UPDATED: So Little Time, So Many Benighted Souls

As I have written elsewhere on this blog, my patience for those who willfully embrace ignorance, who prefer the blunt hammer of dark conspiracy to the hard work of thinking, is non-existent. And despite well-articulated arguments that the way to reach such people is not through confrontation, abuse or disdain but rather empathy and discourse, the well-entrenched cynic within me suggests that such an approach is both very time-consuming and of very limited efficacy.

Time is not on our side in our current Covid pandemic.

But if one were to judge by anti-vaxxer news reports, it is all much ado about nothing.

Take, for example, the anti-lockdown rally in Brantford Ontario over the weekend, which saw possibly a thousand unmasked protestors, bitter over our current lockdown and standing closely together in their solidarity.

The consequence of challenging such a benighted but obdurate mindset is both ugly and instructive. Last week, Martin Regg Cohn wrote a column advocating mandatory vaccinations:

The logical alternative to never-ending lockdowns is to make vaccinations mandatory. Yes, mandatory — like mask mandates.

No, I don’t mean physically restraining people and forcefully injecting them. After all, we don’t forcefully apply masks to people’s faces, we merely forbid them from forcing themselves upon us unmasked and unasked.

In other words, he says there must be restrictions on the freedoms of those who place their wants and beliefs above the requirements of public health. Those restrictions would include bans on overseas air travel, entry to nursing homes, and crossing the border.

This is the kind of response Regg Cohn received:

• “YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM WILL GO FUCKING HYPERACTIVE UNTIL YOU DIE AND HOPEFULLY FOR YOU THAT WILL BE VERY SOON.”

• “I HOPE YOU AN YOUR ENTIRE FAMILY ARE FIRST INLINE TO GET PUNCTURED WITH THIS EXPERIMENTAL INOCULATION.”

• “How much did you get paid to run that PsyOp? ... End the lockdowns. End the mask mandates. Ban the vaccine.”

• “You sir, are obviously a shill for the pharmaceutical industry and should be shut down.”

• “Nazis didn’t give Jews the right to decide. Are you German? Have you heard of the Nuremberg Code? Created to protect against medical experiments.”

• “Your article of forced vaccines is not only disgusting but actually a crime against humanity! Who the f__k do you think you are? I hope that you get what you deserve, God is always watching for demons like you!”

• “How about we dump you off in a totalitarian country like China, where you can live anong like-minded sheep and dittoheads. In fact, perhaps North Korea is more your style.”

• “This is the largest mass extinction event we can imagine and you are helping pushing along all the lemers until they fall off that cliff.”

• “Do you have a monetary gain? Were you ‘asked’ to write your article by a member of the government or ministry of health to help them push the vaccine?”

• “You are an aggressive participant in slow motion mass murder.... Vaccine dependency is mass murder in slow motion. You are an uneducated buffoon … who is your puppet master?”

Jesus said that we will always have the poor amongst us. It is obvious that today, we must also add a few other categories to that observation.

UPDATE: At least the above-mentioned Brantford rally netted a few arrests.

Police in Brantford have laid 12 charges following large protests held amid the provincewide shutdown over the long weekend and say more charges may be coming.

Where Are you, Evangelicals?

That's the question pundit Roland Martin asks about their uniform silence over the sordid sex scandal engulfing Republican Matt Gaetz, who is a House Representative from Florida. Before getting to the video of Martin's comments, here is a short primer on the scandal.

First and foremost, it has been established that Gaetz is under federal investigation for sexual misconduct. On Tuesday, the New York Times reported that the justice department (DoJ) is investigating whether Gaetz, 38, “had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him”. If these allegations are accurate, then Gaetz could have violated federal sex trafficking laws.

Adding credibility to the allegation is this little nugget:

Gaetz has faced accusations of disturbing sexual conduct before. In January 2020 Chris Latvala, a Republican congressman, tweeted that Gaetz “created a game where members of the FL House got ‘points’ for sleeping with aides, interns, lobbyists, and married legislators”. Gaetz also reportedly bragged of his sexual exploits and showed other lawmakers nude photos of women he’d slept with. According to CNN, he showed his colleagues these photos while he was at work. Gaetz, by the way, was also the only lawmaker to vote against a bipartisan anti human-trafficking bill. A number of his colleagues have also spoken out about “love of alcohol and illegal drugs, as well as his proclivity for younger women”.

If you watch just the first two minutes of the following video, you will see what is sticking in Roland Martin's craw:

One thing that at least can be said about the evangelical set, I guess, is that they are remarkably and consistently selective in their moral outrages.

 

 

 

Friday Night Special (Brought To You In Advance)

 What a great collaboration!

Who Invited This Guy?

For those planning their nuptials, here is a word of advice: make sure Donald Trump isn't there to offer a toast.

Holding Back The Clock: Voter Suppression Writ Large

Despite both the overt and subtle nature of racism in Canada, it is hard to imagine living in a country where Black people are essentially told, "Your vote is undesirable. You are a threat to the status quo that so many white people have fought so hard to maintain."

Such is the situation in 28 American states, where legislatures have introduced bills that would severely circumscribe voters' rights with measures ranging from limits on absentee ballots to requirements for photo ID. Indeed, in the state of Georgia, it will now be a crime to offer food or water to people standing in line to vote. 

Please advance the following to the 9:45 minute mark to get a full flavour of these discriminatory measures:

It would seem that Republicans know their time is up, and they are doing everything within their (corrupt) power to hold back the clock.

A Fluid Situation

In what can only be described initially as a fluid situation, assuming he wandered in from a nearby water body, a beaver proceeded to a Toronto subway station, presumably to sample the wonders of Ontario's capital. This tourist invasion 'threat' led to an immediate closing of the station,

Animal control officers arrived at 8 a.m. and did a “safe recovery,” allowing the station entrance to be reopened.

 He also wanted to assure the public that the beaver was safe.

Well, that's the official story. Here is the real scoop:

H/t Michael de Adder

Oh, Canada. We stand on guard for thee, eh?

 

A Simple Life Lesson

It is often said that with age comes wisdom. While that may be true in some instances, perhaps it is more accurate to say that with age comes context. Within the frame of years lived is a wide canvas, one that often provokes, at least on my part, more bemusement than enlightenment. 

But I have come to one conclusion, not especially insightful or earth-shattering perhaps, but nonetheless practical and useful: People should leave other people alone or, put another way, just don't bother people.

I know in this age of echo-chamber social media that many feel emboldened to share their hateful, racist and extreme views, convinced that they have a wisdom to impart. Feeling especially chuffed, many are happy to act out their ignorant hatred, as evidenced most recently by anti-Asian attacks, both in the United States and Canada.

The attacks are widespread, and often close to home.

... anti-Asian racism has been growing across the country, according to a new report released Tuesday by the Chinese Canadian National Council (CCNC) Toronto chapter, which for the first time details the nature of attacks that seem to have intensified during the COVID-19 pandemic.

From verbal insults to physical assaults, including being spat upon, 643 complaints were submitted to the council’s online platforms from March 10 to Dec. 31, 2020. Overwhelmingly, these incidents were fuelled by false and racist beliefs about the spread of COVID-19, according to the study’s authors.

“In addition to the ways we know COVID transmits, the spitting and coughing symbolizes a revenge, as if an act of ‘Go back where you came from, where the virus came from,’” said Kennes Lin, a social worker and co-chair of the CCNC Toronto chapter, who was one of the report’s authors.

Avvy Go, director of the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic in Toronto, was walking home when she was accosted and spit at by a group of young people who blocked her route. 

Horrified, Go yelled, “Excuse me!” but the group continued on, laughing among themselves.

“I was just taken aback. I was just stunned,” said Go, director of the Chinese and Southeast Asian Legal Clinic. “For some of us, every time we step out, we have to worry if we will be targeted again.”

The trauma of experiencing racist attacks, whether verbal or physical, is substantial. The above-referenced report offers  some disturbing insights:

• About 73 per cent of those who reported incidents said they suffered emotional harm or mental distress from what occurred. About eight per cent reported physical injuries.

• Individuals who reported an incident in a Chinese language as opposed to English were 34 per cent more like to suffer emotional distress from the incident and 100 per cent more likely to have experienced a physical assault.

• Close to 50 per cent of incidents occurred in public spaces (park/street/sidewalk), while another 17 per cent took place in grocery stores or restaurants.

There is much, much more to the report, which I suggest you take a look at as time permits.  

So what is to be done? Other than raising public awareness about these hateful attacks and mobilizing support for the Asian community, I return to what I said at the beginning of this post. Miscreants need a reality check in order to understand that very few are thirsting for their 'wisdom,' and the best course  for such individuals is to keep their hatred to themselves, and just don't bother people.

A tall order, I know.