But.. there IS a Them, and They DID do this to us.
I didn't shutter all my clients' businesses and lock myself in my house. I didn't forbid myself from seeing friends and family and lock children out of school and playgrounds. I didn't choose to degrade and torture myself by wearing a face covering all day like a chattel wife under orthodox Islam.
I'm angry, and it has not affected anyone else. But I've had plenty done to me in the past two years that had nothing to do with flame wars on forums (I'm not on any) or hate- reading social media (I'm not on any).
There is a Them, and They are trying to crush me to death like a python, and I hate Them.
agreed, but it's a separate issue and one that's far easier for that them do do to us while we are all ramped up into aversive and adversarial arousal states and tearing into one another.
the two problems interlock there and retuning us to a rational and reasonable state seems like it would be a big help in both seeing and addressing the "other them."
disrupt the carrier wave and the feedback loop and authoritarian the propaganda that underpins and allows to exist and persist such outrages against out liberty loses virulence.
It's difficult to be motivated to stop being angry at your abuser while you're still being abused.
I understand what you're saying, gato. You separate the brownshirts from the architects.
I'm not sure I do.
Part of me wants to be the better woman, part of me doesn't. They'll still be there when- IF- this is ever over- ready to tell me I'm evil and call for goons to end me.
You're a nobler person than me. It's why I read you.
that's not really quite what i'm saying. i have the utmost disdain and aggression for the borwnshirts and those who put them into play and weaponize them.
that's something of a separate issue.
my point here is that the current toxic state of media is less a plot than an emergent property of the medium. they could never plot it to be like this were that not so. their plots are more incidental than planful. look how savagely stupid they are when they try to play manipulative games and how they step on the streisand effect rake, over and over.
it's important to diagnose the issues properly. if we want to ever see real news again, we need to support those that provide it and stop allowing those see3king to profit from our rage to monetize the act of inflaming us. we need to stop spreading the stories that make us mad or at least stop doing to in a way that let's those spreading them profit from it.
the issue of government and the winged monkeys of wokedom is a separate issue and one that's going to require more substantial action. the only decent response to a two party system where both are increasingly authoritarian and have been setting up a structural system of ever tightening control and ever lessening choice in a one way ratchet is outrage and outrage needs to turn to something impactful. the horns of the horseshoe are now so close that the GOP neocons are basically blurring in the the democrat social planners and over a shared interest in warmongering and social planning. haliburton is blending into google and seeking oligarchy.
but none of this will work on media until we eliminate the profitability of inflaming the public and we can only do that by ceasing to fall for the same dumb tricks. i keep waiting for the societal immune system to evolve, but it seems like the mimetic pathogens are outpacing it in the arms race.
we need to start winning that or the society will be in the constant state of agitation and sub rational limbic tribalism that makes it easy prey for demagogues, and we're going to really struggle in the bigger fight if that is the gerund we're standing on.
We have lived in an upside-down autocracy since March, 2020. Instead of the state controlling the media, the media fabricates and choreographs the state, with the result that the media *is* the state (or rather, co-regent with the deep state). Either way entry into the autocracy is via a fabricated emergency (state of exception) and the media's role is constant pro-state propaganda and targeting of scapegoats for extermination. This has nothing to do with driving clicks. It was a coup.
The flaw in the upside-down autocracy, however, is that the resulting Police State does not end up with enough police to suppress dissent. Lots of states will probably be declaring nullification or seceding within the next six months and there is nothing the federal government can do about it.
Many of the same people and organizations own or fund Big Pharm, Big Media and Big Medicine. They're the puppet masters. The rest are cowards or useful idiots.
Of course - but owning media would be valuable to the recipients of federal research money even if media had no direct interface with the state, merely for the end of promoting public myths of human dependence on medicine.
The true scale of media power goes way beyond merely selling drugs.
One benefit of this crazy time is that many have awakened to the daily manipulation coming at us from 360 degrees. If I think about it too long, I get very angry.
I agree with you, but it's also useful to see the other side. They would say we are keeping the pandemic going and killing people. How can we bridge this divide?
This is where I’m stuck right now, as well. I’ve got people I care about who remain utterly terrified, and for whom my being-not-terrified is felt by them as an existential threat. These aren’t people I can just toss overboard and out of my life. Because I care about them, I have to honor their fear, but I don’t wish to *enable* it any further. I don’t know how to do this. It is mentally and physically and spiritually exhausting.
I can only imagine. My husband is 100% with me on all of this. He counts on me to keep him informed as he's well-educated enough to understand the science thoroughly but passionately hates to wade through news. Thankfully my whole family was 100% behind my GTFO plan when NYC continued to spiral downhill.
They see us dressed as Darth, saying as sweetly as possible "I am not your ENEMY". No amount of data is gonna get round that (try CJ Hopkins 3-part Covidian Cult series on substack).
But what to do??? My stab:
1. Keep yourself ok. If things are exhausting you, that doesn't help anyone; so rather ease off / withdraw for a bit and get yourself back in balance.
2. Try not to feed / give in to any negative emotion. It's like a dopamine hit that will make you feel self-righteous for a while, but ultimately won't help
We can't. We get our legal climate back to a point where we can stay out of each other's way. We don't end up holding hands and slow-walking into the shining future.
I see the other side. It wants me dead or in jail in a perfect, and destitute and despised in
Long time reader, first time commenter here. For the past few months, your posts gave me hope that there was a way to get out of this, but everything I thought was possible became impossible on September 1st, when Quebec (the province I reside in), mandated vaccine passports. I thought I'd be able to find a restaurant or two that are not asking for the vpass, but nope! Businesses have no say in the matter - they have to oblige or else they get penalized. I can't even enter the botanical gardens anymore, an outdoor space (!) because it is on the list of places that requires the pass.
In a few weeks time Canada will be mandating the vaccine passport for international travel. That means no plane travel unless you are inoculated x2 and can provide proof. And I am desperately trying to decide where to go before I still can leave this country, but where? I'm in my twenties and I never thought that this would be something I'd have to worry about, but here we are. Anyone in the US hiring?
I agree, but unfortunately the populace that is refusing is so small in number that we're just white noise at the moment. Maybe more people will rise up when it's time for booster shot number ???? in order to keep their vaccine passes up to date. Instead, they are turning their anger towards the still very small minority that is refusing to comply.
I thought I could wait it out and more people would realize what's going on. The trouble is that most people are begging for the vaccine passports. They want it mandated. Students are protesting the fact that universities are not mandating the vaccine. They are comparing the pass to an immunization record and see absolutely no problem with it.
Fighting for my rights is looking a lot like sitting at home and twiddling my thumbs thinking this too shall pass. I don't have to go to indoor spaces, but the business are not affected by it because so many other people are going along with it.
I won't comply, but that just means I no longer have rights and liberties because not enough people are standing with me.
I think our ranks will increase by those who refuse the boosters. As of now, we're too outnumbered in many places, in large part because of overwhelming media bias pushing vaccination. Overall, they don't outnumber us. Compliance fatigue, particularly pertaining to vaccine boosters, is still to come. Like Gato said, lived experience will ultimately win out (or make it an even fight). Hang in there, Luna. No shame in getting the vaccine if you have to. They're formidable and might win this battle, but the war is just getting started.
Thanks for your comment, Mike. Despite what they try, I won't be coerced into getting the vaccine and the eternal boosters. The compliance fatigue is something that I'll hold on to, as it must be inevitable.
That's unless the mainstream media is successful in convincing everyone that the unvaccinated are spreading the virus/allowing it to mutate. Trudeau recently said that the unvaccinated are putting the vaccinated at risk. Logic ceases to exist.
That. Israel is now talking about a fourth dose. I think many folks were on the fence about the vaccine and now boosters? We gato readers all knew this will be a twice a year booster business but the broad masses didn’t…. Sure some eill line up for monthly boosters but not the broad masses. I don’t think so. Hope at least.
"Instead, they are turning their anger towards the still very small minority that is refusing to comply."
I see that over and over in most countries that are currently taking the dictatorial path. I really do not understand why it is so. It seems that we do not read the available information the same way and some people are listening to their overlords with a faith not seen in churches for long.
It's absolutely mind-bending. It's masterful, actually, what they have managed to pull off. It's brazen (Rolling Stones article). There are no facts anymore; just a well-orchestrated march towards Vax Passports, and then a small hop to Global Digital ID. (Which guess is the goal of this "Corona Round")
Everybody in the US is hiring. And realistically, we're always looking for anybody who's motivated and will show up on time. The bar is very very very low in the US.
It's a bit more difficult as the employer must be willing to hire someone who is not from the US. I don't know anyone from Canada who has been successful in getting a job in the US outside of academia.
But on a more serious note; we do all have to think through what we will do if "encouragement" -> "coercion" -> "enforcement"; and best to try and work out what you will accept, and what not; and make required plans......
A little late to the discussion, but have you considered Romania? If you're a French speaker the language should be very easy to pick up. I was in the same boat as you --- a Canadian desperately looking to leave before the govt traps us inside the country --- and did quite a bit of research regarding good 'escape' locations. I expect many countries in the Balkan region, such as Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, to weather the storm much better than just about anywhere else in Europe or the Americas. Entry is visa-free for Canadians to all these countries and residency is also relatively easy to attain in some cases. Not sure if substack has any sort of DM feature, but, if you want, I can always give you a more thorough rundown of what I know.
Great work; I think there are many 1000s out there (including myself) wondering what we will do if vaxing moves to enforcement - we might have to move to a jurisdiction that openly welcomes non-vaxed....? (Leading to a split world???)
Maybe a separate substack or Gab / Parler?
And one channel is "Where can i move to"; another could be "what are my legal rights in country xxxxx";
Now that I gave it a little more thought, I think this discussion can continue in this thread. In fact, it might be useful reading for others (such as yourself) and not just Luna. My main concern was accidently revealing personal details and the like, but I think it'll be OK.
Your thinking regarding legal rights is definitely solid. The problem we're facing, however, is that legal formalities have been abrogated by governments left and right. As a Canadian, for instance, I know my rights under our Charter, but in practice that document seems to be worth about the same as a roll of toilet paper. So, I would suggest people look less at de jure rights in various jurisdictions and rather focus on the de facto political and social circumstances.
I also believe that the social situation of any given country is much more significant than the political one. By social situation, I'm mostly referring to people's attitudes to C19, as well as their attitudes towards their government's response. How fearful are they of the disease? How fearful are they of the government? Are people able to see through propaganda? More generally, how much of the populace trust the authorities? Are people excessively law-abiding? Is there an established tradition of resistance against tyranny?
Another set of questions to consider is how will you fit into that society once you get there. Do you know the language at all? Do you know somebody within the country? Have you visited before? Not that all - or even any! - of these questions need to be answered in the affirmative, but you don't want to go somewhere halfway across the world and then end up hiding out isolated and lonely.
Wherever any of us are or wherever we may go, we really need to work on integrating and engaging with the communities of like-minded people around us. Truth be told, in the end, most of us will probably have to fight the Great Reset regardless where we may escape to, and that resistance starts first with fellowship and then organization.
Thanks, Eryk. I've actually considered many countries on your list. I know some people from the Balkan region who came to Canada because of the war in the 90s - they are in fact some of the only people recognizing the current situation, as well as the irony of going back to the place they left for a better life.
My hesitation is that many of these countries are facing their own tensions. From what I know, most people in the Balkan region want to move to the West for better opportunity etc., but they also fear that there will be another war due to political tensions. I'm not sure what the likelihood of this would be, but it's something that people have brought to my attention. I guess this is a risk with moving and a cost-benefit issue.
>>Wherever any of us are or wherever we may go, we really need to work on integrating and engaging with the communities of like-minded people around us.
Agreed, though I'm not sure how to find these. The best community I've found so far is the bad cat's substack.
Excellent point regarding future war in the Balkans. Giving this issue some thought, I'd say that as the West disintegrates another Balkan war becomes inevitable. It does certainly feel like a question of when not if: it could be fifty years from now or five. Not to sound overly dramatic, but, the way I see it, WW3 is already upon us anyway, so don't expect a peaceful, relaxed future in Canada or anywhere else, for that matter. Also, regarding your Eastern friends seeing things for what they are, I recall in the spring of 2020 meeting with some of my Slavic friends and everybody agreeing in unison: "Well, the communists are back!"
If you decide to stay in Canada, local to Quebec there have been quite a few sizeable (100,000+) protests in Montreal. Go to one of those, start talking to people and make some friends. There's also a federal election going on: talk to your PPC candidate, or, better yet, volunteer to help with the campaign. Think of these things less in terms of political statements and more in terms of personal networking and getting to know like-minded people. Those are just a few links and suggestions off the top of my head.
Thanks, Eryk. Perhaps there are countries considering offering "medical refugee" status? As in "I am facing forced vaccination in my home country and need to flee". That might be a last resort, but might be an option for some?
Did not look into that idea, but it could be a possibility in the future. Truth be told, if you have some money it's a lot easier to simply acquire residency through the existing channels in quite a few places. If you're relatively poor, then I would suggest going to a visa-free country and look to get hired by the locals. This might not be nearly as difficult for a Westerner as one might imagine. Start by contacting the expat community and ask around. Also, keep in mind that teaching English is usually an excellent option to gain both residency and a work permit. If you can't even afford a year or so of international travel, consider staying in your home country but try going rural. Again, talk to the locals and look for work.
Canada needs an entire new government, though I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that. You need provincial constitutions (i.e. federalism) and you need those constitutions to enshrine freedom of medical choice and remove all reference to "public health." The vaccinated need to stand with you - they have to already realize they will be targeted by endless booster requirements even if they start have second thoughts about it! - as well as the police obviously - but once you have that, the rest is a cakewalk (well, unless you descend into serial civil war). What is Trudeau going to do if you announce a provincial constitution? Go tell his mom?
If your fellow citizens and police won't stand with you, then you can consider the legal route. It's pretty clear that Public Health Act section 83 excludes the fake Covid vaccines, because they do not prevent individual transmission nor contribute to ending community transmission - http://legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/S-2.2?langCont=fr#se:83 - but that's only regarding a direct non-emergency mandate.
And then the "emergency mandate" power in section 123 doesn't define "vaccine," so you would have to argue that section 83's description applies to all legal references to vaccine - assuming your judges are as corrupt and cowardly as ours, good luck with that.
The powers granted by the act in Chapter XI, moreover, are explicitly unlimited, even outside of a self-declared emergency. Your public health directors are the executive and their powers are absolute; you basically live in China; it's right there on paper.
I understand your point, but I'm not sure I agree. I don't think we can create the world we want to live in...the world we thought we lived in until 18 months ago...just by changing our social media habits.
I joined Fakebook in 2015 when my children went away to college (they're twins) in different states far from home. Ironically, I wanted to advocate for the Meningitis B vaccine at Johns Hopkins. My purpose was to provide information that I thought most parents needed and didn't have. MenB had sickened, disabled, and even killed college students in the years prior. I, like most parents, had dutifully gotten my children the "Meningitis vaccine" when they were 11 yrs and the booster when they were 16 yrs. I thought they were fully protected but learned they were not during the college search. After many delays, I lost confidence the Bexsero vaccine (which had an EUA at Princeton) would be approved anytime soon, so we drove to Ontario during their first Thanksgiving break to get the vaccine with the help of a mother who lost her daughter to MenB in less than 36 hours from symptom onset. I gave them the booster myself at home a month later.
For the most part, the JHU parents I interacted with were thankful for the information. Some were hostile, which I found confusing and bizarre. (Not telling you what to do, folks, just giving you information I have that I suspect you don't have.) It was, for me, a moral imperative to share the information. I did interact a few times with the medical director of the student health center. I can't say what he thought about notifying parents and students. His hands were tied because some JHU doctors were on the ACIP panel.
Eventually, the ACIP did approve the MenB vaccines (Bexsero and Trumenba); but they do not recommend them...which means most pediatricians won't recommend them and most insurers won't cover them. Some universities now recommend a MenB vaccine. A handful require it to live in university housing. Most schools don't actually require a meningitis vaccine of any kind; they require a student to sign a waiver if he or she is unvaccinated.
After going through this experience wrt the MenB vaccines and colleges/universities, I was astounded by their bizarre and confusing response to the C19 "vaxxines". Invasive meningococcal infection has a 15%-20% mortality rate. Many who recover are permanently disabled (cognitive injuries, amputations, hearing loss). Adolescents and young adults have a high carriage rate and engage in behaviors that increase the risks (smoking, sharing drinks and food, kissing). While the absolute risk is low, the consequences of invasive infection can be terrible.
At the time, MenB accounted for about 33% of all invasive infections in the US. The serogroup for most infections is never identified, so the percentage may have been much higher. MenB is the primary serogroup in many foreign countries that send students to American universities. I do not understand how the CDC ACIP justified a recommendation for the MenACWY vaccines and not the MenB vaccines. It makes no sense. It was heartrending to watch the testimony of parents who'd lost children and those who'd recovered but had amputations and other injuries. They desperately wanted to spare others the pain they were experiencing, and the ACIP was, imo, indifferent.
Now hundreds of US colleges and universities are mandating two experimental gene therapy injections that employ a technology never before approved for use in human beings to allegedly protect students from a virus that does not threaten most of them and that many (most?) have already had. We have no idea what the longterm consequences for their health may be. None. Colleges and universities continue the mandate despite clear knowledge...admitted by the CDC director...that these injections do not prevent infection or transmission of the virus.
The Public Health England (PHE) data increasingly undercuts the CDC claim that these injections protect from serious disease or death. The "fully vaccinated" are less likely to be infected, but they're closing the gap quickly. The ratio of Delta infections in the unvaxxed to fully vaxxed has dropped from 6.7 as of June 21 to 1.9 as of August 29. Infections in the partially/fully vaxxed have now surpassed infections in the unvaxxed. And deaths have been upside down for weeks. According to PHE, the fully vaxxed were less likely to be infected with the Delta variant, less likely to seek care, less likely to be hospitalized...but more of them died.
There has been a coordinated attack against Ivermectin just as there was against Hydroxychloroquine. I don't know if either of these drugs are effective against the virus. Many of the doctors who've successfully treated C19 patients (Marek, Kory, Zelenko, Fareed, McCullough, Smith) say they help. I'd like the option to try them should I need them. Why would anyone listen to Fauci or Jha or Gupta or any of the other professional talking head "doctors" who haven't treated a single C19 patient? Fauci hasn't treated a patient in over 40 years.
Something is wrong in the world. IMO, it cannot be explained by stupidity or arrogance or greed or hubris or cya. It's happening all over the world. How? Why? By whom? For what purpose?
I agree that spinning our wheels with useless anger isn't helping us. The first step is to accept that we are where we are and what is happening in the world is really happening. We will not be able to reach everyone. We will not be able to save everyone. We have no idea what the future holds, but we must hold onto hope and faith.
Don't react. Provide information. Engage in a civil manner. If you can't, walk away. "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet." (Matthew 10:14).
It may help to believe that we are getting what we create with our reactions.
While that may play a role, I don't believe that is the cause of our current reality.
I've become convinced the political spectrum (at its core) is collectivism (left) vs individualism (right). Each see the world differently and struggle to understand the other, thus a clear dividing line can be seen in times like this. Plus, there's a natural tension between the two, despite being morally neutral. This "natural tension" can graduate to overt hostility in the absence of wisdom and self-restraint. I believe what we're seeing now is an atheist collectivist uprising. Their numbers have been growing rapidly in the recent years (the atheist part, as we've always had collectivists). It's quite possible atheist collectivists simply can't handle individual liberty, for themselves or anyone else, eventually being overcome with anxiety. Anxiety gives way to paranoia and madness. This is where we're at. A huge segment of our population (and the institutions which they control) are revolting against freedom. The optimistic part is I think this is only a collectivist issue, although the media fear tactics bring some less astute individualists to their side, providing them with only a temporary majority. Individualists represent half of the population. Individualists have been dumbfounded by all of this, but it's becoming more clear. Individualists are numerous and formidable as well, and we've got Gato on our side. I like our chances.
i fear that much of the right is increasingly collectivist as well. the neocon nation builders and moralistic social planners look just like the socialists and fascists of the left. halliburton blends into google into one authoritarian state bridging left and right.
it's making left vs right a less and less relevant distinction. the real axis is authoritarian vs liberty. i think it's important to keep that in mind.
I take a step back from that view. Most of the people in power are interested in maintaining power. Very few are true believers in whichever ideology they claim to espouse, but they are masters are manipulating people into us-versus-them. And to gato's point, we let them...maybe even encourage them.
Freedom is hard. It requires commitment to oneself and to others. It means taking responsibility. I've said this before, but we've been conditioned to live as though we're driving around in the backseat of our mom's SUV (in my case, a station wagon). We've grown soft from modern conveniences. Our ancestors spent most of the warm months preparing to survive the cold months. Our parents and grandparents understood the connection between a chicken and dinner. For my generation, chicken came shrink wrapped in the grocery store. For my children's generation, chicken comes via Uber.
Do you remember the outrage after Hurricane Katrina? I literally heard people say that the government should have done something. Ummm. Wut. We don't control the weather. We never have. Storms happen. Sometimes they hit the US. You live along the coast or in a city built in a swamp that sits below sea level. Oh, and your crooked government diverted federal tax dollars for years instead of shoring up the levees.
The modern world is an illusion. We are all just one bad solar storm or EMP away from 1850. With all of the dystopian tv shows and movies, you would think people understood...but they don't.
I agree with you that most people are individualists at heart. Most people don't want some nameless, faceless authority telling them what to do.
i'm not sure that most people are individualists. i think that they were, but it changed when we settled down for agriculture. (there is a wild drop in y chromosome diversity right about them. about 75% was culled. that was likely the truly independent ones who would not get in line and respect the government etc)
people seem to feel a powerful need to be a part of something bigger than they are. religion has traditionally filled this need. i suspect it attenuated into a really beneficial meme like Protestantism that set off the enlightenment. but now it has faded too far and that human need is left unmet, the receptor open. and collectivism moves in.
collectivism is a nasty disease. it makes people think they have a right to kill individual ants for the good of the ant farm and that they have some anointed right and special knowledge that permits it. it's a nasty, brutish self-aggrandizing way to bully people and demand that they call you virtuous for it.
very seductive to a certain kind of narcissist, sociopath, and the poorly calibrated useful idiots they co-opt.
so perhaps what we are really looking for cannot be rooted in faith that humanity will clamor to stand as individuals but rather a system that protects us when they don't.
that was the genius of a republic with primacy of individual rights and government limited to enumerated powers to limit it's mischief and evil.
but we're losing it and have been accelerating that loss since the 1930's.
Like it all, cmpalmer75, except, yes the last bit. We are definitely not all individualists at heart. Probably more like conformists. And i do think the / a base continuum is Authoritarian <-> Freedom
I understand your point. I guess it depends on how you define the term "individualist". I mean simply that people don't like being told what to do by faceless, nameless, and often arbitrary authority figures. They may go along initially but over time they become angry.
Whether they become angry enough to sacrifice safety for security or "fitting in" is another story. I guess it depends on how bad it gets...and then the costs are very high.
I've been joking for years that modern medicine and the modern world has weakened the genome. I've wondered how many times I would have succumbed to illness or injury in another era. The generations that came before us were so much stronger and tougher than we are.
Exactly - which also explains the widespread acceptance of boosters, and complete OK-ness with the commitment to Forever Pandemic. The herd immunity con was only ever directed at the marginal group who still trusted that jumping through just one more hoop would open up the cage; most of the vaccinated wanted the cage to stay in place all along.
re your "I don't know if either of these drugs are effective against the virus." I came across this site which seems legit - live links to all studies comparing early treatment - www.c19early.com
Thanks. I've seen that site. I have all the protocols (FLCCC, McCullough, and Zelenko) printed off and ready to go should we need them. I'm in two queues to see a doctor for prophylactic Ivermectin and HCQ, and I have a stockpile of the nutraceutical alternatives.
I put the caveat in there because of the controversy. I'm drug averse and prefer not to take anything; but a friend of mine, her husband, and one of their young adult children caught the virus a few weeks ago. It sounds awful. I definitely don't want to catch it.
Your forgot a step. Block ads everywhere. I recommend the Brave browser coupled with uBlock origin extension and it helps a lot. This way you can consume content and not reward them with any ad views. Works on YouTube as well, haven’t seen an ad for ages on the desktop.
Rolling Stone (Virginia Tech?) starts the circle jerk and look at the caravan if idiots that climb aboard.
A reminder to all the little authoritarians > "Any steps that you think ought to be taken against me, will be mirrored by the same steps taken against you."
I have a friend at work that used to seriously state “social media will be the downfall of society” years ago. I never argued against that position, but felt it was more nuanced than that. At times, it certainly seems prophetic nowadays.
Where I can, I try to explain to people that things are messy and dirty. In other words, we can’t break things down to binary positions that are black and white; oftentimes things are myriads of gray. This applies to most things around us— history, science, politics, religion, etc. it’s difficult to claim a singular known truth.
Social media provides an instant gratification, through likes, positive affirmations to ones beliefs, and an ego boosting echo chamber that can make one feel confident in ones mindset. But it’s dangerous in that it can insulate one from another side and challenges to how we think. Without these challenges, we don’t advance. Innovation, discovery, etc. are products of swimming upstream against the mainstream.
We are all guilty of this. But it’s important to recognize ones own biases to explore another side, lest we get caught into the same trap we are desperately fighting against.
In the end, it is alway money. And power. Social media and media has these things at stake. Disrupting these would help fracture the stranglehold, I would think.
El gato, I appreciate your dedication to writing these articles. Certainly an inspiration to me to consider the same and a light on days when I need it. Keep up the good work.
Many inconvenient truths here. Yet I beleive what we let happen is accepting and not destroying and shaming any information that is not backed up by at least 2 notable and reliable sources. This used to be the standard to allow reported stories or data.
Sure, but what's the point of credibility if you never expend it? The media saw the country either rejecting or losing interest their curated rendition of America™; their former perfunctory devotion to accuracy went out the window the moment Trump won the nomination. This is a staged emergency sustained by deliberate propaganda to perpetuate state power (which always directly empowers the entity that makes the state visible, i.e. the media), nothing more.
Yet half of America and the world is still under covid tyranny and hypnosis. There has been nothing but increased stories without one yet two credible sources to back it up. It has to made unacceptable and subject to punishment to report such nonsense.
So well written . So true. I cancelled my facebook account in 2019 . I felt so much more relaxed and happy. I never used twitter. I barely use instagram
Glenn Greenwald has had some very insightful things to say about this
Legacy media companies have adopted a business model the modus operandi of which is to excite , enrage and frighten in order to get you to watch advertising
Stephen King sells book promising to scare you.
Marvel comic movies get the dopamine flowing
Mainstream news is selling rage!
Those of us who can put this in perspective have to opt out and watch the rest consume eachother
I couldn't find Glenn on substack; but followed him on Twitter - BUT I actually need to scale down / get off Twitter - anyone know if he's anywhere else?
Oye, hombre: "ouropurros" is plain brilliant. Cat eating tail. Just brilliant. I happen to know folks at the Stone Rolling. Fabrication for monetization is feature, not bug.
Liberal use of the block function is essential for a good social media experience. Before I ditched FB for good, I commented and 'reacted' to all the cat pictures. Result: Facebook shows me more cat pictures.
"knowledge of self is power to shape the self. embrace the process and learn to turn it into something more useful. transfer that energy to something else."
This is the core of simulation command. Turn away from the negative and use that energy to embrace the positive.
The Almighty Algorithm has taken control. There's nothing we can do about it. Being a machine, he has no compassion for our current suffering. And the hard thing to accept about Darwinian natural selection is that replicators win, regardless of suffering. Memes that speak to the amygda and bypass the frontal lobes cannot be beaten. Unabomber time?
>>"it turns the internet into a voting machine whereby the audience of a horror move ballots in real time about what monster would be scariest in the next scene and then unfailingly delivers just that focus group tested avatar to menace them."
Ah yes, tulpas. Or almost anyway. A couple of the paranormal podcasts I listen to have talked about how humanity is essentially doing just that via the internet.
But.. there IS a Them, and They DID do this to us.
I didn't shutter all my clients' businesses and lock myself in my house. I didn't forbid myself from seeing friends and family and lock children out of school and playgrounds. I didn't choose to degrade and torture myself by wearing a face covering all day like a chattel wife under orthodox Islam.
I'm angry, and it has not affected anyone else. But I've had plenty done to me in the past two years that had nothing to do with flame wars on forums (I'm not on any) or hate- reading social media (I'm not on any).
There is a Them, and They are trying to crush me to death like a python, and I hate Them.
This has nothing to do for me with outrage porn.
agreed, but it's a separate issue and one that's far easier for that them do do to us while we are all ramped up into aversive and adversarial arousal states and tearing into one another.
the two problems interlock there and retuning us to a rational and reasonable state seems like it would be a big help in both seeing and addressing the "other them."
disrupt the carrier wave and the feedback loop and authoritarian the propaganda that underpins and allows to exist and persist such outrages against out liberty loses virulence.
It's difficult to be motivated to stop being angry at your abuser while you're still being abused.
I understand what you're saying, gato. You separate the brownshirts from the architects.
I'm not sure I do.
Part of me wants to be the better woman, part of me doesn't. They'll still be there when- IF- this is ever over- ready to tell me I'm evil and call for goons to end me.
You're a nobler person than me. It's why I read you.
that's not really quite what i'm saying. i have the utmost disdain and aggression for the borwnshirts and those who put them into play and weaponize them.
that's something of a separate issue.
my point here is that the current toxic state of media is less a plot than an emergent property of the medium. they could never plot it to be like this were that not so. their plots are more incidental than planful. look how savagely stupid they are when they try to play manipulative games and how they step on the streisand effect rake, over and over.
it's important to diagnose the issues properly. if we want to ever see real news again, we need to support those that provide it and stop allowing those see3king to profit from our rage to monetize the act of inflaming us. we need to stop spreading the stories that make us mad or at least stop doing to in a way that let's those spreading them profit from it.
the issue of government and the winged monkeys of wokedom is a separate issue and one that's going to require more substantial action. the only decent response to a two party system where both are increasingly authoritarian and have been setting up a structural system of ever tightening control and ever lessening choice in a one way ratchet is outrage and outrage needs to turn to something impactful. the horns of the horseshoe are now so close that the GOP neocons are basically blurring in the the democrat social planners and over a shared interest in warmongering and social planning. haliburton is blending into google and seeking oligarchy.
but none of this will work on media until we eliminate the profitability of inflaming the public and we can only do that by ceasing to fall for the same dumb tricks. i keep waiting for the societal immune system to evolve, but it seems like the mimetic pathogens are outpacing it in the arms race.
we need to start winning that or the society will be in the constant state of agitation and sub rational limbic tribalism that makes it easy prey for demagogues, and we're going to really struggle in the bigger fight if that is the gerund we're standing on.
I think I understand your point, and I agree that we need to starve toxic media rather than masturbate to it.
To be clear, I agree wholeheartedly that people feeding us poison shouldn't be getting our coin or our time. I don't give it to them.
I think I started to muddy the waters blending in issues of The Good Fight when the discussion was actually, "don't love your propagandist."
We are definitely kindred spirits.
I think so, too. I've seen you on TCW (though I don't comment) and I like your stuff.
TCW? I'm trying to remember which one that is.
The Conservative Woman? I thought I saw you in the comments.
We have lived in an upside-down autocracy since March, 2020. Instead of the state controlling the media, the media fabricates and choreographs the state, with the result that the media *is* the state (or rather, co-regent with the deep state). Either way entry into the autocracy is via a fabricated emergency (state of exception) and the media's role is constant pro-state propaganda and targeting of scapegoats for extermination. This has nothing to do with driving clicks. It was a coup.
The flaw in the upside-down autocracy, however, is that the resulting Police State does not end up with enough police to suppress dissent. Lots of states will probably be declaring nullification or seceding within the next six months and there is nothing the federal government can do about it.
Many of the same people and organizations own or fund Big Pharm, Big Media and Big Medicine. They're the puppet masters. The rest are cowards or useful idiots.
Of course - but owning media would be valuable to the recipients of federal research money even if media had no direct interface with the state, merely for the end of promoting public myths of human dependence on medicine.
The true scale of media power goes way beyond merely selling drugs.
One benefit of this crazy time is that many have awakened to the daily manipulation coming at us from 360 degrees. If I think about it too long, I get very angry.
I agree with you, but it's also useful to see the other side. They would say we are keeping the pandemic going and killing people. How can we bridge this divide?
This is where I’m stuck right now, as well. I’ve got people I care about who remain utterly terrified, and for whom my being-not-terrified is felt by them as an existential threat. These aren’t people I can just toss overboard and out of my life. Because I care about them, I have to honor their fear, but I don’t wish to *enable* it any further. I don’t know how to do this. It is mentally and physically and spiritually exhausting.
You don't have to honor other people's fear if it's irrational. Would you honor someone's racism, for example?
They regard you as an existential threat (your words) for not being in perfect lockstep with their proscribed religion. That's a loving relationship?
Love thy enemy, I guess. Do they return the favor?
Agreed but this goes on in marriages too. People try to hold on and get their spouses out of their coronoia.
I can only imagine. My husband is 100% with me on all of this. He counts on me to keep him informed as he's well-educated enough to understand the science thoroughly but passionately hates to wade through news. Thankfully my whole family was 100% behind my GTFO plan when NYC continued to spiral downhill.
And it's really, really strange, too. In order for somebody to be vaxxed and scared of me, they have to believe
1) Their vax doesn't protect them (true!)
2) I managed to somehow dodge this super contagious virus for 18 months
3) I now have the virus and am spreading it asymptomatically (very rare)
And the kicker is -- a vaxxed person can 'give' them the virus just as easily!
It's all quite distressing @katie
They see us dressed as Darth, saying as sweetly as possible "I am not your ENEMY". No amount of data is gonna get round that (try CJ Hopkins 3-part Covidian Cult series on substack).
But what to do??? My stab:
1. Keep yourself ok. If things are exhausting you, that doesn't help anyone; so rather ease off / withdraw for a bit and get yourself back in balance.
2. Try not to feed / give in to any negative emotion. It's like a dopamine hit that will make you feel self-righteous for a while, but ultimately won't help
We can't. We get our legal climate back to a point where we can stay out of each other's way. We don't end up holding hands and slow-walking into the shining future.
I see the other side. It wants me dead or in jail in a perfect, and destitute and despised in
any case.
There's no unity here.
Long time reader, first time commenter here. For the past few months, your posts gave me hope that there was a way to get out of this, but everything I thought was possible became impossible on September 1st, when Quebec (the province I reside in), mandated vaccine passports. I thought I'd be able to find a restaurant or two that are not asking for the vpass, but nope! Businesses have no say in the matter - they have to oblige or else they get penalized. I can't even enter the botanical gardens anymore, an outdoor space (!) because it is on the list of places that requires the pass.
In a few weeks time Canada will be mandating the vaccine passport for international travel. That means no plane travel unless you are inoculated x2 and can provide proof. And I am desperately trying to decide where to go before I still can leave this country, but where? I'm in my twenties and I never thought that this would be something I'd have to worry about, but here we are. Anyone in the US hiring?
i wish i had better news, but the hard truth is that you get to keep the rights and liberties you are willing to fight for.
they could never do this to a populace that refused to accept it.
the question becomes "when will you rise against it?" because it only gets harder from here. what will they tie to that passport next?
I agree, but unfortunately the populace that is refusing is so small in number that we're just white noise at the moment. Maybe more people will rise up when it's time for booster shot number ???? in order to keep their vaccine passes up to date. Instead, they are turning their anger towards the still very small minority that is refusing to comply.
I thought I could wait it out and more people would realize what's going on. The trouble is that most people are begging for the vaccine passports. They want it mandated. Students are protesting the fact that universities are not mandating the vaccine. They are comparing the pass to an immunization record and see absolutely no problem with it.
Fighting for my rights is looking a lot like sitting at home and twiddling my thumbs thinking this too shall pass. I don't have to go to indoor spaces, but the business are not affected by it because so many other people are going along with it.
I won't comply, but that just means I no longer have rights and liberties because not enough people are standing with me.
I think our ranks will increase by those who refuse the boosters. As of now, we're too outnumbered in many places, in large part because of overwhelming media bias pushing vaccination. Overall, they don't outnumber us. Compliance fatigue, particularly pertaining to vaccine boosters, is still to come. Like Gato said, lived experience will ultimately win out (or make it an even fight). Hang in there, Luna. No shame in getting the vaccine if you have to. They're formidable and might win this battle, but the war is just getting started.
Thanks for your comment, Mike. Despite what they try, I won't be coerced into getting the vaccine and the eternal boosters. The compliance fatigue is something that I'll hold on to, as it must be inevitable.
Good for you. Keep the faith.
We'll see how those people feel about the jab this winter when they realize it didn't protect them.
That's unless the mainstream media is successful in convincing everyone that the unvaccinated are spreading the virus/allowing it to mutate. Trudeau recently said that the unvaccinated are putting the vaccinated at risk. Logic ceases to exist.
From what you have shared, I would advise leaving…to a strong red state down here in the US
That. Israel is now talking about a fourth dose. I think many folks were on the fence about the vaccine and now boosters? We gato readers all knew this will be a twice a year booster business but the broad masses didn’t…. Sure some eill line up for monthly boosters but not the broad masses. I don’t think so. Hope at least.
"Instead, they are turning their anger towards the still very small minority that is refusing to comply."
I see that over and over in most countries that are currently taking the dictatorial path. I really do not understand why it is so. It seems that we do not read the available information the same way and some people are listening to their overlords with a faith not seen in churches for long.
It's absolutely mind-bending. It's masterful, actually, what they have managed to pull off. It's brazen (Rolling Stones article). There are no facts anymore; just a well-orchestrated march towards Vax Passports, and then a small hop to Global Digital ID. (Which guess is the goal of this "Corona Round")
Everybody in the US is hiring. And realistically, we're always looking for anybody who's motivated and will show up on time. The bar is very very very low in the US.
It's a bit more difficult as the employer must be willing to hire someone who is not from the US. I don't know anyone from Canada who has been successful in getting a job in the US outside of academia.
Maybe lie and say you're from Mexico? :D
Say you have a "credible fear of persecution or harm" from the CHS?
Just say you are a translator.
I would go live anywhere where Rand Paul is.
Quite funny actually - I'm 58; not a US citizen; and always identified as a Dem - I was thrilled when "Good ol' Joe" ousted Trump.
Not anymore I can tell you.
Maybe there's a test of the 2nd Amendment coming (seeing the 1st is being ripped up)
But on a more serious note; we do all have to think through what we will do if "encouragement" -> "coercion" -> "enforcement"; and best to try and work out what you will accept, and what not; and make required plans......
A little late to the discussion, but have you considered Romania? If you're a French speaker the language should be very easy to pick up. I was in the same boat as you --- a Canadian desperately looking to leave before the govt traps us inside the country --- and did quite a bit of research regarding good 'escape' locations. I expect many countries in the Balkan region, such as Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia, Montenegro, Albania, to weather the storm much better than just about anywhere else in Europe or the Americas. Entry is visa-free for Canadians to all these countries and residency is also relatively easy to attain in some cases. Not sure if substack has any sort of DM feature, but, if you want, I can always give you a more thorough rundown of what I know.
Great work; I think there are many 1000s out there (including myself) wondering what we will do if vaxing moves to enforcement - we might have to move to a jurisdiction that openly welcomes non-vaxed....? (Leading to a split world???)
Maybe a separate substack or Gab / Parler?
And one channel is "Where can i move to"; another could be "what are my legal rights in country xxxxx";
Etc???
Now that I gave it a little more thought, I think this discussion can continue in this thread. In fact, it might be useful reading for others (such as yourself) and not just Luna. My main concern was accidently revealing personal details and the like, but I think it'll be OK.
Your thinking regarding legal rights is definitely solid. The problem we're facing, however, is that legal formalities have been abrogated by governments left and right. As a Canadian, for instance, I know my rights under our Charter, but in practice that document seems to be worth about the same as a roll of toilet paper. So, I would suggest people look less at de jure rights in various jurisdictions and rather focus on the de facto political and social circumstances.
I also believe that the social situation of any given country is much more significant than the political one. By social situation, I'm mostly referring to people's attitudes to C19, as well as their attitudes towards their government's response. How fearful are they of the disease? How fearful are they of the government? Are people able to see through propaganda? More generally, how much of the populace trust the authorities? Are people excessively law-abiding? Is there an established tradition of resistance against tyranny?
Another set of questions to consider is how will you fit into that society once you get there. Do you know the language at all? Do you know somebody within the country? Have you visited before? Not that all - or even any! - of these questions need to be answered in the affirmative, but you don't want to go somewhere halfway across the world and then end up hiding out isolated and lonely.
Wherever any of us are or wherever we may go, we really need to work on integrating and engaging with the communities of like-minded people around us. Truth be told, in the end, most of us will probably have to fight the Great Reset regardless where we may escape to, and that resistance starts first with fellowship and then organization.
Thanks, Eryk. I've actually considered many countries on your list. I know some people from the Balkan region who came to Canada because of the war in the 90s - they are in fact some of the only people recognizing the current situation, as well as the irony of going back to the place they left for a better life.
My hesitation is that many of these countries are facing their own tensions. From what I know, most people in the Balkan region want to move to the West for better opportunity etc., but they also fear that there will be another war due to political tensions. I'm not sure what the likelihood of this would be, but it's something that people have brought to my attention. I guess this is a risk with moving and a cost-benefit issue.
>>Wherever any of us are or wherever we may go, we really need to work on integrating and engaging with the communities of like-minded people around us.
Agreed, though I'm not sure how to find these. The best community I've found so far is the bad cat's substack.
Excellent point regarding future war in the Balkans. Giving this issue some thought, I'd say that as the West disintegrates another Balkan war becomes inevitable. It does certainly feel like a question of when not if: it could be fifty years from now or five. Not to sound overly dramatic, but, the way I see it, WW3 is already upon us anyway, so don't expect a peaceful, relaxed future in Canada or anywhere else, for that matter. Also, regarding your Eastern friends seeing things for what they are, I recall in the spring of 2020 meeting with some of my Slavic friends and everybody agreeing in unison: "Well, the communists are back!"
In terms of resistance communities, there's a lot of people out there both online and IRL. Besides this substack, Alex Berenson is also worth checking out (https://alexberenson.substack.com/). Robert Malone is on twitter and has been on fire of late (https://twitter.com/RWMaloneMD). Karl Denninger is quite a, shall we say, "colourful character" but he often does good analysis regarding C19 (https://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?blog=Market-Ticker-Nad).
If you decide to stay in Canada, local to Quebec there have been quite a few sizeable (100,000+) protests in Montreal. Go to one of those, start talking to people and make some friends. There's also a federal election going on: talk to your PPC candidate, or, better yet, volunteer to help with the campaign. Think of these things less in terms of political statements and more in terms of personal networking and getting to know like-minded people. Those are just a few links and suggestions off the top of my head.
Thanks, Eryk. Perhaps there are countries considering offering "medical refugee" status? As in "I am facing forced vaccination in my home country and need to flee". That might be a last resort, but might be an option for some?
Did not look into that idea, but it could be a possibility in the future. Truth be told, if you have some money it's a lot easier to simply acquire residency through the existing channels in quite a few places. If you're relatively poor, then I would suggest going to a visa-free country and look to get hired by the locals. This might not be nearly as difficult for a Westerner as one might imagine. Start by contacting the expat community and ask around. Also, keep in mind that teaching English is usually an excellent option to gain both residency and a work permit. If you can't even afford a year or so of international travel, consider staying in your home country but try going rural. Again, talk to the locals and look for work.
Canada needs an entire new government, though I'm sure you don't need me to tell you that. You need provincial constitutions (i.e. federalism) and you need those constitutions to enshrine freedom of medical choice and remove all reference to "public health." The vaccinated need to stand with you - they have to already realize they will be targeted by endless booster requirements even if they start have second thoughts about it! - as well as the police obviously - but once you have that, the rest is a cakewalk (well, unless you descend into serial civil war). What is Trudeau going to do if you announce a provincial constitution? Go tell his mom?
If your fellow citizens and police won't stand with you, then you can consider the legal route. It's pretty clear that Public Health Act section 83 excludes the fake Covid vaccines, because they do not prevent individual transmission nor contribute to ending community transmission - http://legisquebec.gouv.qc.ca/en/showdoc/cs/S-2.2?langCont=fr#se:83 - but that's only regarding a direct non-emergency mandate.
And then the "emergency mandate" power in section 123 doesn't define "vaccine," so you would have to argue that section 83's description applies to all legal references to vaccine - assuming your judges are as corrupt and cowardly as ours, good luck with that.
The powers granted by the act in Chapter XI, moreover, are explicitly unlimited, even outside of a self-declared emergency. Your public health directors are the executive and their powers are absolute; you basically live in China; it's right there on paper.
Hi i came across a resource that might be of assistance? https://www.juliusruechel.com/2021/08/an-example-of-courageous-pushback-for.html
I understand your point, but I'm not sure I agree. I don't think we can create the world we want to live in...the world we thought we lived in until 18 months ago...just by changing our social media habits.
I joined Fakebook in 2015 when my children went away to college (they're twins) in different states far from home. Ironically, I wanted to advocate for the Meningitis B vaccine at Johns Hopkins. My purpose was to provide information that I thought most parents needed and didn't have. MenB had sickened, disabled, and even killed college students in the years prior. I, like most parents, had dutifully gotten my children the "Meningitis vaccine" when they were 11 yrs and the booster when they were 16 yrs. I thought they were fully protected but learned they were not during the college search. After many delays, I lost confidence the Bexsero vaccine (which had an EUA at Princeton) would be approved anytime soon, so we drove to Ontario during their first Thanksgiving break to get the vaccine with the help of a mother who lost her daughter to MenB in less than 36 hours from symptom onset. I gave them the booster myself at home a month later.
For the most part, the JHU parents I interacted with were thankful for the information. Some were hostile, which I found confusing and bizarre. (Not telling you what to do, folks, just giving you information I have that I suspect you don't have.) It was, for me, a moral imperative to share the information. I did interact a few times with the medical director of the student health center. I can't say what he thought about notifying parents and students. His hands were tied because some JHU doctors were on the ACIP panel.
Eventually, the ACIP did approve the MenB vaccines (Bexsero and Trumenba); but they do not recommend them...which means most pediatricians won't recommend them and most insurers won't cover them. Some universities now recommend a MenB vaccine. A handful require it to live in university housing. Most schools don't actually require a meningitis vaccine of any kind; they require a student to sign a waiver if he or she is unvaccinated.
After going through this experience wrt the MenB vaccines and colleges/universities, I was astounded by their bizarre and confusing response to the C19 "vaxxines". Invasive meningococcal infection has a 15%-20% mortality rate. Many who recover are permanently disabled (cognitive injuries, amputations, hearing loss). Adolescents and young adults have a high carriage rate and engage in behaviors that increase the risks (smoking, sharing drinks and food, kissing). While the absolute risk is low, the consequences of invasive infection can be terrible.
At the time, MenB accounted for about 33% of all invasive infections in the US. The serogroup for most infections is never identified, so the percentage may have been much higher. MenB is the primary serogroup in many foreign countries that send students to American universities. I do not understand how the CDC ACIP justified a recommendation for the MenACWY vaccines and not the MenB vaccines. It makes no sense. It was heartrending to watch the testimony of parents who'd lost children and those who'd recovered but had amputations and other injuries. They desperately wanted to spare others the pain they were experiencing, and the ACIP was, imo, indifferent.
Now hundreds of US colleges and universities are mandating two experimental gene therapy injections that employ a technology never before approved for use in human beings to allegedly protect students from a virus that does not threaten most of them and that many (most?) have already had. We have no idea what the longterm consequences for their health may be. None. Colleges and universities continue the mandate despite clear knowledge...admitted by the CDC director...that these injections do not prevent infection or transmission of the virus.
The Public Health England (PHE) data increasingly undercuts the CDC claim that these injections protect from serious disease or death. The "fully vaccinated" are less likely to be infected, but they're closing the gap quickly. The ratio of Delta infections in the unvaxxed to fully vaxxed has dropped from 6.7 as of June 21 to 1.9 as of August 29. Infections in the partially/fully vaxxed have now surpassed infections in the unvaxxed. And deaths have been upside down for weeks. According to PHE, the fully vaxxed were less likely to be infected with the Delta variant, less likely to seek care, less likely to be hospitalized...but more of them died.
Delta in England as of 8/29/2021...
Unvaxxed: 219,716 cases/536 deaths/0.2440%
Unvaxxed <50: 212,989 cases/99 deaths/0.0465%
Unvaxxed 50+: 6,724 cases/437 deaths/6.499%
Fully Vaxxed: 113,823 cases/1,091 deaths/0.9585%
Fully Vaxxed <50: 62,403 cases/37 deaths/0.0593%
Fully Vaxxed 50+: 51,420 cases/1,054 deaths/2.450%
https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1014926/Technical_Briefing_22_21_09_02.pdf
There has been a coordinated attack against Ivermectin just as there was against Hydroxychloroquine. I don't know if either of these drugs are effective against the virus. Many of the doctors who've successfully treated C19 patients (Marek, Kory, Zelenko, Fareed, McCullough, Smith) say they help. I'd like the option to try them should I need them. Why would anyone listen to Fauci or Jha or Gupta or any of the other professional talking head "doctors" who haven't treated a single C19 patient? Fauci hasn't treated a patient in over 40 years.
Something is wrong in the world. IMO, it cannot be explained by stupidity or arrogance or greed or hubris or cya. It's happening all over the world. How? Why? By whom? For what purpose?
I agree that spinning our wheels with useless anger isn't helping us. The first step is to accept that we are where we are and what is happening in the world is really happening. We will not be able to reach everyone. We will not be able to save everyone. We have no idea what the future holds, but we must hold onto hope and faith.
Don't react. Provide information. Engage in a civil manner. If you can't, walk away. "If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet." (Matthew 10:14).
It may help to believe that we are getting what we create with our reactions.
While that may play a role, I don't believe that is the cause of our current reality.
i think you're trying to extrapolate this past where it's intended to go.
we can change media and social media this way. changing the government is an entirely different issue.
I've become convinced the political spectrum (at its core) is collectivism (left) vs individualism (right). Each see the world differently and struggle to understand the other, thus a clear dividing line can be seen in times like this. Plus, there's a natural tension between the two, despite being morally neutral. This "natural tension" can graduate to overt hostility in the absence of wisdom and self-restraint. I believe what we're seeing now is an atheist collectivist uprising. Their numbers have been growing rapidly in the recent years (the atheist part, as we've always had collectivists). It's quite possible atheist collectivists simply can't handle individual liberty, for themselves or anyone else, eventually being overcome with anxiety. Anxiety gives way to paranoia and madness. This is where we're at. A huge segment of our population (and the institutions which they control) are revolting against freedom. The optimistic part is I think this is only a collectivist issue, although the media fear tactics bring some less astute individualists to their side, providing them with only a temporary majority. Individualists represent half of the population. Individualists have been dumbfounded by all of this, but it's becoming more clear. Individualists are numerous and formidable as well, and we've got Gato on our side. I like our chances.
i fear that much of the right is increasingly collectivist as well. the neocon nation builders and moralistic social planners look just like the socialists and fascists of the left. halliburton blends into google into one authoritarian state bridging left and right.
it's making left vs right a less and less relevant distinction. the real axis is authoritarian vs liberty. i think it's important to keep that in mind.
I take a step back from that view. Most of the people in power are interested in maintaining power. Very few are true believers in whichever ideology they claim to espouse, but they are masters are manipulating people into us-versus-them. And to gato's point, we let them...maybe even encourage them.
Freedom is hard. It requires commitment to oneself and to others. It means taking responsibility. I've said this before, but we've been conditioned to live as though we're driving around in the backseat of our mom's SUV (in my case, a station wagon). We've grown soft from modern conveniences. Our ancestors spent most of the warm months preparing to survive the cold months. Our parents and grandparents understood the connection between a chicken and dinner. For my generation, chicken came shrink wrapped in the grocery store. For my children's generation, chicken comes via Uber.
Do you remember the outrage after Hurricane Katrina? I literally heard people say that the government should have done something. Ummm. Wut. We don't control the weather. We never have. Storms happen. Sometimes they hit the US. You live along the coast or in a city built in a swamp that sits below sea level. Oh, and your crooked government diverted federal tax dollars for years instead of shoring up the levees.
The modern world is an illusion. We are all just one bad solar storm or EMP away from 1850. With all of the dystopian tv shows and movies, you would think people understood...but they don't.
I agree with you that most people are individualists at heart. Most people don't want some nameless, faceless authority telling them what to do.
i'm not sure that most people are individualists. i think that they were, but it changed when we settled down for agriculture. (there is a wild drop in y chromosome diversity right about them. about 75% was culled. that was likely the truly independent ones who would not get in line and respect the government etc)
people seem to feel a powerful need to be a part of something bigger than they are. religion has traditionally filled this need. i suspect it attenuated into a really beneficial meme like Protestantism that set off the enlightenment. but now it has faded too far and that human need is left unmet, the receptor open. and collectivism moves in.
collectivism is a nasty disease. it makes people think they have a right to kill individual ants for the good of the ant farm and that they have some anointed right and special knowledge that permits it. it's a nasty, brutish self-aggrandizing way to bully people and demand that they call you virtuous for it.
very seductive to a certain kind of narcissist, sociopath, and the poorly calibrated useful idiots they co-opt.
so perhaps what we are really looking for cannot be rooted in faith that humanity will clamor to stand as individuals but rather a system that protects us when they don't.
that was the genius of a republic with primacy of individual rights and government limited to enumerated powers to limit it's mischief and evil.
but we're losing it and have been accelerating that loss since the 1930's.
that's the road back we need to find.
Like it all, cmpalmer75, except, yes the last bit. We are definitely not all individualists at heart. Probably more like conformists. And i do think the / a base continuum is Authoritarian <-> Freedom
I understand your point. I guess it depends on how you define the term "individualist". I mean simply that people don't like being told what to do by faceless, nameless, and often arbitrary authority figures. They may go along initially but over time they become angry.
Whether they become angry enough to sacrifice safety for security or "fitting in" is another story. I guess it depends on how bad it gets...and then the costs are very high.
I've been joking for years that modern medicine and the modern world has weakened the genome. I've wondered how many times I would have succumbed to illness or injury in another era. The generations that came before us were so much stronger and tougher than we are.
Exactly - which also explains the widespread acceptance of boosters, and complete OK-ness with the commitment to Forever Pandemic. The herd immunity con was only ever directed at the marginal group who still trusted that jumping through just one more hoop would open up the cage; most of the vaccinated wanted the cage to stay in place all along.
Very interesting and insightful comment thank u
re your "I don't know if either of these drugs are effective against the virus." I came across this site which seems legit - live links to all studies comparing early treatment - www.c19early.com
Thanks. I've seen that site. I have all the protocols (FLCCC, McCullough, and Zelenko) printed off and ready to go should we need them. I'm in two queues to see a doctor for prophylactic Ivermectin and HCQ, and I have a stockpile of the nutraceutical alternatives.
I put the caveat in there because of the controversy. I'm drug averse and prefer not to take anything; but a friend of mine, her husband, and one of their young adult children caught the virus a few weeks ago. It sounds awful. I definitely don't want to catch it.
https://covid19criticalcare.com/covid-19-protocols/
https://aapsonline.org/mccullough-protocol-3-page.pdf
https://vladimirzelenkomd.com/treatment-protocol/
If anyone is looking for Quercetin, EGCG, or NAC, I've had success on
https://www.koshervitamins.com.
Your forgot a step. Block ads everywhere. I recommend the Brave browser coupled with uBlock origin extension and it helps a lot. This way you can consume content and not reward them with any ad views. Works on YouTube as well, haven’t seen an ad for ages on the desktop.
agree on brave. i use it as well. best browser on the market and brendan eich is a friend of mine who i respect.
the next step is real, peer to peer internet.
Brave is A+. You can opt into ads if you want, and you get crypto for doing so, which you can then donate to the sites that you frequent.
I never connected that because I was using Brave that I wasn’t seeing YouTube ads 🙄 thanks for pointing that out.
Rolling Stone (Virginia Tech?) starts the circle jerk and look at the caravan if idiots that climb aboard.
A reminder to all the little authoritarians > "Any steps that you think ought to be taken against me, will be mirrored by the same steps taken against you."
https://malice.locals.com/post/1033296/again-rolling-stone-visons-of-virginia-tech-and-then-the-inevitable-circle-jerk-disgusting
I have a friend at work that used to seriously state “social media will be the downfall of society” years ago. I never argued against that position, but felt it was more nuanced than that. At times, it certainly seems prophetic nowadays.
Where I can, I try to explain to people that things are messy and dirty. In other words, we can’t break things down to binary positions that are black and white; oftentimes things are myriads of gray. This applies to most things around us— history, science, politics, religion, etc. it’s difficult to claim a singular known truth.
Social media provides an instant gratification, through likes, positive affirmations to ones beliefs, and an ego boosting echo chamber that can make one feel confident in ones mindset. But it’s dangerous in that it can insulate one from another side and challenges to how we think. Without these challenges, we don’t advance. Innovation, discovery, etc. are products of swimming upstream against the mainstream.
We are all guilty of this. But it’s important to recognize ones own biases to explore another side, lest we get caught into the same trap we are desperately fighting against.
In the end, it is alway money. And power. Social media and media has these things at stake. Disrupting these would help fracture the stranglehold, I would think.
El gato, I appreciate your dedication to writing these articles. Certainly an inspiration to me to consider the same and a light on days when I need it. Keep up the good work.
LOL now I was in 2 minds whether to give you a dopamine hit..... :)
Funny stuff lol
Well
Said
Many inconvenient truths here. Yet I beleive what we let happen is accepting and not destroying and shaming any information that is not backed up by at least 2 notable and reliable sources. This used to be the standard to allow reported stories or data.
Sure, but what's the point of credibility if you never expend it? The media saw the country either rejecting or losing interest their curated rendition of America™; their former perfunctory devotion to accuracy went out the window the moment Trump won the nomination. This is a staged emergency sustained by deliberate propaganda to perpetuate state power (which always directly empowers the entity that makes the state visible, i.e. the media), nothing more.
Yet half of America and the world is still under covid tyranny and hypnosis. There has been nothing but increased stories without one yet two credible sources to back it up. It has to made unacceptable and subject to punishment to report such nonsense.
So well written . So true. I cancelled my facebook account in 2019 . I felt so much more relaxed and happy. I never used twitter. I barely use instagram
Glenn Greenwald has had some very insightful things to say about this
Legacy media companies have adopted a business model the modus operandi of which is to excite , enrage and frighten in order to get you to watch advertising
Stephen King sells book promising to scare you.
Marvel comic movies get the dopamine flowing
Mainstream news is selling rage!
Those of us who can put this in perspective have to opt out and watch the rest consume eachother
I couldn't find Glenn on substack; but followed him on Twitter - BUT I actually need to scale down / get off Twitter - anyone know if he's anywhere else?
Oye, hombre: "ouropurros" is plain brilliant. Cat eating tail. Just brilliant. I happen to know folks at the Stone Rolling. Fabrication for monetization is feature, not bug.
Liberal use of the block function is essential for a good social media experience. Before I ditched FB for good, I commented and 'reacted' to all the cat pictures. Result: Facebook shows me more cat pictures.
"knowledge of self is power to shape the self. embrace the process and learn to turn it into something more useful. transfer that energy to something else."
This is the core of simulation command. Turn away from the negative and use that energy to embrace the positive.
Lets bite into our tails!
Glen greenwald is on substack
https://greenwald.substack.com/
The Almighty Algorithm has taken control. There's nothing we can do about it. Being a machine, he has no compassion for our current suffering. And the hard thing to accept about Darwinian natural selection is that replicators win, regardless of suffering. Memes that speak to the amygda and bypass the frontal lobes cannot be beaten. Unabomber time?
the probability that accepting a statement in media is true and it is not true is troubling high.
most statements in media are not true in the context that you are concerned about.
>>"it turns the internet into a voting machine whereby the audience of a horror move ballots in real time about what monster would be scariest in the next scene and then unfailingly delivers just that focus group tested avatar to menace them."
Ah yes, tulpas. Or almost anyway. A couple of the paranormal podcasts I listen to have talked about how humanity is essentially doing just that via the internet.
at this rate, "tulpa" is going to be a new side dish at taco bell.
I'm trying to decide if that's better or worse...ah well, as long as it comes with fire sauce.