If you learn nothing else from 2020 (a year which is now 23 months long) it’s this:
Propaganda works on you even if you know it’s propaganda.
We’ve all experienced it. You spend all day in a world where the sky is blue and gravity points down. Everything seems normal.
Then the folks in power squat over your house and dump propaganda through electronic devices* into your mind. It’s a brutal assault!
Some pinhead on TV says that virtually every voter in creation wants free shit from the government and they’ll burn their own neighborhood to get it. You’re reminded that this is a good thing. Your vote is important, unless you vote wrong, in which case it’s bad. Morality is outdated. God is dead. Earning things is bad. Having them granted to you is good.
Ads feature lesbian plumbers, black fly fishermen, and everyone who doesn’t buy a particular product is racist. Subarus are made of love and electric cars run on magic. Every corporation loves you. Every fictional CEO is a white male amoral monster. Every actual CEO wants to fix your bad mentality. The former spends his spare time tying widows to train tracks and and the latter is saving dolphins from climate change. Politicians accused of sexually assaulting empowered women who are completely helpless is sorted based on party. Believe all women, unless they accuse a Clinton.
Your sports team is taking a knee for… you have no idea. Their name is racist, millionaire players are victims, and they play in a stadium named by a corporation that’s morally superior to you.
The president announces a huge infrastructure bill is “free”. The “press” nods in agreement like they actually believe it. If you like your doctor you can keep your doctor. Enjoy your $2100 savings.
Facebook labels any doubt about any pronouncement by any bureaucracy “misinformation”. Nobody’s fat on Instagram.
Your kid’s homework would make RuPaul queasy. You examine closely and realize your kid’s teacher is nearly illiterate. Any kid that takes this shit seriously is going to become a basket case and your kid will be there for 13 years. You start to panic and you’re called a domestic terrorist because you questioned the numbskull education majors that march in great herds.
Arson is peaceful protest. Speech you might agree with is violence. Violence against someone like you is free speech.
“News” tells you that inflation doesn’t exist, store shelves are not empty, the climate is affected by tax policy, a zillion illegal immigrants is going to improve your life, and worrying about your winter heating bill means you hate nature.
You’re told that printing unlimited money is just fine. You’re told that parking a $60,000 car in front of a $400,000 house is completely normal. You’re told that it’s completely normal that you’ve financed them all.
Then… the clock ticks and it’s minute two.
It’s relentless. It never ends. Each glimmer of truth comes with a truckload of lies.
The whole situation was designed. It serves a purpose. It’s targeted and delivered by the truckload. Lies this pervasive and endless are almost irresistible. They percolate through the most armored mind and take root in a weary soul.
Soon you feel despondent. Everything is hopeless. This is the new normal. It’ll never get better. You’ve become demoralized… as was intended.
The miasma of failure is a dense fog. It interferes with your thinking. From within, you cannot navigate out. As was also intended.
The best solution to this is a great big laugh. It’s all ridiculous. Quit taking any of it seriously because not a damn part is true or real. Once you step out of the onslaught you see how dumb it is. Under the earth’s true sun, you see the horizon again. Up is once again up. Down is once again down. Anytime you laugh it breaks the spell.
The defeat for evil is not hate… it is mockery.
The thing bullies and tyrants fear most is being made fun of. They don’t fear war, famine, and death… they fear being ridiculed. They fear it because it exposes them as what they are… empty failures.
Which brings me to this:
When I’m feeling down, nothing warms my heart more than a good loud round of Fuck You Biden (or the PG version, Lets Go Brandon). That’s not the sound of crass misery, it’s the sound of American Citizens acting with the irreverence and spirit that marks a free people. Humor, as much as guns and laws, is what made our nation free. Without it, we are already in chains.
The power of humor to defeat asinine bastards is as old as time. Remember this?
I’ll also point you to one of my favorite blogs, The Ultimate Answer To Kings:
“It finally came to me – and that’s when I abandoned the city and most of my stuff, and gave all that was behind me a good stiff Randian Shrug.
The ultimate answer to kings is not a bullet, but a belly laugh.”
Also, I’m working on my contribution to humor. I’m 3/4 of the way through a book. It’s a combination satirical allegory and my unified field theory of the most powerful force in the universe: bullshit. Feel free to read the as yet unfinished but definitely not forgotten Attack Of The Lesbian Activist Squirrels.
Whenever modern politics gets you down, just chuckle and say “Let’s Go Brandon”.
A.C.
*While 99% of propaganda is delivered by electronic devices, it’s harder to dodge them than you think. I will go days and weeks without media or internet only to get nuked by society the instant I make contact. Unless you’re Amish, you don’t have a society free of propaganda in which to take refuge. You’ll be surrounded by people in the thrall of electronic “media” and they’re hooked deeply. They’re junkies. They can’t quit. When a junkie meets a person who’s “clean” (like yours truly at times) they are programmed to download everything… and they will… instantly! They literally cannot help themselves. If there’s a popular show they’ll turn into a Meat Tivo and tell you the plot… as if you somehow don’t have the ability to watch TV if you want. They’ll repeat CNN talking points or what they heard on NPR as if it’s vitally important you know the same bullshit that was crammed onto their tiny little hard drive. This isn’t by accident and it’s very distinctive behavior. One example; I could not avoid listening to a dozen recounts of “Game Of Thrones” from HBO. I don’t have HBO and I didn’t want some yo-yo’s rendition. I’d read the fucking books. It didn’t help. I couldn’t stop them. They couldn’t stop themselves.
(P.S. This post’s title is in honor of the American Revolutionary War’s Continental Navy captain John Paul Jones. During a pitched sea battle, he was taunted by British Captain Richard Pearson. Pearson asked “Has your ship struck?” Jones replied “I have not yet begun to fight!” As banter goes I’ll give that 3 out of 4 Klingons, an honorary Churchill cigar, and a Viking seal of approval. Within 12 hours, after a desperate battle, Pearson surrendered. Jones took Pearson’s ship. This is fortunate because the American’s ship was mortally wounded and sunk before it could be repaired.)
Speaking of the Amish, I saw recently that they as a community have achieved herd immunity. They got the Wuhan, they survived it (No stats of how many may have died, if it was substantial someone would have surely broadcast it far and wide.), and are living exactly like they have for hundreds of years. God has truly blessed them in their moral, physical and political isolation. It’s not for me, but I sincerely admire them.
The disconnected are really better off.
I respect them too. Their way of life got a big test in 2020 and it came through with a gold plated success. The minute covid appeared “English” society went ape. It found a dozen ways to crush its economy, trash all its institutions and traditions, and shitcan every supposed belief in law or freedom. Meanwhile the Amish handled it in their own way. Unlike us maniacs they kept living like normal and rational people. Now we’re in year two of mass hysteria and they’re just as stable as ever. Good for them!
See also:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6aYvqC6B8WQ
and
https://twitter.com/RubinReport/status/1454478855167614984?s=20&fbclid=IwAR1Z12rBK9laylUdU0To41VOC-E5Arx1tfq2ERNeyUUvKT5OD-8JqaKokx4
Yup, I’m addicted. My treatment process is Ironical Sarcasm (a semi religion) and long walks in the woods with a 22. I look at squirrels, they look at me. I have no intention of shooting them. They’re all protected by L.A.S. now. Thanks for hanging in there and bringing humor, reasoned commentary and reality checks. Let’s Go Brandon, fuck ’em if they can’t take a joke.
“The best solution to this is a great big laugh. It’s all ridiculous. Quit taking any of it seriously because not a damn part is true or real. Once you step out of the onslaught you see how dumb it is.” I’m not worried about me. I’m worried about all the idiots around me that believe all this codswallop and vote and act accordingly.
“I’m worried about all the idiots around me”… I get it. I have no answer for that. It bothers me too. Perhaps the collective IQ just isn’t enough to maintain the kind of modern first world society that we once had. Other societies have, throughout history, floundered when the populace slowly became stupid and lazy. Greeks and Romans long ago, Venezuelans a few decades ago, perhaps Australians and New Zealanders now; when dumbasses panic and stampede off a cliff it’s hard to turn things around. We’ve all seen decisions which were obviously and predictably bad leading to inevitable disasters. It’s worrisome but you cannot shoulder the responsibility to maintain the whole world.
Every now and then think “not my circus, not my monkeys” and try to take care of yourself. Take care of yourself as best you can. Nobody wants to live in Rome in 476 or Germany in 1938… but apparently that’s not something one gets to choose.
Hi AC,
I have felt the same as you, laughing at them throughout this whole charade, right up until yesterday. I have to get it off my chest.
I’m an Aussie, and my NSW state govt is forcing . . . oops . . . . strongly “coercing” every single person to receive the medical treatment.
Until yesterday I have been able to avoid it all very easily, by opting out of everything requiring “papers bitte”.
My wife and I are content to read a book, spend time bush walking, fishing, swimming, sailing, hand-writing letters to friends and relatives or simply taking photos or drawing. The fewer people near us, the better.
Yesterday everything changed.
My employer formally announced they are going to dismiss everyone who has not provided their evidence of being doubly treated on January 2022. Merry Christmas !
My useless and pathetic union has caved and will not assist. There is no choice. None. Comply or you are dismissed on the spot on January 1, 2022. My wife’s employer (a publicly listed company) is enforcing this for all new starters, and existing staff are exempt provided they can work from home. *For now*.
I’ll just get another job somewhere else.
I have been in my current job for 8 years, and have been looking for work elsewhere seriously for the last six months – since this situation was first hinted at.
Now EVERY EMPLOYER is requiring new starters to “show your papers”. I even tried to get an appointment with my accountant to get my tax return sorted yesterday. “Papers bitte”. Really? Phone works for me. (Started looking for a new accountant straight after I made the appointment).
So I am faced with a choice. I have a mortgage and so cannot stop working.
I cannot get another job without “papers bitte”.
I can sell my house and live simply, with no possibility of owning another house – ever.
The average price for a house in the suburbs in most country towns in eastern Australia is within spitting distance of one million dollars, and I’m 50.
So I can liquidate my assets. I’ll struggle to earn any income as I’m untreated. I’ll never own another home, and will have to rent for the rest of my life.
Australia is the lesson for the world. This is relentless, and is never going to stopping. Monstrous.
Just two weeks more. We’ll re-open when we reach 80%. When we reach 85%. Just until we reach . . . . . that ever shifting mirage of “freedom” that is just on the next sand dune.
My own father said to me last night, that it’s all over on 1st Dec – everyone will be free. No Dad – haven’t you heard – it’s now the 15th Dec. “Oh fair enough.” But it will be all open in time for Christmas. Christmas is allllll about the money – so it will *DEFINITELY* be all over by then.
The look on his face when I asked if he’s had his booster was priceless.
If you haven’t had your booster you know you are considered UNTREATED Dad.
There was a bit of an uncomfortable shuffling. Oh well, we’ll get that.
Dad – you know that Israel is now getting their 4th shot & talking about a 5th don’t you? Nothing to say, just more uncomfortable shuffling. My parents will happily comply. My sister her husband & kids live in Victoria – under the control of “Dan”. My parents are at their wits end, not having seen their grandchildren in person for two years. They are thrilled for the 9 & 13 yr old girls to be treated – so they can visit them in person at long, long, l-o-n-g last.
Debt has trapped average Australians, and is why the nation is complying.
My wife and I will likely HAVE to comply, but it is ABSOLUTELY NOT willingly.
This is our own fault for getting into debt and relying on a job. We will never forgive ourselves for the mess we have created for ourselves.
So for all you men in Canada and America reading this, we are your example. This is what is coming and it will be on you before you know it. Get out of all debt now, so you can walk away.
Australia was born as a Gulag archipelago, and so we remain.
Sincerely,
KA
Man that sucks! I wish I had some wonderful words of wisdom that would make it better but I don’t. My society is fucked as well and my employer is doing the very same thing to me. I may be fired by Christmas; or I might not. In my case, there’s the possibility of a hint of a sliver of hope that I may keep my job… maybe. Unless I don’t. I simply have to wait and pray.
If I get canned, there are (some) other jobs in America that will wisely keep their nose out of medical decisions; for now. That gives me a little breathing room you don’t have. Not as much freedom as I’d like or am accustomed to, but it helps. I sense your feeling of being trapped. I hate to see that happen to anyone. I wish I could wrap up a package of opportunity and ship it your way!
Australia is definitely further down the rabbit hole than America. There’s no doubt about that. Many of us have been watching with alarm. We where aghast several years ago when Aussies disarmed themselves. Australia, whether it earned it or not, has a reputation as rugged individualists among Americans; or at least it did. When Australians disarmed themselves it seemed out of character to us; and also dangerous. Here in the States that’s a battle we’re not taking lightly. “How long until they’re oppressed?” We thought. The answer was apparently “until 2021”. Damn, that was fast.
Make no mistake about it, America’s Federal government is no better in intent. It’s just more constrained. It would love to oppress us as much as Australia’s government but it can’t quite pull it off so far. Cornering all Americans, many of whom are ridiculously well armed, and a portion of which are very concerned about freedom has been hard. Some of us have been protected by our 50 state mix of semi-autonomous States. We try to keep it difficult to oppress Americans; with mixed results. The jerks in Washington D.C. have not yet been able to crush us all.
We care. We’re aware (if not fully informed) about how bad it has gotten in Australia (and other places). Sadly, we can’t help. We’re just barely holding on here.
The best I can say is “you’re not alone”. I share your misery and some (if not all) of your fate. I sincerely wish you the best of luck. I’d like all people who want to be free to have the option of being so. I’d never mistreat a human being like either of our governments. Many good people exist who would likewise refrain from evil. They’re not in charge but they’re a thorn in the Government’s side. We’re trying to hold out.
Good luck. I care even if nobody else does. You’re not alone. Also, I extend to you the invitation to vent and tell your story; either privately to me or publicly on my blog. I would be more than happy to receive news from Australia (anonymously if you wish) and I’d be happy to broadcast it. I don’t know if that’ll help, but you don’t have to suffer in silence. An outlet is something I can offer and it’s something I would be delighted to provide.
I wish you the best.
A.C.
Doing what I can. Nowhere near out of debt though: I have at least 15 years left. Debt is indeed how these bastards have enslaved the world.
If evil men put decent people in an impossible situation – hold them hostage, hold the lives of their families hostage to force an action, then I’d say that the evil is entirely the fault of the evil men. The sin is theirs, not yours. As long as the action they are strong-arming you to take is not participating in the harm of other people, there is no guilt for the coerced. (Your employer, on the other hand, participating in the tyranny, might be another matter.) It is a step along that road before they are demanding people turn in their neighbors, but for the moment the vaccine is, IMO, just a health risk. It is a humiliation, but it isn’t participation: Don’t accept guilt that isn’t yours.
MadRocketSci – I read your comment and felt a massive weight lifted from my shoulders. Thank you for your wise counsel. It eased the burden a little.
We – appear – at this stage to be completely out of alternatives. Either borderline poverty or compliance.
We are not giving up hope, and are motivated like never before to find a way out.
If we do, we’ll share and hopefully bring as many people with us as we can.
Thank you.
KA
Hi AC,
Thank you for the heartfelt reply, your prayers, and the invitation to speak privately. It is appreciated and moving. Simply; Thank You.
I don’t want anyone to pity or to feel sorry for us. We allowed this to happen. Just watch my country closely and learn. NZ is probably in much more trouble than us.
We are looking into all other options right now to avoid receiving the involuntary treatment, but personally, I have almost certainly left my run too late – but – there is always hope and prayer.
Stay strong and watch closely.
KA
An update from Australia – https://youtu.be/3cI0Q5UgFFU
Hi AC,
Just when you think things cannot get worse, my employer emailed all staff this morning;
Booster Program
NSW Health has started a booster ________ program for those aged 18 and older who received their second dose of a C____19 v_______e 6 months ago or more. Pfizer will be used for all boosters, no matter what v_____e you initially received.
I am now officially terrified. NSW Health is now starting a booster program for everyone over 18 if it’s been > 6 months since your last treatment – “brought to you by Pfizer” of course.
WTF !