Meant to add ....glad you're still wearing the t-shirt and provoking conversations because we all know they are going to try again and it's important that those who questioned nothing maybe ask a couple of questions at least next time! You're showing the way 👏🏻
Instead of wearing a whyruss protest shirt ,I wear large Micky mouse ears ,I have never been loved sooo much , by all the children . Many still wear the snot pouch ,a sure sign they take shots also .The shots I take is a glass of red wine in the evening and that is what my wife hates so much .
You made mention of the toll on children kept out of school for many months. Around the MD suburbs of DC, I think it was at least 18 months, and possibly 2 years. I don't have kids in school anymore, but I did befriend several neighbors with school-age children during COVID, as we were all stuck at home, so I hear things. I also am friends with teachers, and I worked in the schools when my own children were young.
What I just learned, which maybe others already have known about for quite some time, is so troubling: While this data will certainly vary from school to school, district to district, overall what is showing up more and more (in other words, be on the lookout for this) is a disappearance of "average" students. Used to be, a normal distribution curve would have the largest number of students scores in the middle hump. But in some cases I recently viewed, there are now two curves -- a much larger group than in the past who are at the lower end (their own bell curve), and a group at the higher end (another curve), with a big dip in the middle.
Speculations I've heard about this are the cohort that is currently in middle school and high school include a very large number of children who -- for a variety of reasons -- have not recovered from the lack of mastering basics (reading, math) and are just being pushed along, and are now so out of their depth that they are not succeeding in pulling themselves out (or not receiving appropriate remedial instruction). The other group at the higher end is recovering and doing as expected; these fortunate middle and high schoolers likely had less lockdown, less masking, and parents with the resources to take up the instruction and guidance and discipline (and maybe pay for tutors) at home. The other kids didn't have this support.
This is such a LARGE cohort of struggling students. People who say "COVID is over" have no clue of the magnitude of the damage done to our country's children.
But I KNOW that kids missed out on social time and memory creation and all that goes with that. These effects aren't as easy to measure, at least in the near term. But they're even more important than the academic stuff.
Around here, once kids returned to school, they were required to wear masks for the longest time. But then, all of a sudden (mid 2022?), this requirement went away.
I have a high school a few blocks from me, and it made me so sad to see that the high schoolers continued to wear masks long after the requirement went away.
I live a few doors down from some neighbors who moved here right at the beginning of the pandemic. Their son started 7th grade in 2020, virtually. Then, eventually, in person in 9th grade -- I asked him what it was like to be in class with his peers -- and he had never seen their faces, except maybe some online in middle school. He said it was "OK" and that since a lot of teens feel awkward anyway, acne or whatever, self conscious, then it felt safe to wear these masks.....
But I say, to go through that magical period of adolescence when you are beginning to be appropriately interested in the opposite sex, and not being able to properly communicate with your full facial expressions..... that is so messed up. And how do people ever recover from that, socially. I'm not even talking about missing milestones like the senior prom, which IS super sad, but for more than a year to have such abnormal social interactions. It was hard for me, at my age, but I'd already lived a life. I can only imagine the impact on youngsters.
(now, whenever I see a kid wearing a mask, usually with masked parents, I get pretty angry. I have to wonder "why" and will we ever get to a point where this is noted as child abuse?)
I think it will take several generations before this is 'over'. Because all these low performing kids won't be able to get other jobs than fast food or filling racks at grocery stores. Hopefully some will learn plumbing and carpentry and electricity, because I still have to rely on my 80 year old friend to come do repairs. From the 6 contacted, none showed up.
The family with kids I know is thankfully homeschooling, 5 very healthy unjabbed kids.
I now definitely believe there's been a mass conspiracy to "dumb down" both students as well as the entire population. This program makes people far easier to control.
Also, ramping up the Censorship Industrial Complex made it less likely that anyone would be exposed to the smart counter-arguments of any adults who are still left in the room. Those adults are still out there; their arguments simply don't reach enough people to make a difference. And far more people now know that they should "self censor."
I'm curious to know, Mark, what % of your friends did you lose and replace, due to their not being able to accept your different stance? This part interests me because, in my world, the social pressure to "go along to get along" was extreme. It was not just social pressure (friends, neighbors) but family pressure (most every member of my family including both parents and my only sibling who is the gatekeeper to my contact with them, because she lives with them) and pressure at work (employer strongly pushed compliance and every one of my coworkers succumbed).
I'm not judging, one way or another.... just teasing all of this apart, like you are. I'm interested in how different people navigate this. Throughout my life, people have often bemusedly pointed out how I follow my own tune, or think differently, or don't always do what I'm "supposed to do," yet those who voice this generally like me. Maybe as a curiosity. But COVID definitely showed me the sharp division. Every single one of these loved ones were on the side of compliance, whereas I stood my solitary, lonely (definitely!) ground, grieving over this discovery of how different I was from everyone else I knew. So yeah, I kept quiet a good bit, to "go along to get along." To not lose every loved one over my wrongthink.
Pretending that I had done what I was "supposed to do" was an act of survival for me. All along, I hoped it was a bad dream and people would wake up and the division would disappear. That hasn't happened. And now it's been too long, and I don't think it will.
3 of mine ignored the nonsense. All grew up in the south. My (life-long) California daughter and her husband went along in order to work and their kids followed the requirements to go to school and participate in life. Most are damaged. But they’re doing what they’re supposed to do…
I'm so sorry. Do any of them realize now that there may very well be a connection between their shots and their health issues? Or are they still getting the shots......?
All of my adult kids dutifully rolled up their sleeves and told me I was being foolish, especially at my advanced age, to not go along with what I was told to do. For a brief but heartbreaking time period, they were also avoidant of visiting me, because just maybe I might be contagious since I hadn't had the magical shot. I might be a silent spreader or something. You know, asymptomatic. Deadly to others. So irresponsible and selfish of me. And if I didn't like being shunned, well, it would just be a simple matter for me to go get one, right? That's what I was told, at least. I seemed really ignorant to all of them. I was accused of having "magical thinking" and of succumbing to Russian propaganda. Yup.
I still haven't been sick with anything. Mind boggling.
My kids now seem to catch everything that comes down the pike. I worry about their future.
I wanted them to protest the lockdowns, which messed up their lives, and they passively went along.
We don't talk about the shots anymore. They all got The Virus 2x after taking the shots. Other than that, they seem OK. Though I worry about their health, longer-term.
It still bothers me that they listened to stupid Biden instead of the person who sang them to sleep every night. Esp. when they were at zero risk. And no one knew what the long-term shot effects would be. They don't have good answers for these Qs.
If anyone succumbed to magical thinking, it was the social distancers/ masker/vaxxers.
I guess the downside to teaching our kids to think for themselves means that they thought they knew better than the person who sang them to sleep every night.
Naively and well-meaningly, I used to lovingly impart my knowledge to them with the caveat: "you don't have to take MY (or anyone's) word for it; do your own research and see what conclusions YOU come to."
When the stakes were high, this approach backfired. There are no do-overs, unfortunately.
I don't think your approach backfired. People are who they are for a lot of reasons. Parental influence is only one. My 3 siblings got the jab and I knew they would. They knew I wouldn't. Same parents. My wife and I never remotely considered it, no decision was ever easier. It was obviously a bad idea. You either have "it" or you don't. You can help kids, but you can't make them entirely different people. We're lucky, our only kid sees it all like we do. Sure we tried to bring him up that way. But mostly we're just lucky.
the injections were E.U.A. Why would anyone take an E.U.A. injection in the first place? Given that 'vaccines' take ten or more years to create? A vague knowledge of history should make anyone distrustful of anything government says or does. when this garbage started I went into one of those places where you get gasoline for your vehicle and junk food and energy drinks. Everyone was wearing one of those blue plastic masks. They had a box of them, over on a shelf. I went over to the box and read on the instructions that the masks didn't protect against what every one was wearing them for. I saw people wearing them in cars and once I saw an M.D. who I knew by sight wearing one while walking on the sidewalk. Another time I saw a middle aged man frantically washing his hands after being in the same store with that 'sanitizer' that 'they' pushed for awhile. The entire thing was like a Twilight zone episode.
"Why would anyone?" The answer is not pleasant, but to deny its truth doesn't help. I've wondered many times what Rod Serling would have thought about what happened. OTOH, so many people's reaction to the scamdemic was surprising, who knows? He might've been singing along with Dolly Parton.
I was traumatized by seeing all of the masked faces.
Our outdoor farmer's market required them to enter. We also were supposed to "stand on the dot" and line up 6' apart to wait our turn to approach the produce.
I went once, but it was too much for me.
Later, when the mask mandate went away, I went back UNMASKED of course, and was astounded that about 95% were still wearing them. Talk about doing what you are "supposed to do."
My daughter doesn’t want to talk about it. Before they succumbed to the mandates, she talked about trying to get medical exemptions. Cali doesn’t allow doctors to write them. Those days are gone.
Her husband had a stroke 2 years ago at 49. Still recovering
She prefers to avoid thinking/talking about things that will upset her or disturb her mental peace, so, no looking back or second-guessing choices. She’s just trying to get to retirement
I can understand your daughter's point of view. She has a lot going on. 49 years old with a stroke. I am so sorry about your son-in-law.
I begged and pleaded with my children not to get these things..... I will never forget my daughter kind of shrugging and saying it was her turn to "take one for the team" like it was NOTHING. For me, it was like watching all three of my kids being led off the cliff, not being able to hear my pleading screams to just not do it.
And none of them will discuss vaccines with me. It's a forbidden topic, if I wish to still be in a relationship with them (of course I do). No grandchildren (yet? ever?).
So many of us in the same boat. So very sad and heartbreaking. Two of my three young adult children wouldn’t hear me out the several times a tried to warn them. They both took 3 jabs much to my horror. They are doing okay so far as I know. I’m just so worried about what’s to come in the future.
My neighbor - in his early 60s - had a bad stroke after getting vaccinated. He was in a rehab hospital for two months and is still about 50 percent disabled. (He had just sold a very successful business and was looking forward to retirement). He's doing better, but he can no longer cut his grass with his riding lawn mower (an activity he loved) or drive a car by himself.
I asked him if he thought his stroke might have been caused by the "vaccines" and he said, "yes."
A good metric would be to report on the number of patients who have spent time at stroke re-hab hospitals and compare these figures pre and post "vaccine."
I can so identify with your pain….I too have a compliant daughter who answered “Never say never” when I asked if she would take the shot or give it to her kids. 🤦♀️
my wife is the same way. I try to shelter her as much as possible. She agrees with me on all this garbage, she just doesn't want to know or think about much along these lines.
Dad called me a fool and a stupid cow. But same as you, all I had in these 5 years was a couple ear infections. And has something now that sounds like a very bad cold, and probably had flu or wuflu 3 times already. Been sick for the ongoing 3 years. Blames the hospital where he spent 3 weeks with broken ribs (and they are probably not innocent, giving him a bag of meds he probably did not need).
It's the power of the herd. People seek-out the protection of being in said herd or intuitively understand they won't be hassled or penalized socially or professionally if they conform with the groupthink.
One statistic we'll never know is how many who knew they wouldn't be penalized if they conformed just pretended to conform, and weren't as stupid as they appear. They knew it was a terrible risk/benefit ratio, so they faked it. A conversation with these people would be a lot different than with the true believers. But to get a handle on how many there are, proportionally, would be difficult. I'd guess 5-10 per cent, but just a guess.
oh no. That is sad. But you are not the only one. I know from several parents that they tried to talk their adult children out of it, but most bent for the loss of job, friends, or just to go along I guess.
When I was in school in the '70s and '80s, my teachers encouraged this. I was a contrarian even back then and would often pipe up in class and say, "I don't know about this" or "what about this?" I can't remember any teacher reprimanding me for applying my own natural curiosity or skepticism. They applauded it.
In English classes, I was taught to "cite sources" to develop my composition themes - which I tried to do. I still try to do this as an independent journalist, but it doesn't seem to matter much.
It would have been fun to be in a class with a young Bill Rice, Jr. in 2020-2025! I don't think there's any students like me anymore.
I think there are still students like you, since I think it's an innate trait. Which is why so many parents on this thread who knew better couldn't sway their kids. Today kids like you would mostly have to keep their thoughts to themselves more than you did though, so they wouldn't be as visible in the classroom. Outside the classroom, they're probably pretty much like you were. I can't prove any of that, but human nature is what it's always been, and the percentage with certain inborn proclivities stays the same.
I refused to wear a mask at the doctor's office. So I asked if they wanted me to leave. They said yes. So I walked out to my motorcycle getting ready to leave. Moments later The dotor came running out and gave me a physical right next to my bike. This is just one of the many times this has happened to me. I refused to be told what to do.
good on you. I wore a muzzle to go to the dentist as an experiment. I hadn't worn one until then. When I went to pay, the young woman at the desk was frightened, I could see that in her eyes, (of course, that's all I could see, so the dehumanizing aspect was confirmed) I paid with cash and she was skittish and trying to stay as far away as she could. I was angry that this stupid world made her afraid.
Yes, it can't be said often enough how stupid it was. Does it really do any good to dance around the truth? How does that help? I like your choice of words, TB. Those who pulled the strings and profited weren't stupid though, just very high on the psychopathic scale. They knew the score. Those they manipulated were stupid.
Most of the people who swallowed the covid schtick hook, line, and sinker, by now realize that they were deceived. The evidence is too abundant for them to have not seen it. They were so thoroughly manipulated that they can’t bring themselves to admit and accept that reality. Your tee shirt insults their ego’s.
Ego of course. But also almost no one can admit they did something stupid that will probably kill them before their time or that they have basically irreparably injured themselves. With the internet I expected more but apparently not. I had always thought the lizards might be concerned about the internet and make more efforts to control and suppress. As it turns out controlling the MSM, print and TV is enough.
Yes, the lizards understand who they're dealing with. They know most people "want to believe" their leaders and overlords are not monsters, so they will. It's easy for them.
I'm not so sure. If they do they keep quiet in order to retain some sense of self-respect. They're world would collapse if they admitted for one moment that they had got it wrong.
Yes, but why would their world collapse? Why wouldn't yes, I effed up and now I have to either fix the situation or accept the situation that I caused be a better answer for the soul? You can't run forever from consequences.
They're minds don't work like yours. In fact they're minds don't work very well at all. They lack something basic, it just is not there. That's why they're sometimes called NPCs. I'm not a gamer, not interested in that at all. But the NPC label from gaming is perfect for them.
Before she could answer, my SIL de-escalated the exchange by stepping into the ten feet between us, waving her arms and saying, “OK, that’s enough! This is over!”
I hate it when that happens. THIS was THE moment to help her friend overcome some mental blockade, it was a chance for her to make better decisions in future and not inject poison into her bloodstream or into the ones of her children.
But confrontations are scary, let's just all pretend everything is fine..
It is just annoying and wrong; everyone who knows about the COVID scam knows that there only a few of us. And most know it will happen again. So if you get a chance to enlighten someone, DO IT!
Hey IR, we speak the same language, tho my line is usually "Fuck that shit!"
I've never suffered fools, & it has cost me relationships, but has also forged many, much deeper & stronger bonds with those who think about what they're "supposed" to do.
Exactly, I am just going to be me and talk about things I find interesting, however uncomfortable it makes others feel. They either get used to it or they (or I) leave for more compatible people to be with.
I was able to keep one friend from having surgery - after discussing why I had not jabbed, she related how she had been to the doc several times because of some dots on her arm. She had been back and back and back again, and then he said he would have to cut them out. I wondered if she had a second opinion on it, and why she kept on going back to a doc who obviously could not decide on what it was. I told her I only go to the doc if I have something that I myself think is important. She said, you are right. I still don't know what it is, and I don't want this surgery. I hope she followed up (but later on went for a mammogram)
Excellent article, as always. Your reasons for not taking the jab are the same as mine. Covid actually made me question everything the medical community offers. I refused to wear a mask almost everywhere I went. (Air travel was forced to wear when visiting my son.) I stopped getting any annual flu shot in 2020. I stopped taking statins for a nonexistent cholesterol problem and instead switched to OTC Berberine. This made my numbers much better than the Rx prescribed. I agreed with your outlook about losing a friendship over this scam. If someone feels they can’t visit because I’m not ‘boosted’ then they aren’t a friend anyway. The whole Covid fiasco was overblown and resulted in Mail-in ballots to steal an election. The mandates were used to show their power and ability to steal billions fed to NGOs. Payback is due and I hope those who were forced to take the jab, then harmed by the jab, when their religious exemption was denied, soon get the money they deserve during the number of trials in process. Another benefit living with common sense and seeing the scam, I don’t live in fear of some side effect lurking in my body.
Your best one for me yet Mark ! It really hit home since my SIL works at the Lifetime fitness in Princeton. She is unjabbed and lost many friendships in the last 5 years . There is no talking these people off the cliff . Some are wearing masks again . The t shirt I have from you , gives the most vile looks . Thank u for your writings and bravery!
I live on a small Island that's part of Puerto Rico. Strangely enough, we were given the opportunity to get Covid vaxxed before San Juan (the PR capital), NYC, Miami or Washington DC. Strange. But not so if you realize that we were guinea pigs, or test subjects. My super intelligent friend Bob C called me to ask if I was going to get the shot, to which answered 'No'. And Bob said, 'So you won't get the shot, get sick, have to go to the hospital, get put on a ventilator and die.' To whichI replied that if I did get sick, I'd treat it by natural means (I had all the ingredients in the FLCCC protocols on hand, including Ivermectin)... and if that didn't work, I'd die at home. I did get Covid Delta and the FLCCC protocols powered my recovery. Bob is fine, even though he's 'fully inoculated'. We had a friend who was an Artist. Bob saw him having trouble making it to his car so he helped out and suggested that the guy get checked out. He did and was medivaced to the main Island, where all the hospitals are. He was put on a ventilator and 2 days later he died. Truly... not enough focus has been directed to how the vast majority of Covid deaths were in hospitals. Clearly, the hospital standard of care was deadly...
I truly enjoyed my stay on Vieques in 2016. Took a publico from San Juan to the ferry in Fajardo (was still where it was based) to Isabel II. Most of my time was in and around Esperanza, but also hiked all around Isabel II, along the shore all the way to Mosquito Pier and back to the airport to fly back into Isla Grande after a few days on the island. This was before Maria.
I loved Lazy Jack's, made my newest best friends there, joined them for a birthday party on Navio Beach the next day. Jumped off cliffs into the sea, swam into caves with my adopted posse! Most were beautiful young ladies, a few of their younger guy friends, and me, old enough to have been any of their fathers!!
I just saw that the hostel I stayed at Lazy Jack's is now closed permanently on maps. And the beautiful tree that once shaded and beautified it was destroyed by Maria. But that visit made me fall in love with that small island and its people and remember it fondly. Though I'm not sure I would've if I had to ride out the plandemic there. I suspect that my disagreeable nature about such things in a small population would have led to severe alienation.
Hi Freedom Fox... glad to know that you connected with Vieques. It's a special place. The hostel lodgings at Lazy Jacks were turned into AirBnB's. Yeah, Hurricane Maria (175 mph winds w/260 ph gusts !) really hit Vieques hard. Huge trees uprooted. No electric service for between 4 to 9 months ! The Crypto Currency Billionaires discovered Vieque and bought a bunch of properties. The Island is a bit more developed now, but still not overdeveloped. often can't find a parking space on Main Street in Isabel 2. There are a small bunch of non-vaxxed folk here. Couldn't go into a few stores. Wore a folded over bandana instead of a mask. All cotton. Wasn't so bad here during the plandemic. Better than NYC, where I originally hailed from. Stay safe... be well...
You, as well. I remember meeting another passenger on the ferry over who was telling me about a business opportunity he found when he visited Vieques a few years earlier. He was a locksmith from one of the states in the US South or Midwest, I think Alabama or Indiana or somewhere like that. He found that the only locksmith(s) on the island didn't travel, so he moved there and started doing house calls. In a few years he was able to afford one of the nicer homes on the cliffs above Isabel II. Nice guy. Bet he's still doing well.
Yes Freedom Fox... Mark Weems is the locksmith. He has a tricked out van where he does his work. He'll drive to you. I believe that Mark is from Texas. He's really good. Sadly, his wife passed recently. He also has a shipping container workshop.
"Maybe a good rule of thumb would be to oppose the side that the media favors." You hit that one outta' the park, brother! When describing the Lame Stream Media, I can't think of an easier way to call balls & strikes.
Born in Wisconsin, grew up South of Seattle, lived in Minnesota, New Hampshire, NE Oregon, back to WA, & now in small town(s) in Georgia since summer of 2019. I LOVE the South, except June thru mid-September, when it's "Hotter than four Hells" down heah!
In my experience as a Northerner, a Politically Conservative Jew, & one whom everyday, wears shirts that never use swear words, & are like your Coronomania shirt (AYK, I have 2 so I always have a clean one on hand, & gave many others to my friends!) in that they challenge & support ideas, actions, & truths I think our Founders would've agreed with, I have found the complete opposite from what your daughters said to you, about Southerners. I have yet to have had a bad experience because of a difference of opinion with anybody down heah, & in fact, have found the complete opposite, & I talk to a LOT of people. My lovely wife who's put up with me for 38 yrs of marriage, even bought me a shirt that says: "WARNING: May Start Talking Politics", which I proudly wear, & that has started some great conversations!
I will add that in the larger, Southern Cities which are unfortunately, also infected with the "Intolerance of the Tolerant Left" that has virtually destroyed the Left Coast, many of the East Coast States, & a few others as well, I have had some scowls & evil eyes thrown my way, but also some smiles & thumbs up's.
It is wonderful to live heah where most people are truly friendly, & a perfect stranger may stop to really tell you how they are doing, if you politely pass the greeting of "Hello, how you doin' today?", when you're polite, open & friendly to the ladies down heah, you are rewarded with warm smiles, & are often called "Sugar", Sweety", "Honey", "Baby", or "Dear". This goes for people all across the color spectrum, BTW (well, maybe not so much for the occasional blue, pink, or orange haired ones with fishing tackle in their faces).
It is far different from what I've experienced for most of my life, & I feel like I am "home".
I live in Arizona but spend a lot of time in North Carolina every year. You did a great job describing the people here. During the last five years, this was the most sane place I could spend time. Getting to North Carolina I enjoy the southern states I travel through. My path usually includes a couple weeks in Florida where I have a great time.
We live in LaGrange, GA, & anytime you're passing thru, just let me know, as there's always room at the Inn, & we can swap lies, share some good Bourbon, & bask in some Southern Hospitality!
That's a nice invite. We usually pass more to the east as I try to avoid the traffice around Atlanta. But, who knows. I am certain that I have probably been through LaGrange at some point in the past. I've been making this trip for over 25 years--mostly by auto.
We need to include the American legal system as part of the conspiracy. Many lawyers love the self-reverence of being thought of as the protectors of freedom and civil liberties from tyranny. The image. Not the reality. I know you're a lawyer so I'm sharing this anecdotal for your insights, commentary.
I knew, socialized with a lawyer considered to be one of the top civil liberties lawyers in the nation. One of the ACLU's top attorneys, based in Colorado. Argued many high-profile cases before SCOTUS. Whose name will go unmentioned here but could no doubt be deduced by those who poke around. Early in 2020 I interacted with him a bit on social media. As local lockdowns were imposed he (and ACLU) backpedaled on the opposition they had to Trump's emergency declarations after hyperventilating for months that he was overstating the health "emergency" and we needed to prevent his tyrannical nature from seizing dictatorial power. He didn't care about tyranny from local officials exercising their emergency power.
As mask "recommendations" became "mandates" after I said they would and he said they never would he backpedaled and said they were "de minimis" intrusions on civil liberties no big deal, get over it, the "health emergency" demanded it.
When I pointed out the hypocrisy of allowing protests for BLM after shutting down protests against lockdowns, business closures and mask mandates he proclaimed that we should be thankful that all the BLM protestors wanted was reparations and not our blood! An officer of the court said that!?!
When vaccine "recommendations" became "mandates" after I said they would and he said they never would he backpedaled and said the right to not be infected by a pathogen carrier superseded our right to consent to medical interventions and bodily autonomy.
Some "civil rights" heroic lawyer protecting freedom from tyranny, huh?
And not just found in prominent civil rights attorneys. I had a couple trial lawyer friends who specialize in health law and product liability, suing doctors for malpractice and pharmaceutical giants for deadly products. When I tried having conversations with both of them separately about the rampant corruption on display during plandemic, medical malpractice as it was being practiced, the deadly and injurious outcomes of the injections, as "Sudden Adult Death Syndrome" was coined to describe sudden deaths from shots, as everyone got sick after the parroted "thankful for the protection it could've been worse" when they got sick from the shots, those very same lawyers who'd have picked up the evidence, actual and anecdotal to sue the hell out of doctors, health systems, Big Pharma told me I was crazy. And that they trusted the experts.
Talk about the power of propaganda over objective experience!!! Even among those who had every reason to know better, decades of cases, evidence they themselves worked to draw upon. They couldn't conceive that the evil and corruption they knew - and made a good living off holding accountable - is *as* evil and corrupt as it is. Or they willfully chose not to.
For whatever reason they decided to not question the very questionable. Loss of status? Peer pressure? Whatever the motivation once they gave their minds over to the fraud they had to shut down questioning it. The cognitive dissonance in holding two contradictory ideas becomes too much. They kept the one that was least upsetting to their lifestyles and social networks.
Law failed, the legal system failed, American jurisprudence failed the plan/scamdemic. And this is the biggest threat of all to the future of liberty and freedom in the US. When lawyers themselves only cosplay as protectors of freedom and civil liberties from tyranny.
You know HIV / AIDS is also a hoax? Truly, Fauci is one of the most murderous criminals in history. I don't understand how he just keeps getting away with his evil. I don't know Collins perhaps because I'm Australian.
You’ve got major smarts and stones, Mark! Excellent post.
Living in Corona kooky California during the scamdemic, I did everything I wasn’t SUPPOSED to do, including refusal to wear face nappies, abide by preposterous social distancing demands, or take toxic experimental injections. This resulted in tremendous turmoil, disgust, anger and eventual evacuation from my native state. If I am now SUPPOSED to forgive and forget - that ain’t happening. I lost my patience with robots and sheep.
When confronted with a choice where my own logic and experience do not indicate a clear direction, doing the opposite of what the majority of people do has usually proven to be a good decision.
Meant to add ....glad you're still wearing the t-shirt and provoking conversations because we all know they are going to try again and it's important that those who questioned nothing maybe ask a couple of questions at least next time! You're showing the way 👏🏻
I'll wear it until I die.
And then I'll be buried in it.
I would like to attend your burial. I will miss you and cry. You are amazingly courageous.
Nothing like a good uniform to attract people .
good for you
Just curious – how often you get a thumbs up or a fist bump for that shirt? I think I want one, or some version of it for myself.
Instead of wearing a whyruss protest shirt ,I wear large Micky mouse ears ,I have never been loved sooo much , by all the children . Many still wear the snot pouch ,a sure sign they take shots also .The shots I take is a glass of red wine in the evening and that is what my wife hates so much .
You made mention of the toll on children kept out of school for many months. Around the MD suburbs of DC, I think it was at least 18 months, and possibly 2 years. I don't have kids in school anymore, but I did befriend several neighbors with school-age children during COVID, as we were all stuck at home, so I hear things. I also am friends with teachers, and I worked in the schools when my own children were young.
What I just learned, which maybe others already have known about for quite some time, is so troubling: While this data will certainly vary from school to school, district to district, overall what is showing up more and more (in other words, be on the lookout for this) is a disappearance of "average" students. Used to be, a normal distribution curve would have the largest number of students scores in the middle hump. But in some cases I recently viewed, there are now two curves -- a much larger group than in the past who are at the lower end (their own bell curve), and a group at the higher end (another curve), with a big dip in the middle.
Speculations I've heard about this are the cohort that is currently in middle school and high school include a very large number of children who -- for a variety of reasons -- have not recovered from the lack of mastering basics (reading, math) and are just being pushed along, and are now so out of their depth that they are not succeeding in pulling themselves out (or not receiving appropriate remedial instruction). The other group at the higher end is recovering and doing as expected; these fortunate middle and high schoolers likely had less lockdown, less masking, and parents with the resources to take up the instruction and guidance and discipline (and maybe pay for tutors) at home. The other kids didn't have this support.
This is such a LARGE cohort of struggling students. People who say "COVID is over" have no clue of the magnitude of the damage done to our country's children.
I suspect this achievement gap is real.
But I KNOW that kids missed out on social time and memory creation and all that goes with that. These effects aren't as easy to measure, at least in the near term. But they're even more important than the academic stuff.
Around here, once kids returned to school, they were required to wear masks for the longest time. But then, all of a sudden (mid 2022?), this requirement went away.
I have a high school a few blocks from me, and it made me so sad to see that the high schoolers continued to wear masks long after the requirement went away.
I live a few doors down from some neighbors who moved here right at the beginning of the pandemic. Their son started 7th grade in 2020, virtually. Then, eventually, in person in 9th grade -- I asked him what it was like to be in class with his peers -- and he had never seen their faces, except maybe some online in middle school. He said it was "OK" and that since a lot of teens feel awkward anyway, acne or whatever, self conscious, then it felt safe to wear these masks.....
But I say, to go through that magical period of adolescence when you are beginning to be appropriately interested in the opposite sex, and not being able to properly communicate with your full facial expressions..... that is so messed up. And how do people ever recover from that, socially. I'm not even talking about missing milestones like the senior prom, which IS super sad, but for more than a year to have such abnormal social interactions. It was hard for me, at my age, but I'd already lived a life. I can only imagine the impact on youngsters.
(now, whenever I see a kid wearing a mask, usually with masked parents, I get pretty angry. I have to wonder "why" and will we ever get to a point where this is noted as child abuse?)
I think it will take several generations before this is 'over'. Because all these low performing kids won't be able to get other jobs than fast food or filling racks at grocery stores. Hopefully some will learn plumbing and carpentry and electricity, because I still have to rely on my 80 year old friend to come do repairs. From the 6 contacted, none showed up.
The family with kids I know is thankfully homeschooling, 5 very healthy unjabbed kids.
I now definitely believe there's been a mass conspiracy to "dumb down" both students as well as the entire population. This program makes people far easier to control.
Also, ramping up the Censorship Industrial Complex made it less likely that anyone would be exposed to the smart counter-arguments of any adults who are still left in the room. Those adults are still out there; their arguments simply don't reach enough people to make a difference. And far more people now know that they should "self censor."
I'm curious to know, Mark, what % of your friends did you lose and replace, due to their not being able to accept your different stance? This part interests me because, in my world, the social pressure to "go along to get along" was extreme. It was not just social pressure (friends, neighbors) but family pressure (most every member of my family including both parents and my only sibling who is the gatekeeper to my contact with them, because she lives with them) and pressure at work (employer strongly pushed compliance and every one of my coworkers succumbed).
I'm not judging, one way or another.... just teasing all of this apart, like you are. I'm interested in how different people navigate this. Throughout my life, people have often bemusedly pointed out how I follow my own tune, or think differently, or don't always do what I'm "supposed to do," yet those who voice this generally like me. Maybe as a curiosity. But COVID definitely showed me the sharp division. Every single one of these loved ones were on the side of compliance, whereas I stood my solitary, lonely (definitely!) ground, grieving over this discovery of how different I was from everyone else I knew. So yeah, I kept quiet a good bit, to "go along to get along." To not lose every loved one over my wrongthink.
Pretending that I had done what I was "supposed to do" was an act of survival for me. All along, I hoped it was a bad dream and people would wake up and the division would disappear. That hasn't happened. And now it's been too long, and I don't think it will.
Dani, extremely well-stated, as always. And true, especially the last paragraph.
I might write a more specific post about losing friends.
My parents taught me what I’m supposed to do, and that is think for myself.
I taught my kids to think for themselves, too.
But then they went along with it all.
3 of mine ignored the nonsense. All grew up in the south. My (life-long) California daughter and her husband went along in order to work and their kids followed the requirements to go to school and participate in life. Most are damaged. But they’re doing what they’re supposed to do…
I'm so sorry. Do any of them realize now that there may very well be a connection between their shots and their health issues? Or are they still getting the shots......?
All of my adult kids dutifully rolled up their sleeves and told me I was being foolish, especially at my advanced age, to not go along with what I was told to do. For a brief but heartbreaking time period, they were also avoidant of visiting me, because just maybe I might be contagious since I hadn't had the magical shot. I might be a silent spreader or something. You know, asymptomatic. Deadly to others. So irresponsible and selfish of me. And if I didn't like being shunned, well, it would just be a simple matter for me to go get one, right? That's what I was told, at least. I seemed really ignorant to all of them. I was accused of having "magical thinking" and of succumbing to Russian propaganda. Yup.
I still haven't been sick with anything. Mind boggling.
My kids now seem to catch everything that comes down the pike. I worry about their future.
I wanted them to protest the lockdowns, which messed up their lives, and they passively went along.
We don't talk about the shots anymore. They all got The Virus 2x after taking the shots. Other than that, they seem OK. Though I worry about their health, longer-term.
It still bothers me that they listened to stupid Biden instead of the person who sang them to sleep every night. Esp. when they were at zero risk. And no one knew what the long-term shot effects would be. They don't have good answers for these Qs.
If anyone succumbed to magical thinking, it was the social distancers/ masker/vaxxers.
I guess the downside to teaching our kids to think for themselves means that they thought they knew better than the person who sang them to sleep every night.
Naively and well-meaningly, I used to lovingly impart my knowledge to them with the caveat: "you don't have to take MY (or anyone's) word for it; do your own research and see what conclusions YOU come to."
When the stakes were high, this approach backfired. There are no do-overs, unfortunately.
I don't think your approach backfired. People are who they are for a lot of reasons. Parental influence is only one. My 3 siblings got the jab and I knew they would. They knew I wouldn't. Same parents. My wife and I never remotely considered it, no decision was ever easier. It was obviously a bad idea. You either have "it" or you don't. You can help kids, but you can't make them entirely different people. We're lucky, our only kid sees it all like we do. Sure we tried to bring him up that way. But mostly we're just lucky.
the injections were E.U.A. Why would anyone take an E.U.A. injection in the first place? Given that 'vaccines' take ten or more years to create? A vague knowledge of history should make anyone distrustful of anything government says or does. when this garbage started I went into one of those places where you get gasoline for your vehicle and junk food and energy drinks. Everyone was wearing one of those blue plastic masks. They had a box of them, over on a shelf. I went over to the box and read on the instructions that the masks didn't protect against what every one was wearing them for. I saw people wearing them in cars and once I saw an M.D. who I knew by sight wearing one while walking on the sidewalk. Another time I saw a middle aged man frantically washing his hands after being in the same store with that 'sanitizer' that 'they' pushed for awhile. The entire thing was like a Twilight zone episode.
"Why would anyone?" The answer is not pleasant, but to deny its truth doesn't help. I've wondered many times what Rod Serling would have thought about what happened. OTOH, so many people's reaction to the scamdemic was surprising, who knows? He might've been singing along with Dolly Parton.
I was traumatized by seeing all of the masked faces.
Our outdoor farmer's market required them to enter. We also were supposed to "stand on the dot" and line up 6' apart to wait our turn to approach the produce.
I went once, but it was too much for me.
Later, when the mask mandate went away, I went back UNMASKED of course, and was astounded that about 95% were still wearing them. Talk about doing what you are "supposed to do."
Traumatized.
My daughter doesn’t want to talk about it. Before they succumbed to the mandates, she talked about trying to get medical exemptions. Cali doesn’t allow doctors to write them. Those days are gone.
Her husband had a stroke 2 years ago at 49. Still recovering
She prefers to avoid thinking/talking about things that will upset her or disturb her mental peace, so, no looking back or second-guessing choices. She’s just trying to get to retirement
I can understand your daughter's point of view. She has a lot going on. 49 years old with a stroke. I am so sorry about your son-in-law.
I begged and pleaded with my children not to get these things..... I will never forget my daughter kind of shrugging and saying it was her turn to "take one for the team" like it was NOTHING. For me, it was like watching all three of my kids being led off the cliff, not being able to hear my pleading screams to just not do it.
And none of them will discuss vaccines with me. It's a forbidden topic, if I wish to still be in a relationship with them (of course I do). No grandchildren (yet? ever?).
Yes. Exactly
So many of us in the same boat. So very sad and heartbreaking. Two of my three young adult children wouldn’t hear me out the several times a tried to warn them. They both took 3 jabs much to my horror. They are doing okay so far as I know. I’m just so worried about what’s to come in the future.
My neighbor - in his early 60s - had a bad stroke after getting vaccinated. He was in a rehab hospital for two months and is still about 50 percent disabled. (He had just sold a very successful business and was looking forward to retirement). He's doing better, but he can no longer cut his grass with his riding lawn mower (an activity he loved) or drive a car by himself.
I asked him if he thought his stroke might have been caused by the "vaccines" and he said, "yes."
A good metric would be to report on the number of patients who have spent time at stroke re-hab hospitals and compare these figures pre and post "vaccine."
Poor guy. Hindsight doesn’t help in these situations
I can so identify with your pain….I too have a compliant daughter who answered “Never say never” when I asked if she would take the shot or give it to her kids. 🤦♀️
my wife is the same way. I try to shelter her as much as possible. She agrees with me on all this garbage, she just doesn't want to know or think about much along these lines.
Dad called me a fool and a stupid cow. But same as you, all I had in these 5 years was a couple ear infections. And has something now that sounds like a very bad cold, and probably had flu or wuflu 3 times already. Been sick for the ongoing 3 years. Blames the hospital where he spent 3 weeks with broken ribs (and they are probably not innocent, giving him a bag of meds he probably did not need).
It's the power of the herd. People seek-out the protection of being in said herd or intuitively understand they won't be hassled or penalized socially or professionally if they conform with the groupthink.
One statistic we'll never know is how many who knew they wouldn't be penalized if they conformed just pretended to conform, and weren't as stupid as they appear. They knew it was a terrible risk/benefit ratio, so they faked it. A conversation with these people would be a lot different than with the true believers. But to get a handle on how many there are, proportionally, would be difficult. I'd guess 5-10 per cent, but just a guess.
Sad to read that.
Heartbreaking.
It has been.
oh no. That is sad. But you are not the only one. I know from several parents that they tried to talk their adult children out of it, but most bent for the loss of job, friends, or just to go along I guess.
When I was in school in the '70s and '80s, my teachers encouraged this. I was a contrarian even back then and would often pipe up in class and say, "I don't know about this" or "what about this?" I can't remember any teacher reprimanding me for applying my own natural curiosity or skepticism. They applauded it.
In English classes, I was taught to "cite sources" to develop my composition themes - which I tried to do. I still try to do this as an independent journalist, but it doesn't seem to matter much.
It would have been fun to be in a class with a young Bill Rice, Jr. in 2020-2025! I don't think there's any students like me anymore.
I think there are still students like you, since I think it's an innate trait. Which is why so many parents on this thread who knew better couldn't sway their kids. Today kids like you would mostly have to keep their thoughts to themselves more than you did though, so they wouldn't be as visible in the classroom. Outside the classroom, they're probably pretty much like you were. I can't prove any of that, but human nature is what it's always been, and the percentage with certain inborn proclivities stays the same.
I also had several good friends who “thought like me.” So we had some strength in numbers or allies who supported one another.
Same here. I haven't kept in touch unfortunately, except at a few funerals. I wonder if they're still as sharp as they seemed than.
I refused to wear a mask at the doctor's office. So I asked if they wanted me to leave. They said yes. So I walked out to my motorcycle getting ready to leave. Moments later The dotor came running out and gave me a physical right next to my bike. This is just one of the many times this has happened to me. I refused to be told what to do.
More people needed to do this.
You clearly passed the mental health part of the physical.
good on you. I wore a muzzle to go to the dentist as an experiment. I hadn't worn one until then. When I went to pay, the young woman at the desk was frightened, I could see that in her eyes, (of course, that's all I could see, so the dehumanizing aspect was confirmed) I paid with cash and she was skittish and trying to stay as far away as she could. I was angry that this stupid world made her afraid.
Wow, that's tip of the spear stuff. If only more were like you the world would be a lot different in a very good way.
Thanks for this one, Mark. It was all so grotesquely stupid.
Thanks, TB.
I'll be in touch.
Belated but warmest congratulations on your book!
Yes, it can't be said often enough how stupid it was. Does it really do any good to dance around the truth? How does that help? I like your choice of words, TB. Those who pulled the strings and profited weren't stupid though, just very high on the psychopathic scale. They knew the score. Those they manipulated were stupid.
Most of the people who swallowed the covid schtick hook, line, and sinker, by now realize that they were deceived. The evidence is too abundant for them to have not seen it. They were so thoroughly manipulated that they can’t bring themselves to admit and accept that reality. Your tee shirt insults their ego’s.
That's why I wear it.
It's not so hard to admit one is wrong. But so many can't do it.
You should use your platform to form a new club… “Unvaccinated and regretting it”. I will maintain the membership list.
okay, that made me laugh.
Yep. "I'm over Covid!" Ok. But ITS NOT OVER! In fact that was the test for future compliance people!
The damage is permanent.
and now 'we' move on to build on the permanent damage for our glorious globo homo NWO.
Ego of course. But also almost no one can admit they did something stupid that will probably kill them before their time or that they have basically irreparably injured themselves. With the internet I expected more but apparently not. I had always thought the lizards might be concerned about the internet and make more efforts to control and suppress. As it turns out controlling the MSM, print and TV is enough.
Yes, the lizards understand who they're dealing with. They know most people "want to believe" their leaders and overlords are not monsters, so they will. It's easy for them.
I'm not so sure. If they do they keep quiet in order to retain some sense of self-respect. They're world would collapse if they admitted for one moment that they had got it wrong.
Yes, but why would their world collapse? Why wouldn't yes, I effed up and now I have to either fix the situation or accept the situation that I caused be a better answer for the soul? You can't run forever from consequences.
They're minds don't work like yours. In fact they're minds don't work very well at all. They lack something basic, it just is not there. That's why they're sometimes called NPCs. I'm not a gamer, not interested in that at all. But the NPC label from gaming is perfect for them.
Before she could answer, my SIL de-escalated the exchange by stepping into the ten feet between us, waving her arms and saying, “OK, that’s enough! This is over!”
I hate it when that happens. THIS was THE moment to help her friend overcome some mental blockade, it was a chance for her to make better decisions in future and not inject poison into her bloodstream or into the ones of her children.
But confrontations are scary, let's just all pretend everything is fine..
Fuck that.
Some people just can't be helped.
It is just annoying and wrong; everyone who knows about the COVID scam knows that there only a few of us. And most know it will happen again. So if you get a chance to enlighten someone, DO IT!
No point in even trying to help them. It will just make them angry.
Hey IR, we speak the same language, tho my line is usually "Fuck that shit!"
I've never suffered fools, & it has cost me relationships, but has also forged many, much deeper & stronger bonds with those who think about what they're "supposed" to do.
Exactly, I am just going to be me and talk about things I find interesting, however uncomfortable it makes others feel. They either get used to it or they (or I) leave for more compatible people to be with.
I was able to keep one friend from having surgery - after discussing why I had not jabbed, she related how she had been to the doc several times because of some dots on her arm. She had been back and back and back again, and then he said he would have to cut them out. I wondered if she had a second opinion on it, and why she kept on going back to a doc who obviously could not decide on what it was. I told her I only go to the doc if I have something that I myself think is important. She said, you are right. I still don't know what it is, and I don't want this surgery. I hope she followed up (but later on went for a mammogram)
Exactly my thoughts as I read about how that went down.
Excellent article, as always. Your reasons for not taking the jab are the same as mine. Covid actually made me question everything the medical community offers. I refused to wear a mask almost everywhere I went. (Air travel was forced to wear when visiting my son.) I stopped getting any annual flu shot in 2020. I stopped taking statins for a nonexistent cholesterol problem and instead switched to OTC Berberine. This made my numbers much better than the Rx prescribed. I agreed with your outlook about losing a friendship over this scam. If someone feels they can’t visit because I’m not ‘boosted’ then they aren’t a friend anyway. The whole Covid fiasco was overblown and resulted in Mail-in ballots to steal an election. The mandates were used to show their power and ability to steal billions fed to NGOs. Payback is due and I hope those who were forced to take the jab, then harmed by the jab, when their religious exemption was denied, soon get the money they deserve during the number of trials in process. Another benefit living with common sense and seeing the scam, I don’t live in fear of some side effect lurking in my body.
Such a terrific response Ruth! Thanks for sharing!! Talk about seeing things as they are in such a short period of time.
Thanks
Your best one for me yet Mark ! It really hit home since my SIL works at the Lifetime fitness in Princeton. She is unjabbed and lost many friendships in the last 5 years . There is no talking these people off the cliff . Some are wearing masks again . The t shirt I have from you , gives the most vile looks . Thank u for your writings and bravery!
Thanks, Brandon.
The groupthink has been UNBELIEVABLE. You would think there would have been at least a few dissidents. We are rare. I wish I didn't have to say that.
I was walking across the baseball field in bare feet on Monday and thought of you hopping the fence.
👍🏼💟🤗
Noticed several Walmart employees with masks again, thankfully some wisened up and hung them under their chin. I wonder if WM is forcing them again?
We keep a mask count here in small town intermountain west, last two or three years haven't seen anyone wearing a muzzle.
I wondered that too ?
I live on a small Island that's part of Puerto Rico. Strangely enough, we were given the opportunity to get Covid vaxxed before San Juan (the PR capital), NYC, Miami or Washington DC. Strange. But not so if you realize that we were guinea pigs, or test subjects. My super intelligent friend Bob C called me to ask if I was going to get the shot, to which answered 'No'. And Bob said, 'So you won't get the shot, get sick, have to go to the hospital, get put on a ventilator and die.' To whichI replied that if I did get sick, I'd treat it by natural means (I had all the ingredients in the FLCCC protocols on hand, including Ivermectin)... and if that didn't work, I'd die at home. I did get Covid Delta and the FLCCC protocols powered my recovery. Bob is fine, even though he's 'fully inoculated'. We had a friend who was an Artist. Bob saw him having trouble making it to his car so he helped out and suggested that the guy get checked out. He did and was medivaced to the main Island, where all the hospitals are. He was put on a ventilator and 2 days later he died. Truly... not enough focus has been directed to how the vast majority of Covid deaths were in hospitals. Clearly, the hospital standard of care was deadly...
I truly enjoyed my stay on Vieques in 2016. Took a publico from San Juan to the ferry in Fajardo (was still where it was based) to Isabel II. Most of my time was in and around Esperanza, but also hiked all around Isabel II, along the shore all the way to Mosquito Pier and back to the airport to fly back into Isla Grande after a few days on the island. This was before Maria.
I loved Lazy Jack's, made my newest best friends there, joined them for a birthday party on Navio Beach the next day. Jumped off cliffs into the sea, swam into caves with my adopted posse! Most were beautiful young ladies, a few of their younger guy friends, and me, old enough to have been any of their fathers!!
I just saw that the hostel I stayed at Lazy Jack's is now closed permanently on maps. And the beautiful tree that once shaded and beautified it was destroyed by Maria. But that visit made me fall in love with that small island and its people and remember it fondly. Though I'm not sure I would've if I had to ride out the plandemic there. I suspect that my disagreeable nature about such things in a small population would have led to severe alienation.
Hi Freedom Fox... glad to know that you connected with Vieques. It's a special place. The hostel lodgings at Lazy Jacks were turned into AirBnB's. Yeah, Hurricane Maria (175 mph winds w/260 ph gusts !) really hit Vieques hard. Huge trees uprooted. No electric service for between 4 to 9 months ! The Crypto Currency Billionaires discovered Vieque and bought a bunch of properties. The Island is a bit more developed now, but still not overdeveloped. often can't find a parking space on Main Street in Isabel 2. There are a small bunch of non-vaxxed folk here. Couldn't go into a few stores. Wore a folded over bandana instead of a mask. All cotton. Wasn't so bad here during the plandemic. Better than NYC, where I originally hailed from. Stay safe... be well...
You, as well. I remember meeting another passenger on the ferry over who was telling me about a business opportunity he found when he visited Vieques a few years earlier. He was a locksmith from one of the states in the US South or Midwest, I think Alabama or Indiana or somewhere like that. He found that the only locksmith(s) on the island didn't travel, so he moved there and started doing house calls. In a few years he was able to afford one of the nicer homes on the cliffs above Isabel II. Nice guy. Bet he's still doing well.
Yes Freedom Fox... Mark Weems is the locksmith. He has a tricked out van where he does his work. He'll drive to you. I believe that Mark is from Texas. He's really good. Sadly, his wife passed recently. He also has a shipping container workshop.
Oh, that's right, I think it was Dallas.
Sad. He was traveling with her, brief Hi. Just plain sad and tragic.
Thanks for staying on the Scamdemic and damages wrought by it. "We ain't fergittin!" is a motto of mine for several years now.
I benefit by hearing that, Rick.
They can't be allowed to pull or support this and walk away like none of it happened.
My sentiments exactly.
Great post again Mark, thanks.
"Maybe a good rule of thumb would be to oppose the side that the media favors." You hit that one outta' the park, brother! When describing the Lame Stream Media, I can't think of an easier way to call balls & strikes.
Born in Wisconsin, grew up South of Seattle, lived in Minnesota, New Hampshire, NE Oregon, back to WA, & now in small town(s) in Georgia since summer of 2019. I LOVE the South, except June thru mid-September, when it's "Hotter than four Hells" down heah!
In my experience as a Northerner, a Politically Conservative Jew, & one whom everyday, wears shirts that never use swear words, & are like your Coronomania shirt (AYK, I have 2 so I always have a clean one on hand, & gave many others to my friends!) in that they challenge & support ideas, actions, & truths I think our Founders would've agreed with, I have found the complete opposite from what your daughters said to you, about Southerners. I have yet to have had a bad experience because of a difference of opinion with anybody down heah, & in fact, have found the complete opposite, & I talk to a LOT of people. My lovely wife who's put up with me for 38 yrs of marriage, even bought me a shirt that says: "WARNING: May Start Talking Politics", which I proudly wear, & that has started some great conversations!
I will add that in the larger, Southern Cities which are unfortunately, also infected with the "Intolerance of the Tolerant Left" that has virtually destroyed the Left Coast, many of the East Coast States, & a few others as well, I have had some scowls & evil eyes thrown my way, but also some smiles & thumbs up's.
It is wonderful to live heah where most people are truly friendly, & a perfect stranger may stop to really tell you how they are doing, if you politely pass the greeting of "Hello, how you doin' today?", when you're polite, open & friendly to the ladies down heah, you are rewarded with warm smiles, & are often called "Sugar", Sweety", "Honey", "Baby", or "Dear". This goes for people all across the color spectrum, BTW (well, maybe not so much for the occasional blue, pink, or orange haired ones with fishing tackle in their faces).
It is far different from what I've experienced for most of my life, & I feel like I am "home".
"Semper certa bonum certamen!"
(Always fight the good fight!)
Thanks, Elliot, for that great message. LOL, as usual.
As Johnny Cash sang, you've been everywhere, man.
I live in Arizona but spend a lot of time in North Carolina every year. You did a great job describing the people here. During the last five years, this was the most sane place I could spend time. Getting to North Carolina I enjoy the southern states I travel through. My path usually includes a couple weeks in Florida where I have a great time.
Thanks, B Mitchell!
We live in LaGrange, GA, & anytime you're passing thru, just let me know, as there's always room at the Inn, & we can swap lies, share some good Bourbon, & bask in some Southern Hospitality!
Elliott - finetimes@protonmail.com
That's a nice invite. We usually pass more to the east as I try to avoid the traffice around Atlanta. But, who knows. I am certain that I have probably been through LaGrange at some point in the past. I've been making this trip for over 25 years--mostly by auto.
I spent some time in Tennessee and Georgia and was astounded at how friendly and polite people were. Never thought it was fake either.
Why haven't Fauci and Collins been hanged?
Because the other conspirators are protecting them..
We need to include the American legal system as part of the conspiracy. Many lawyers love the self-reverence of being thought of as the protectors of freedom and civil liberties from tyranny. The image. Not the reality. I know you're a lawyer so I'm sharing this anecdotal for your insights, commentary.
I knew, socialized with a lawyer considered to be one of the top civil liberties lawyers in the nation. One of the ACLU's top attorneys, based in Colorado. Argued many high-profile cases before SCOTUS. Whose name will go unmentioned here but could no doubt be deduced by those who poke around. Early in 2020 I interacted with him a bit on social media. As local lockdowns were imposed he (and ACLU) backpedaled on the opposition they had to Trump's emergency declarations after hyperventilating for months that he was overstating the health "emergency" and we needed to prevent his tyrannical nature from seizing dictatorial power. He didn't care about tyranny from local officials exercising their emergency power.
As mask "recommendations" became "mandates" after I said they would and he said they never would he backpedaled and said they were "de minimis" intrusions on civil liberties no big deal, get over it, the "health emergency" demanded it.
When I pointed out the hypocrisy of allowing protests for BLM after shutting down protests against lockdowns, business closures and mask mandates he proclaimed that we should be thankful that all the BLM protestors wanted was reparations and not our blood! An officer of the court said that!?!
When vaccine "recommendations" became "mandates" after I said they would and he said they never would he backpedaled and said the right to not be infected by a pathogen carrier superseded our right to consent to medical interventions and bodily autonomy.
Some "civil rights" heroic lawyer protecting freedom from tyranny, huh?
And not just found in prominent civil rights attorneys. I had a couple trial lawyer friends who specialize in health law and product liability, suing doctors for malpractice and pharmaceutical giants for deadly products. When I tried having conversations with both of them separately about the rampant corruption on display during plandemic, medical malpractice as it was being practiced, the deadly and injurious outcomes of the injections, as "Sudden Adult Death Syndrome" was coined to describe sudden deaths from shots, as everyone got sick after the parroted "thankful for the protection it could've been worse" when they got sick from the shots, those very same lawyers who'd have picked up the evidence, actual and anecdotal to sue the hell out of doctors, health systems, Big Pharma told me I was crazy. And that they trusted the experts.
Talk about the power of propaganda over objective experience!!! Even among those who had every reason to know better, decades of cases, evidence they themselves worked to draw upon. They couldn't conceive that the evil and corruption they knew - and made a good living off holding accountable - is *as* evil and corrupt as it is. Or they willfully chose not to.
For whatever reason they decided to not question the very questionable. Loss of status? Peer pressure? Whatever the motivation once they gave their minds over to the fraud they had to shut down questioning it. The cognitive dissonance in holding two contradictory ideas becomes too much. They kept the one that was least upsetting to their lifestyles and social networks.
Law failed, the legal system failed, American jurisprudence failed the plan/scamdemic. And this is the biggest threat of all to the future of liberty and freedom in the US. When lawyers themselves only cosplay as protectors of freedom and civil liberties from tyranny.
What say you, Mark? Unfair indictment?
this is a terrific post. Everything is fake and a lie.
"we should be thankful that all the BLM protestors wanted was reparations and not our blood!" the man that said this is worthless.
this^
You know HIV / AIDS is also a hoax? Truly, Fauci is one of the most murderous criminals in history. I don't understand how he just keeps getting away with his evil. I don't know Collins perhaps because I'm Australian.
RFK Jr. is starting where Fauci left off.
You’ve got major smarts and stones, Mark! Excellent post.
Living in Corona kooky California during the scamdemic, I did everything I wasn’t SUPPOSED to do, including refusal to wear face nappies, abide by preposterous social distancing demands, or take toxic experimental injections. This resulted in tremendous turmoil, disgust, anger and eventual evacuation from my native state. If I am now SUPPOSED to forgive and forget - that ain’t happening. I lost my patience with robots and sheep.
When confronted with a choice where my own logic and experience do not indicate a clear direction, doing the opposite of what the majority of people do has usually proven to be a good decision.
if the herd stampedes in one direction go the opposite. Might not always work but generally a good idea.