Yes, this is everyone's speech.
The vaccine keeps you from ending up in the hospital seriously ill, they all say. Everyone.
No argument is valid.
You cannot reason with anyone.
One thing I'm noticing is that the fear of discussing one's position openly, at least for me, has diminished considerably.
I found myself in discussion with an older couple in a parking lot. I can't remember how it began exactly; some nicety about the inclement weather somehow turned into a five minute discussion about covid policies in Canada. -Though, it almost certainly was the result of me shooting down some canned nonsense comment like the one above.
Evidently, I've got Steven Crowder
"Change My Mind" conversational debate speed when called upon. I don't know what throws that switch. I feel that half my waking life is spent trying not to stumble over my own words or sound like an idiot. Other times, the information flows easily and I'm quick as a whip.
Anyway.., the husband was nodding enthusiastically with my comments with his wife landing somewhere in between the official line and Objective Reality.
She agreed that the media isn't always true, but could mostly be trusted. I think she might have felt outnumbered. If she were among a gang of covid cultists, I might have had a harder go. In any case, she tried out the sound-bitten "Vaccine boosters are normal. All vaccines need boosters!"
I've heard that one a lot, too. It's easily countered with, "Every eight
years is a booster. Every eight
months means the vaccine doesn't work. And they're lying about those eight months, too." (That's hard to argue or forget. Delivered with a laugh and a smile.) Her expression fell.
I have pity for these people. (Not the kind of pity which allows me to treat them gently.
"Pity those who pity".) More like hard love pity. But it is heartbreaking to see how many of the people who cling to the official narrative are doing so because they are simply afraid, not out of any true belief. Self-imposed delusion, wishful thinking, simulated brain damage, whatever you want to call it, is their primary means of not being shattered by fear and uncertainty. It takes time and long effort to build up a proper, healthy resistance to Horrible Truths You Don't Want To Hear, whereas the immediate coping technique of self-bullshittery is easy and it works in the short term.
Our parking lot conversation was cut off by her abruptly deciding that it was time to go, dragging her husband along behind, her expression set on,
"I don't like this and I'm not thinking about it anymore!" Not in a huff, just.., discomfort and the need to escape.
Fair enough. I was just getting warmed up and I can see how that might be off putting, especially given that we were standing the the middle of a parking lot in the Winter. But I've seen that maneuver before. Even in comfortable quarters, people will find excuses to leave the room. I never actually lose these arguments. How can you? They're not even arguments. Knowledge trumps nonsense, and if you have your facts straight, then the opposition must either grow hysterical or leave. Or concede.
Whatever the case, we're rarely going to hear anybody say, "Gosh! You're right! You win! You've completely changed my mind! Thank-you, oh wise one!" during these discussions, or see immediate results. But the seeds do get planted.
My big takeaway was that three months ago, I wouldn't have entered into this conversation at all, but merely nodded politely and kept on going.
I can't recall which YouTube personality brought it up, (a guest on Timcast IRL, I think), described how during the English Blitz, for the first week, Britons spent their days hunkered underground while the bombs fell, huddling in subway tunnels and home made bunkers. Then, after a while they got fed up with living like rats, and within a month or so, most of London had returned to business as usual. -And the bombs were still dropping!
The point being, you can't keep an elevated level of fear peeked for very long and milk it for the same effect it started with. It eventually becomes the new normal and people return to sanity.
And that means you can risk conversations with your fellow citizens without being pounced upon and calls being made to the local gestapo.
thecovidworld.com
