With Coronamania having taken a sledge hammer to social life, one has to expend greater effort to have face to face contact with family and friends. If your past 22 months have resembled mine, some of your peeps have deeply internalized the madness. They no longer view you as someone who has shared important life experiences, or a thousand laughs, with them. Your new identity is as a viral vector: someone who will likely infect them and land them in the hospital, where they will die!
Imagine for a moment if a woman told her friend that she has to cancel a lunch date because her husband doesn’t want her to go. You’d worry there was some abuse going on. What kind of a man says “I can’t go. My wife doesn’t want me to”? What kind of a woman feels the need to control her spouse like that? Both are truly pathetic and I guess belong together.
Great post. Thanks. The scotus circus this week demonstrated the extent of the hysteria. Judge Sot and her huge staff are clearly major consumers of panic porn -- the malfeasance of the media is the major cause of all our societal problems. Honest media would investigate the specious claims, determine the seditious motives of the purveyors, and give their audience clear, relevant information. That they don't is a major failure of their industry, which is ensconced in the First Amendment of the Constitution as a vital component for a successful nation. The nation will not survive without them. Maybe already gone. That the public mostly accepts it is a major failure of the education system. The founders predicted this time. Those who want to keep our republic will have to fight for it. The Constitution is not a guarantee, just a guide for patriots. Our only rights are those we are willing and able to defend.
Jan 8, 2022·edited Jan 8, 2022Liked by Mark Oshinskie
Just fwiw:
My chronically-ill husband, son (24), and I all had Covid (presumably Delta) last year at Christmas. We all recovered just fine without any intervention, and my husband and son still have antibodies and thriving T-cells/lymphocytes (they were both recently tested; I didn’t bother). Our doctor wrote an “affidavit of protection” for my husband’s job, which was accepted (for now), though they’re still “phoning it in” (distance-teaching) at the community college where he’s employed.
Happened to me only a bit differently. A friend of many decades said he would be in the area and wanted to meet for lunch to catch up on old time. We were in the middle of lunch, enjoying our reunion, when the subject of the vax came up. When he found out I wasn't, he turned white and said the I "should have warned him in advance." I asked why he didn't inquire of the waiter his status - considering that he was not masked and talking a mile a minute only a few inches away from our food and drinks. The conversation ended right there. We're still friends; he is a bit wiser.
Jan 8, 2022·edited Jan 8, 2022Liked by Mark Oshinskie
My spouse just found out that her elderly uncle died last night (of cancer.)
That of course is horribly sad, but what is even more sad is that due to an apparently permanent family divide due to Covid, she will not be able to even attend his funeral. It is highly possible that she will never see her elderly mother again, either.
Jan 8, 2022·edited Jan 8, 2022Liked by Mark Oshinskie
Amen!!! A thousand Amens. May 10,000 fleas from infected camels bite the asses of every vaxxed, double-vaxxed, boosted, and triple-boosted, idiotic DEMONCRAT on the planet . . . and anyone else who bought into the SCAMDEMIC . . . for that matter, include the weak-minded b/c they don't deserve to suck any more oxygen. <3
Jan 8, 2022·edited Jan 8, 2022Liked by Mark Oshinskie
Imagine what this does to a marriage. I know. I’m living it. I feel like a Jew married to a German, before things really went south. He just doesn’t get it.
Jan 9, 2022·edited Jan 11, 2022Liked by Mark Oshinskie
Good grief Mark, this is one of my favorite articles but what an upside down world. I read a lot of substackers and I wallow in data by profession, but you have a way of cutting through the fog and clearly illuminating this sea of madness with great prose. This can be so much more welcome than another chart or graph.
You also have the patience of Job with these folks that consider themselves your “friends.” I often forget that much (or most?) of the NE and the CA exhibits the same paranoia. You can still find cultists here in the SE but we out number them by a lot!
So, if you are ever in the Charleston or Hilton Head area of SC, I’ll be happy to throw a lot more than a $10 spot to meet the unmasked, unfiltered Mr. Oshinskie, esq. in person!
Perhaps it is my profession as a pilot as much as my location that helps preserve my reality. We tend to allow for theatrics up to a point and then we rip the mask off well before fastening the seatbelt and conducting the flight. After landing we climb down the stairs before digging into a pocket and reluctantly reattaching the absurd symbol of fear. Repeat this every week since March 2020. No mask, no social distance, no vax, no virus (that I’m aware of), yet feeling fine.
Unvaxxed and unafraid here. Sorry about the loss of your friendship. Mental illness must be at an all time high because of covidmania. Look at the woman who stuffed her 13 yo son in her trunk to keep his Covid germs off her. Real mother of the year, that one! I missed the chance to catch it when my young nephews were diagnosed. But who knows, maybe I’ve already had it?
I’m sorry for you guys. I live in Texas. No one here would be ever dream of doing anything like what you have had happen to you. We are and have been leading regular lives like we always have. That’s a red state for you.
"You don't lose real friends, real opportunities or real relationships when you start standing up for yourself and setting clear boundaries. You lose abusers, manipulators, narcissists, control freaks, attention seekers and mental health destroying leeches." anonymous
Thank you, Mark for your insight and always honest essays.
I am not vaccinated.
I have had covid and wasn’t terribly sick. I am 57 and active.
I live in the mountains and exercise in the outdoors daily. My sister and her family will not allow me in their home or around them in any setting.
Even her young adult children are boosted and her daughter took a moderna booster in her last trimester of pregnancy.
The baby is born and seems fine.
Although I have yet to see a picture of him with his eyes open.
I really hope he is okay.
Imagine for a moment if a woman told her friend that she has to cancel a lunch date because her husband doesn’t want her to go. You’d worry there was some abuse going on. What kind of a man says “I can’t go. My wife doesn’t want me to”? What kind of a woman feels the need to control her spouse like that? Both are truly pathetic and I guess belong together.
I've been having much the same experience, though sadly without the ten-spot in the mailbox.
Great post. Thanks. The scotus circus this week demonstrated the extent of the hysteria. Judge Sot and her huge staff are clearly major consumers of panic porn -- the malfeasance of the media is the major cause of all our societal problems. Honest media would investigate the specious claims, determine the seditious motives of the purveyors, and give their audience clear, relevant information. That they don't is a major failure of their industry, which is ensconced in the First Amendment of the Constitution as a vital component for a successful nation. The nation will not survive without them. Maybe already gone. That the public mostly accepts it is a major failure of the education system. The founders predicted this time. Those who want to keep our republic will have to fight for it. The Constitution is not a guarantee, just a guide for patriots. Our only rights are those we are willing and able to defend.
I just had dinner with 10 unvaccinated friends.
I cooked, 2 provided the location, 2 brought beverages, 1 made dessert and 4 came because they wanted to. Rain checks not necessary.
You’re welcome ANY time.
Just fwiw:
My chronically-ill husband, son (24), and I all had Covid (presumably Delta) last year at Christmas. We all recovered just fine without any intervention, and my husband and son still have antibodies and thriving T-cells/lymphocytes (they were both recently tested; I didn’t bother). Our doctor wrote an “affidavit of protection” for my husband’s job, which was accepted (for now), though they’re still “phoning it in” (distance-teaching) at the community college where he’s employed.
Edit: We’re not vaxxed, nor will we be.
Happened to me only a bit differently. A friend of many decades said he would be in the area and wanted to meet for lunch to catch up on old time. We were in the middle of lunch, enjoying our reunion, when the subject of the vax came up. When he found out I wasn't, he turned white and said the I "should have warned him in advance." I asked why he didn't inquire of the waiter his status - considering that he was not masked and talking a mile a minute only a few inches away from our food and drinks. The conversation ended right there. We're still friends; he is a bit wiser.
Well in my county I am not even allowed to go to lunch with my natural T cell immunity!
My spouse just found out that her elderly uncle died last night (of cancer.)
That of course is horribly sad, but what is even more sad is that due to an apparently permanent family divide due to Covid, she will not be able to even attend his funeral. It is highly possible that she will never see her elderly mother again, either.
Amen!!! A thousand Amens. May 10,000 fleas from infected camels bite the asses of every vaxxed, double-vaxxed, boosted, and triple-boosted, idiotic DEMONCRAT on the planet . . . and anyone else who bought into the SCAMDEMIC . . . for that matter, include the weak-minded b/c they don't deserve to suck any more oxygen. <3
Imagine what this does to a marriage. I know. I’m living it. I feel like a Jew married to a German, before things really went south. He just doesn’t get it.
I can't tell you how many great conversations I have with myself in my head. I often prefer them to the ones I have with other people. LOL!
Good grief Mark, this is one of my favorite articles but what an upside down world. I read a lot of substackers and I wallow in data by profession, but you have a way of cutting through the fog and clearly illuminating this sea of madness with great prose. This can be so much more welcome than another chart or graph.
You also have the patience of Job with these folks that consider themselves your “friends.” I often forget that much (or most?) of the NE and the CA exhibits the same paranoia. You can still find cultists here in the SE but we out number them by a lot!
So, if you are ever in the Charleston or Hilton Head area of SC, I’ll be happy to throw a lot more than a $10 spot to meet the unmasked, unfiltered Mr. Oshinskie, esq. in person!
Perhaps it is my profession as a pilot as much as my location that helps preserve my reality. We tend to allow for theatrics up to a point and then we rip the mask off well before fastening the seatbelt and conducting the flight. After landing we climb down the stairs before digging into a pocket and reluctantly reattaching the absurd symbol of fear. Repeat this every week since March 2020. No mask, no social distance, no vax, no virus (that I’m aware of), yet feeling fine.
But our world has gone mad.
Unvaxxed and unafraid here. Sorry about the loss of your friendship. Mental illness must be at an all time high because of covidmania. Look at the woman who stuffed her 13 yo son in her trunk to keep his Covid germs off her. Real mother of the year, that one! I missed the chance to catch it when my young nephews were diagnosed. But who knows, maybe I’ve already had it?
I’m sorry for you guys. I live in Texas. No one here would be ever dream of doing anything like what you have had happen to you. We are and have been leading regular lives like we always have. That’s a red state for you.
"You don't lose real friends, real opportunities or real relationships when you start standing up for yourself and setting clear boundaries. You lose abusers, manipulators, narcissists, control freaks, attention seekers and mental health destroying leeches." anonymous
Thank you, Mark for your insight and always honest essays.