how fetching and poignant to see the AP (rightly) describing internet and social media censorship as a “tried and true authoritarian method of stifling dissent.”
for indeed this is very much the case. but what then are we to make of US media’s failure to apply these same criteria to issues at home like this:
or like this:
or this charming initiative from that hotbed of orwellian overreach, the UK:
one might even go so far as to wonder about a double standard here.
it’s censorship to push authoritarian ends when THEY do it,
but “fact checking for reasons of good and light when WE do it?
or might this be something a bit more sinister where those with power seek to keep it by misrepresenting their own actions and accusing their opponents and detractors of the very crimes that they themselves are committing?
to be sure, they would not be the first to have this idea…
this is the problem with the demagogues and the rabidly self-righteous.
they know full well they lie, but they believe they lie to you for your own good because they know best.
they believe they can better govern by diktat the poor benighted masses that these pitiful proles can govern themselves.
a dying media monopoly desperate for relevance and attention is only too happy to help them impose and excuse a form of governance that is inherently and always coercive tyranny.
they believe they must force “rightthink” upon you and silence “wrongthink.”
they cannot convince, so they must compel.
“lie ‘till you comply” becomes the order of the day.
they believe in their own absolute right to do this to you.
they believe that, in the internet age, the ends justify the memes.
and this is why you cannot trust them. it is not a sound basis for morality nor human interaction.
for they will hector you endlessly, push their totalitarian policies into every cranny of your lives, and worst of all leave you in constant fear of the thought police.
Reading 1984 with a mask on. In an environment rich with stack ironic contrast this maybe the gold standard.
I had an eye opening medical primary care visit today. I wrote this email to my provider >
"Hello Wendy. I left your office a few minutes go after a tech or nurse denied me access to service because I did not cover my nose with my cloth mask (not a n95). When I tried to explain that it was a breathing issue, she continued to insist on my compliance without offering any other means to satisfy protocol (i.e. waiver, face shield). Then I was told of her denial of service to me. I decided to leave the office quietly, as many were in the waiting room seeking attention...."
Nothing like the petty tyrants who ought never be granted authority over others > "You do not speak for me."
After I finally took the plunge and contacted several providers in my area for Direct Primary Care. I now have two 'meet and greet' consults this week. I hope today was the fuel I needed to leave corporate medicine (or at least reduce my exposure) >
https://www.dpcare.org/