidental. In all this the stupid person, in contrast to the malicious one, is utterly self-satisfied and, being easily irritated, becomes dangerous by going on the attack. For that reason, greater caution is called for than with a malicious one. Never again will we try to persuade the stupid person with reasons, for it is senseless and dangerous.'
(Full essay: https://in-sights.ca/2021/09/18/bonhoeffer-on-stupidity/)
Bonhoeffer was correct. We - at least in the US - are surrounded not by malice at the local level - but sheer and utter stupidity. Malice often has some warped intelligence behind it, but what I’ve witnessed at every level is weapons-grade stupidity. And it’s this ignorance that’s certainly more frightening. And thus is makes what we do next all the harder - you can’t argue, reason or convince stupid. They are absolutely more dangerous and more detrimental to our freedom and there are many, many more that fall into the stupid category than we care to admit.
I was just disinvited to a friends home not because I was unvaxxed (while he is) but because he wants to wait until his 5 and 7 ry old boys are vaxxed. I didn’t disclose my vaxx status to him so he assumed I was. So I gently asked the reason for his wanting his boys vaxxed when they, as healthy boys (for the time being), and at no risk from the virus whatsoever. He actually said “thousands of kids die a day from this virus and I need to protect them.” I explained that many less than a thousand have died over the course of the entire panic and almost every last one of the children that did die were already severely ill or had serious pre-existing conditions. He said I was lying, and I didn’t understand the data.
This is a well-educated man. Granted, a leftist but I never felt a far-left loon. We have always gotten along. But he’s gone off the deep end and fear created in him a true and deep ignorance. I feel sad for him but also, by the tone of his voice, know that he cannot be convinced that he may not be seeing the whole truth.
At the end of the call he pronounced that anyone not vaxxed “needs to be forced to.” Stupidity is quite frightening.
Totally consistent with Mattias Desmet's observation that intelligent people become stupid in a mass formation. Sad and very frustrating.
I have posted a screenshot of your comment on twitter if you want me to delete it just say x
Over time I've unfortunately concluded that there isn't actually a big difference between "normal" leftism and far left extremism. There have been too many experiences like the one you recount here - an apparently normal-but-left-wing person will suddenly and quite unexpectedly become entirely crazed and tyrannical, apparently without any kind of transition period or stepping stones in between. Also a common experience: people who seemed normal and moderate watch the person who just became extreme and quietly approve and support of it.
The conclusion I drew from this is that leftism doesn't seem to have the shades of grey that we might like to think it does. The gap between a centre-leftist and a full blown Stalinist seems to be more one of opporunity and perceived risk than any deep-seated philosophical convictions :(
I think the entire left/right dichotomy has broken down since plandemic.
Chris Martenson has described this quite well, the new axis is up/down (freedom & curiosity vs. authoritarianism & ignorance)
agree. I was raised right wing, swung wide left for a bit and now I feel politically homeless. I don't see any neat political lines anymore.
According to Bonhoeffer "stupidity is not an intellectual defect but a moral one".
Namely, you can be intellectually capable (educated, book smart, etc.) and yet
stupid and vice versa. Taleb coined a term "Intellectual Yet Idiot".
He also says that stupidity is a sociological phenomena rather than psychological.
Under certain circumstances, people are made stupid, or better yet, they allow themselves to become stupid. This is exacerbated in large groups (George Carlin:
"Never underestimate the power of stupid people in large groups.").
When somebody in power rises, it necessarily needs stupidity of others. We give up independence and autonomous position. Stupid person is not independent. When
you have a conversation with such person, you never really have a discussion with that person, but with slogans, etc.
The sad reality is that we have all been participating in this for a long time.
Think about the "security" theater at airports after 9/11. After 20 years
we still totally willingly submit to the charades of taking shoes off, going through machines and allow ourselves to be harassed and groped by high-school bullies...
And what have we done about it?
wow, very well put. 9-11 was the first major political event I was concerned about as an adult. I fought against the measures with the limited means available to me at the time. I think I sent actual letters among other things. lol. I will still make trouble at the airport, even with my kids around. but to what end? nothing changes. I'm just one person.
For a while I always requested to be patted down instead of going through the body scanner. Patting down is obviously way more intrusive and annoying, but I wanted to make
it irritating and unpleasant for them. It was obviously completely futile, so after a while I stopped, accepted defeat and submitted.
Authorities count on people either being passive and distracted (for 9/11 we didn't even have social media and Netflix to divide us and really be distracted) or scared ("we want you to be safe", "public health", etc.), preferably both.
My subversive go-to was making them test my children's drinks that I brought on board--we always had long haul flights and the airlines don't stock what they liked. I did that until the youngest was 5 and it got harder to pull off the act, so a good 8 years. We used to fly quite a lot. But we can't wear down thousands of Napolean agents before they were us down.... Absolutely the distracted and scared crap seems to work every time and just keeps getting easier.
Security theater, mask theater, covid theater - all part of the same plan, right? Way past time for the lions to rise up. If we roar, will the sheep wake up?
We never do anything -- we just whine, talk a lot and complain. And then we accept everything and they count on that. And they are really good at dividing us. We keep electing the same clowns, voting for "least bad"
candidates...
I think that's about to end.
I wish I shared your optimism. If 70%-80% of people are vaccinated or perfectly happy to comply with anything, do you think that group cares if you can't go to a restaurant, or fly or go to work?
But if you took out Twitter/FB/Instagram/Netflix, or alcohol was not available for a couple of weeks, you would have riots on your hand pretty quickly. Take away mind-numbing gadgets and substances and people would be forced to confront the reality and the real world.
also maybe it's just an excuse not to socialize? the catnip for karens post was very illuminating on this point.
Don't forget "lazy". People call me out saying they don't see the evidence for Fauci's complicity in unleashing covid. Then when I point them to the proof they say they don't have time, and who can you trust, blah blah blah.
But yet their cousins the Scandinavians are allowing themselves to be ruled by reason. Funny, the actual blond haired blue eyed Vikings that Hitler worshipped are actually the only sane ones on a country wide basis in the world.
As forest gump said, stupid is as stupid does.
Great addition and new to me; big time thanks for the wisdom... sad it's so useful, but better to be clear about the gravest threats we face! :~)
Pondering what state has a firewall. Is it Wyoming with its tiny population and vast spaces? Texas with its independent spirit? Florida with its smart and effective liberty minded governor? I’m picking one and going with it next year. Free my children first from Newscum and Commiefornia.
Jim, if you come to Florida, just know that South Florida ( Miami, Ft. Laud and Palm Beach) are very blue. Go to the West Coast of Florida or northern Florida.
Good to know, my wife gets fired Nov 30 for vaxx non-compliance and I bet my job is not far behind.
Tell her to hold her head high as she exits and not give them an ounce of emotion. Have a party with balloons and celebrate her breaking free from the heathens.
Headed for Lakewood Ranch, Bradenton most likely
bradenton is lovely, nice people. wishing you and your family the best with your move.
Thank you Laura, not official yet but hope soon!
fingers crossed!
He’s the anti-Trump, soft spoken but informed and straight to the point
Tampa and Orlando are big busy cities. Tampa on the west coast is better, nice beaches but if you want time at Disney, Orlando or the city of Celebration is the place to be. Jax has gorgeous beaches and nice atmosphere. Unfortunately, you will need a car. Public transport is lacking and not always dependable. the further you are away from SFL, the more peace of mind you will have.
Seems like DeSantis is cruising into another term, but he has made himself quite the target. Thoughts?
We are all targets at one time or another.
He is really trying to keep federal mandates out of Florida and allow parents to make choices for their children (jabs and masks). Wants Florida to have robust workforce. He also believes that unjabbed citizens should be given the same health care availability as the jabbed. He is moderate and does not suffer fools. I do hope he sticks around bc Florida is doing ok right now.
Agree about him sticking around. FL may be the only island of sanity in a few months. I've written him a few times and last time told him a big part of me hoped he wouldn't run for president in 2024 bc we need an outpost of sanity. I'm in a red state with a RINO governor who's regularly MIA. At least we have an AG with a spine.
Tennessee’s legislature meets beginning this week to push back against mandates. I’ve been suspicious about Gov. Lee and think he might be in the same category as Kristi Noem and her “special relationship “ with Sanford Health. I am hopeful the legislature will get it done. We have a decent attorney general, as well. But DeSantis and his top leadership are hard to beat. I’m a California native, too. I love my Tennessee mountains.
Williamson County schools (Franklin TN area) are segregating unmasked children into their own classrooms like unmentionables, and Gov Lee is standing by and doing nothing. Knox county not far behind. I seriously considered TN but with its RINO guv and it’s nighttime tornadoes I gave it a pass. Look up Dixie Alley. Godspeed!
I hate to hear that. He did file an appeal this week in the Knox County case. The kids in the more rural areas haven’t worn masks since last year. I don’t think they missed more than a couple of weeks of school, either. The closer you get to the Smokies, the less extreme weather we get.
Hoping that TN pulls thru with abandoning mandates. We are all quite capable of making our own decisions. Wishing you the best and yes, the TN mountains are gorgeous.
Lee got rid of mask mandates for school children by executive order but was stopped by the courts. We never had a statewide mask mandate, just some strong arming. But the jab mandates have started, the university system just started pushing them for employees.
Hoping common sense and real science prevails.
there is just no way any remotely informed health agency could come up with this “solution.”
Probably the most critical sentence. Are the actions of so many of the world's governments consistent with the hypothesis that they are acting rationally in response to the evidence or in the interests of health? Right from the very start it was known this was not a super-duper deadly virus. Serious maybe. Serious in the same ballpark as flu. Not even close to the severity of something like Ebola.
Yet here in the UK we've essentially trashed our economy, restricted freedoms, locked down, masked, sanitized, injected ourselves in an almost religious frenzy, closed businesses, closed schools, messed up our kids mental health AND their education, delayed vital treatments and diagnoses consigning thousands to long-term suffering and even death, turned ourselves into hypochondriacs frightened of the merest sniffle . . . and for what?
We're not appreciably better off now than we were a year ago, and I would suggest even worse. Yet here we are, facing more restrictions and lockdowns - the very things, along with the vaccines, that have been such a stunning "success" for us.
At least we haven't gone as far as Austria seem to want to . . . . . . . yet.
Does any of this seem reasonable as a response to a disease that might be about twice as bad as a severe flu in terms of overall mortality? Do vaccines passports make any sense whatsoever in terms of public health? Do we imagine our leaders to be quite so stupid and inept not to see what is so obvious to anyone taking an honest look at the data?
The question has to be why. The scale of the deceit, deception and duplicity have been quite remarkable - not to mention the extraordinary propaganda and suppression of information. Does any of this measure up to the actual threat level posed by this double-flu?
We've acted, or rather been continuously driven to act, as if we were facing an Ebola-level threat. A lot of people seem to still be terrified, the spectre of covid is the thing that seems to consume them, being the only thing they can focus on. Why have we been driven to this point?
One thing you can bet your house on. It's not about health.
i completely echo your feeling. i am in spain and have the eerie feeling it's just a matter of time until we go the france/italy/lithuania/austria route. currently, in catalonia, covid passes are 'only' needed for night clubs but the catalan government has been talking about extending them to restaurants, coffeeshops, gyms, movie theaters, etc. for months. they haven't done it yet because it is likely that, either the catalan supreme court of the spanish one will overrule it. however, i am also positive that, sooner or later, the gov will find a way to bypass that, maybe by voting some new law into existence. vaccination rates are very high over here and cases are low at the moment, it doesn't matter. to make things even better, the national pediatrics organisation has started advising parents to jab kids 6 months and older with the flu vaccine this year. this has never been the case. ever. meanwhile, civil society doesn't bat an eye and even clamour for stricter measures :(
thanks for this update. it sounds a lot like the netherlands at the moment. frogs boiling slowly.
the catalan government has announced that once we reach 100 ppl in the icu, they're extending covid passports to gyms, restaurants, cinemas, etc. they're about 90 people in there at the moment, so we're probably a few degrees drop away from that happening
waiting for the next set of rules tonight. so far it's been leaked no gyms for unvaxxed. I think they are trying to get to the control group that's messing with their data. the health conscious conscientious objectors. the screws are being tightened.
the final solution?????
These are people who once lived under Nazi rule. They must have very short memories.
Birthplace of Hitler, maybe? The history teaches us that it teaches us nothing. Them too.
Some smartass once said that Austria is the nation that turned Mozart into an Austrian and Hitler into a German. 😃
exactly, one skinny guy with a moustache and they listened to him.....good frickin grief.
They did not exactly voted for him. Germany voted for him and then they took over Austria.
Well annexed enthusiastically.
And according to one of the answers on this post (https://www.quora.com/What-percent-of-the-German-population-voted-for-Hitler?share=1), only 26.7% of eligible Germans voted for him in what is considered the last free election of that era.
Next perhaps we will see the unjabbed with a colored band around their arms to signify the unclean and dangerous status that they demonstrate.
Won't be long. A local hospital is making employees with exemptions from the jabs wear special name badges advertising they are unvaxed.
https://floridanewstimes.com/vaccine-exempt-nch-employees-must-display-the-vaccine-on-their-badge/358110/
This is in addition to being forced to wear a N95 their entire shift, not just with covid patient's. Of course when covid arose and there were shortages of PPE, these folks wore just surgical masks or used the same N95 masks with covid patients for several days in a row. This is the hospital's way of firing those with exemptions. The badge let's everyone know they have one. The N95 allows them to be reported and fired if removed briefly to breathe or drink while away from patients.
this story pisses me off. I would make a huge badge that all could see very easily and wear it as a badge of honor. i would turn it around on those MFers and brag how I am unvaxxed. Shove it right up their asses. You want to "f" with me, I will "f" you right back bigger and better and louder.
That is BS. I would refuse to wear and remind them of following Gestapo tactics.
At least in Germany people learn a lot about the war. But it’s always said only right wing people do such things. Extremists of other ideology basically. Are good. 🤦♀️
Yes, the "right wingers" who created the National Socialist Workers Party are to blame. The distortion of German history by leftist academics and teachers is surely at the root cause of a lot of this.
Oi Vey!
i've been thoroughly disgusted with the general publics compliant response to the government abuse since this whole "pandemic" began. however, as pessimistic as i've grown over the past 18 months, i truly believe there will be a point that those in 'power' go too far, and the real american spirit is finally unleashed. *this* will be the country that eventually ends this shit. it will probably be a bit ugly, but we didn't start it, so i won't apologize.
I agree that it will take a horrible "event" to wake the sheeple from their slumber and to unveil the evil intent of Fraudci et al. I am afraid to say that it will likely be the deaths of severe vax injuries of HUNDREDS if not thousands of kiddos. I see so many young parents walking without masks but masking their littles on their way to school (walking OUTDOORS!!). These are the parents who are probably vaxxed and eagerly waiting to jab their babies. I don't see any other scenario capable to provoking the massive outrage needed to topple this tyrannical takeover by the WEF/Great Reset/Gates/Fauci mafia.
I fear for the children that will get the jab. They don't need it. And if something wicked happens to the children, that should be the straw that breaks the camels back and a firing squad for all those involved making, pushing ,mandating the jab. You just don't fuck (pardon the french) with peoples children. That line is sacred and must not be crossed.
Indeed.
Well, that's a happy thought.
Sadly, I'm not buying it. There is no American spirit that you claim that remains. The citizens of this country see nothing except blue or red. To see reality and live free is a bridge too far; each side looks for some magic leader to tell them what to think or how to act. Like school children, we seek to be told what to do.
When your ugliness comes, it won't be anything except violence and hatred. Thinking it will lead to reconciliation or a new beginning is a pipe dream. It will only be the new normal.
Although I see your point and somewhat share your view on a few points Dana, I have American Spirit and the bridge for me is not too far. I do not need any numbnut telling me how to live or act. I do not seek to be told what to do bc most of those that try to tell me are a cookie short of the jar. However, your point on red and blue is valid. I am an independent so I have no dog in that race but fanatics on either side piss me off. And fanatics on one side are running wild. Will there be violence, probably. Will there be hatred, indeed. But for me and IMHO, keeping our republic safe from fanaticism and tyranny is worth bloodshed if need be (I truly hope not) and as for hatred, time will tell. No new normal for me and I will fight it to the end if needs must. Thank you for a different view. Always good to have robust opinions.
Yes, we would be the ones to stop it. And if it gets ugly, then so be it. We have to beat it back.
Hope you are right
Americans just went through totally fraudulent elections but half of people were cheering and the other half are sitting on their asses, doing nothing. Maybe useless flag waving with new slogans, new social media memes, parades and weekend barbecues. Oh yeah, that will show those fuckers in DC! Any minute now they will surrender!
Australia, Canada and New Zealand are really fucking losing it, despite being solid western democracies for hundreds of years.
In other words, a tyrannical takeover can happen anywhere and there is no special magical sauce against it. Your americanism, australialism or whatever-ism will not protect you from it. All you can do is fight against it but the end results are not guaranteed. Just look at North Korea. 80 years of hard pain for the populace and no end in sight.
Those "solid western democracies for hundreds of years" you speak of were built on the genocide and oppression of their native populations, so the fact that they are now turning even a small part of that energy towards a different subset of their populations should be no great surprise. What goes around always comes around eventually. Those who did not speak up against it then should not be so shocked to find that it's their turn now.
That SJW twisted history fiction bullshit about whites being especially bad and everybody else being just noble innocent savages taking a beating from evil whites is getting fucking tiresome. It was a brutal world out there.
Native Indians resorted to cannibalism, tribal wars were brutal, slaves were common, rapes of enemy tribe women were common, there were no POW laws. It was the whites who started the change for better like abolishing the slave trading, going on for thousands of years everywhere. Still going on in Africa and Middle East.
We made the mistake of believing, after WW2, that fascism had been eradicated. Turns out it was only dormant.
Diana West’s The Red Thread book provides details on how far it goes back.
Indeed, don't get a cat pissed off at you...next thing gifts left on beds and outside the box if you know what I mean. Too bad we can't arm cats, they have more bravado than anyone I know. They would get the job done with a whoop-assing so bad the other side would never have seen it coming.
Following on the the Karens piece earlier, perhaps people have no need for freedom. They had that and didn't like it because it created the expectation that they do something with it.
With freedom comes responsibility
You know things are devastatingly bad when Putin has to warn the West: https://www.dailywire.com/news/putin-warns-wokeness-is-destroying-the-west-it-happened-in-russia-its-evil-it-destroys-values
I swear to God if Russia ends up being a refuge...
Just last night, I said to my wife that we should sell everything, go to the Russian embassy in Vancouver, and ask for Political Asylum. We are prisoners in Canada, no way out of the country otherwise, with our rights stripped away. What have we got to lose? Could that rock the world?
And then you have China criticizing Australia for its draconian measures! 😆🤡🙃
https://conservativefiringline.com/not-satire-china-criticizes-australias-military-covid-lockdown-as-draconian-video/
We are living in Bizarro World.
See, it's developments like this that convince me that we're living in a simulation and the game devs are laughing their asses off.
😹😹😹 Too bad they’re psychopathic sadists, but I suppose watching people enjoy happy, peaceful, kind, and loving lives is awfully boring compared to mayhem, villainy, and torture.
That is one heck of an idea!!
Right?!?!
🤣🤦♀️
Holy moly. Can’t help but think of Yuri Bezmenov’s revelations/warnings (I believe this interview is from 1984, ironically): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bX3EZCVj2XA
Perhaps they should look at vaccination status for ICU admissions, and if the majority are vaccinated, then house-arrest the vaccinated instead of the unvaccinated.
Of course this is insane, unless your goal is to increase vaccination rates at all costs.
Infections and hospitalizations would continue to climb among the vaccinated even if all unvaccinated, including babies, are locked at home. Then who woukd they blame? Animals? I guess the next step would be killing all of nature. But still the infections would climb even after more boosters so then they would say that certain vaccinees must be locked away, based on social credit score, to save the rest. And so on. First they came for the unvaxxed …
they would fudge the #'s.
Short sharp conversation between 3 in my house in Wales this morning: Me regretting 1 vax back in Jan born of panic and ignorance. My wife and her bosom-buddy both double-jabbed and not getting boosted.
CDC is getting ready to move that goalpost.
Yep.
https://www.theepochtimes.com/cdc-director-definition-of-fully-vaccinated-may-change-in-the-future_4063850.html
Since the jabs don't stop infection with or transmission of the virus, their futile attempts will fail.
Hold the line. Do not comply.
I’m the cat who shat outside the box. Love it.
I'm the cat who shat and pissed outside the box...top that!