Open (More or Less) Post on Covid 172

[ecosophia]

We are now in the fourth year of these open posts. When I first posted a tentative hypothesis on the course of the Covid phenomenon, I had no idea that discussion on the subject would still be necessary more than three years later, much less that it would turn into so lively, complex, and troubling a conversation. Still, here we are. Crude death rates and other measures of collapsing public health are anomalously high in many countries, but nobody in authority wants to talk about the inadequately tested experimental Covid injections that are the most likely cause; public health authorities government shills for the pharmaceutical industry are still trying to push through laws that will allow them to force vaccinations on anyone they want; public trust in science is collapsing; and the story continues to unfold.

So it's time for another open post. The rules are the same as before: 

1. If you plan on parroting the party line of the medical industry and its paid shills, please go away. This is a place for people to talk openly, honestly, and freely about their concerns that the party line in question is dangerously flawed and that actions being pushed by the medical industry and its government enablers are causing injury and death on a massive scale. It is not a place for you to dismiss those concerns. Anyone who wants to hear the official story and the arguments in favor of it can find those on hundreds of thousands of websites.

2. If you plan on insisting that the current situation is the result of a deliberate plot by some villainous group of people or other, please go away. There are tens of thousands of websites currently rehashing various conspiracy theories about the Covid-19 outbreak and the vaccines. This is not one of them. What we're exploring is the likelihood that what's going on is the product of the same arrogance, incompetence, and corruption that the medical industry and its wholly owned politicians have displayed so abundantly in recent decades. That possibility deserves a space of its own for discussion, and that's what we're doing here. 
 
3. If you plan on using rent-a-troll derailing or disruption tactics, please go away. I'm quite familiar with the standard tactics used by troll farms to disrupt online forums, and am ready, willing, and able -- and in fact quite eager -- to ban people permanently for engaging in them here. Oh, and I also lurk on other Covid-19 vaccine skeptic blogs, so I'm likely to notice when the same posts are showing up on more than one venue. 

4. If you plan on making off topic comments, please go away. This is an open post for discussion of the Covid epidemic, the vaccines, drugs, policies, and other measures that supposedly treat it, and other topics directly relevant to those things. It is not a place for general discussion of unrelated topics. Nor is it a place to ask for medical advice; giving such advice, unless you're a licensed health care provider, legally counts as practicing medicine without a license and is a crime in the US. Don't even go there.

5. If you don't believe in treating people with common courtesy, please go away. I have, and enforce, a strict courtesy policy on my blogs and online forums, and this is no exception. The sort of schoolyard bullying that takes place on so many other internet forums will get you deleted and banned here. Also, please don't drag in current quarrels about sex, race, religions, etc. No, I don't care if you disagree with that: my journal, my rules. 

Please also note that nothing posted here should be construed as medical advice, which neither I nor the commentariat (excepting those who are licensed medical providers) are qualified to give. Please take your medical questions to the licensed professional provider of your choice.

With that said, the floor is open for discussion.

Comments

Shepherds For Sale by Megan Basham

[(Anonymous)]

Hello All: A while ago there was some curiosity on the Covid Post about this book. I've since read it and decided to report back. Basham's main argument is that American church leaders "have traded the truth for a leftist agenda." She explores several topics including immigration, abortion, climate change, and most relevant to this space, Covid.

The chapter on Covid is the best in the book. I was fascinated to learn how much effort was put into getting church leaders on board with the restrictions and foxes. Francis Collins himself spoke to many of them, by zoom of course. He apparently made much of his Catholic faith in these conversations. I found the twisting of scripture and Christian principles to advance authoritian actions hard to read. But important. I also found out that a few Christian leaders I had admired were more on board with the Covid discrimination then I had thought. Based on published writings, I had understood that Tim Keller and NT Wright supported the foxes but thought that people of faith and discernment could come to a different, valid, conclusion. Turns out they supported discrimination against the unfoxed.

The other chapters in the book are thought provoking and well argued. However, I only recommend them to those that are very interested in church politics or the proliferation of progressive politics. Bashan presents strong factual arguments, but her writing is very dense and not engaging enough to encourage a casual reader.

Side note - Basham shares her conversion story in the last chapter. It's really the only personal part of the book. I love conversation stories. Hers is a good one and very well told.


Cheers, Heloise

Re: Shepherds For Sale by Megan Basham

[(Anonymous)]

Interesting.

The Devil has always quoted scripture of course, with great ingenuity.

That they rushed to get injected, persecuted members of their congregations who declined to be masked or vaccinated, and endorsed general societal discrimination, exposed their religious faith for what it always was: a worthless pretence.

What faith in the Divine did they show, what Christian brotherhood and true compassion? Thankfully, no priest or theologian can have anyone burnt at the stake these days, but they can still wreck lives through treachery. If only they had stood firm!

The fearful ones were clinging to the world like any atheist materialist.

Re: Shepherds For Sale by Megan Basham

[(Anonymous)]

I wrote here a couple of years ago about how my Quaker meeting had banned the unvaccinated (me!) from the main worship room. Instead, I could sit out in the "fellowship" room with all the windows open. In winter. Did it a couple times, then stopped going altogether. Except for the funerals. The separate but equal stuff ended sooner than I expected, (but only when experts on TV and NPR and in NY Times declared it was safe .)

I have decided to submit a formal letter of resignation, probably just a couple of lines, something to the effect of "I quit. We all know why, and this is simply acknowledging something that has already happened"

Re: Shepherds For Sale by Megan Basham

[(Anonymous)]

I remember you writing about this. I remember the image of being seated in a different room with the windows open!

I looked into attending an eastern Orthodox church here in this big city and found a website and gagged at the 'obedience to authorities' nonsense.

Best wishes to you!

Re: Shepherds For Sale by Megan Basham

[(Anonymous)]

Definitely too many 'religious authorities' caved to the Holy Vax of the Church of Progress! I recall having conversations, during the darkening days of creeping authoritarianism in 2022, with a friend who grew up in the USSR. He is staunch Eastern Orthodox. He told me that neither he nor most of his congregation will go anywhere near the satanic foxes!

Ron M

Re: Shepherds For Sale by Megan Basham

[(Anonymous)]

This book sounds really interesting, thank you for the recommendation.

As someone who had a very positive experience growing up attending church, the story of my adult life is intricately bound up with the flight of my broader church-connected community away from actual faith and into liberal dogmatism. The great covid betrayal shocked me deeply, no matter how much it made sense (in retrospect) with regard to ideological trends of the preceding years.

Currently I am not a member of any church, but destiny has decreed for me a part-time job as a church musician in an ultra-woke mainline Protestant congregation that pushed the jabs. The social justice-themed preaching I listen to politely each Sunday *still* has nothing to say about the massive injustices of the covid era. And they wonder why the pews are so empty these days.

Dylan

Re: Shepherds For Sale by Megan Basham

[(Anonymous)]

On the subject of religion and mandates, I recall how, two years into the pandemic, my synagogue suddenly imposed a vexing mandate on children 12 and under. I don’t know who on the board or among the clergy wanted this policy, but I have my guesses. My daughter and I having just gotten sick with the coof, yet me having scheduled volunteering, I told them either my daughter gets an exemption or I will refuse to consider any requests for my time) until the policy is reversed. Didn’t take long before a few members quietly agreed with me and told me they thought the policy was unfortunate. (In Canada in the part where I live, people will complain privately but hardly ever speak up. As a result, bad policies often get unchallenged.)

As my important contribution was suddenly gone, and as I started going to another less restrictive synagogue in part to be seen and make a point, and also perhaps as generally speaking provincial restrictions started coming down rather rapidly following the truckers’ protests of Feb 2022, my synagogue’s mandates were dropped quite as suddenly as they were introduced. I like to think that I was part of the reason the board got their heads out of their behinds.

I have often regretted finding it hard to say no when asked to volunteer, but in this case it was particularly useful leverage.

May we all find supportive communities in difficult times.

Re: Shepherds For Sale by Megan Basham

[(Anonymous)]

Thanks for sharing this.

My experience in this regard has been mixed; mostly it felt like protesting to a 30 foot thick cement wall, but I think I did possibly make a difference in one US national conference that proposed to go Jab Crow in 2022. I don't know who else protested (at the time I didn't know anyone in the organization would had foregone the jabs), but when the conference was announced as vaxxed only, I emailed the president and organizing committee, calling them as bad as Stalin and Mao and what county did they think they were living in & etc., etc., and said that I would cancel my membership, good riddance, if they went through with such nonsense. In short order in-person conference was canceled, now made open to all, but on Zoom.

The people who imposed Jab Crow, they are on record now as having made complete fools of themselves, both intellectually and morally. And I'm glad I know who they are now, these people who would presume in their fear and their arrogance to exclude others from normal social, cultural, economic, intellectual, and even communal spiritual life, based on an experimental medical treatment. The jabs roll out was a frustrating and lonely time to live through, however I have much to be thankful for. Firstly, that I had the discernment to not take that crap in my body. Secondly, I got some additional lessons in character discernment— and for this, in all seriousness, I thank the Jab Crowers.

Re: Shepherds For Sale by Megan Basham

[(Anonymous)]

Your story underlines that if only a few people of standing and with leverage had spoken up, it would have collapsed, or at least become very difficult for the authorities.

It remains appalling that someone was so cowardly that, presumably vaxxed themselves, they still sought to push an experimental treatment on minors!

Disagreeing but not speaking up seems to be a universal human trait: I suspect we have all been there. It is one which the perpetrators of this crime rely on, as it reduces the need to use iron-fist coercion (which of course in this instance they were happy to do as well).