Let’s come out and say it – we cannot just roll over on command and play dead.

When draconian measures against Covid-19 are imposed on us and are destroying our way of life – we can’t simply let it happen.

Admittedly, a lot will be happy to do just that.

It’s so easy to be part of the crowd. Anonymity in numbers. Don’t make a fuss. Go with the flow. Listen and obey. Down boy.

No problem. That’s their choice to make

I might not agree with it but I respect it.

But I am not here to be popular or to be liked.

I don’t fit into the herd.

Never did, never will.

I say it the way I see it.

So this one is for those who care enough about themselves, their families and their society not to simply roll over and take it “for their country”.

DISCLAIMER

And, on that note, I am going to start this off with a little anti-hysterical repudiation, right?

Here you go.

The following is a message ONLY for those who want to make a difference.

Those who don’t want to be told what to think.

Those who don’t believe everything we are being told by the media hook, line and sinker.

Those who like to question things.

Those who aren’t hoarding toilet paper because they think they won’t keep up with their ass.

Those who aren’t raving on Facebook about someone who went out for a jog or trying to shout down people who post different opinions.

If you are one of the above, please do both of us a favor and DON’T read beyond this point.

Because all you will do is complain, point fingers, and accuse.

Ain’t nobody got time for that.

This is not for you. Get it?

So, with that said, here we go.

COVID-19 – ONE MONTH ON

Initially, Covid-19 brought out the best in some people.

Some landlords reduced the rent.

Some people shared their food or purchased food for others.

Some guesthouses offered room at low prices or for free to healthcare professionals.

That was in the first few days.

And that’s great. I applaud that.

That’s the Gozitan and Maltese spirit.

However, as the days turn into weeks, and the harsh realities sink in, I am seeing Maltese society beginning to experience the first symptoms of cabin fever.

The slow realization that we are in this for the long haul, unless we actually do something about it, is bringing out the worst in people.

I SEE DEAD PEOPLE…

This is what I am seeing:

• I see people walking sullenly in the streets, scared to be outside. The smiles have given way to a hidden anger that is now palpable in our society, bubbling just below the surface, ready to erupt.
  
  
• I see people shunning each other, keep their distance long and conversations short. They are now too afraid to have those animated exchanges together that were part and parcel of the Maltese lifestyle.
  
  
• I see the people that went rooftop clapping and the balcony singing have stopped the displays. No one thinks it’s that worthwhile anymore.
  
  
• I see people applauding decisions that, in normal times would take months of scrutiny and deliberation, as they are passed into law in a matter of hours.
  
  
• I see people screaming for a full lockdown without realizing (or perhaps, regardless of) the extent of the economic, social, physical, mental and spiritual damage a full lockdown will cause, a tsunami effect that will make the damage from a Covid-19 infection look like a Sunday tea party at Aunty Fanny’s.
  
  
• I see people reporting on their neighbours, taking pictures of them without their consent and publishing them (illegally) on social media.
  
  
• I see people resorting to Facebook to publicly shame others who don’t agree with them, ganging up together in what amounts to cyber-bullying, in an attempt to shut them up. In fact, most people do shut up, frightened by the self-righteous anger directed at them.
  
  
• I see people who have absolutely no idea about viral transmission (and others who actually do) demanding that those who go outside for some respite, even if they observe social distancing, be fined. Or arrested. I even saw a few posts saying these people need to be shot. Seriously. Shot.
  
  
• I see people ganging up on those who dare question what is going on and turning into a lynch mob, baying accusations that these people somehow don’t care about the dying, and how that makes them a danger to society.
  
  
• I see doctors, even those who honestly want the best for their patients, being swept up by the media hysterics and going with the flow.
  
  
• I see people getting caught up in the hysteria, blindly approving and even asking for draconian measures that take away their liberties, their rights and their power of choice. And even asking that these be enforced on everyone, so everyone is “safe”.
  
  
• I see people failing to realize that accepting these changes will give legitimacy to terrifying new legislation that will not go away once Covid-19 does. And make no mistake, Covid-19 WILL go away. A lot of the new legislation, once accepted, will not.
  
  
• I see people who have worked all their lives building up a business, giving it everything they had, who are now being forced to watch it crumble before their very eyes. And being forced not to do anything about it. Keep in mind that not everything can successfully be re-routed online.
  
  

Yes, it’s pretty bad.

And none of the pretty bad part comes from a virus.

It comes from our completely acceptance of authority without question.

And the need to enforce that subservience in others.

The thing is, authority is not there to tell us what to think.

And if we do nothing about it, it’s going to get worse.

A lot worse.

JUST TO MAKE SURE THE ALARMISTS GET IT

I’m pretty sure that some of you who shouldn’t have kept on reading, did exactly that.

So, let me take just another minute to explain to the groupies how things work once again.

For those of you who don’t agree with me, I’m perfectly fine with that.

Absolutely no problem.

I have zero interest in convincing you to believe anything other than what you want to.

You are free to believe whatever you like.

If you want to believe the moon is made of cheese, good for you.

If you want to hide away in your homes till this bad virus goes away, absolutely do it.

If you want to be the first in line to get a Covid-19 vaccine when it eventually comes out, then hell yeah. Go right ahead. Camp out days before if you have to. Practice baring your arm or dropping your pants and bending over. Just go for it.

But, what I will balk at, in absolutely every way, is your asking me conform my opinion to yours because my opinion offends you.

I will buck and kick like a mustang if you insist I censor what I am saying because you don’t agree with me.

I will never agree with you trying to force your agenda down my throat.

Or demanding that I don’t voice my opinion, or not even have one.

Seriously, if that’s what you think, just keep walking down the yellow brick road.

Last time I checked, this was a free country.

People have died to give us the right to speak Maltese today. They died so we could live in a democracy.

They died so we could have a choice.

And I will bleed out on the Maltese flag to make sure that the red in the fly never fades on the God-given right every single one of you has to voice their opinion, regardless of whether or not I agree with you.

So feel free to make your own choices.

Just don’t try to cow me into not making mine.

It won’t work.

THE ONE VIABLE SOLUTION

I have absolutely zero problems with this Covid-19 pandemic.

The numbers we have now are confirming this is not the killer virus we’re being told it is.

The mortality rate has been shown to be at least 5 times lower than projections, with almost 90% of admissions being people with co-morbidities and 99% of deaths being individuals with underlying conditions.

Antibodies have already been found in a significant number of individuals, showing immunity is already in place.

The doomsday predictions we were getting are now being scaled back overwhelmingly to numbers much, much lower than the original projections, with even Neil Ferguson himself admitting that two thirds of coronavirus victims may have died within months anyway.

Now, the only truth we have to face is this – as containment is no longer an option, our only way out is to develop a collective immunity to the virus.

I repeat – immunity is essential. There is no other way this is going to work.

Knowing what we know about the virus now, this can safely be done by responsibly resuming normal interaction between the healthier members of the population, a good number of which already have immunity and most of which are not mortally susceptible to the virus anyway.

In this way we will ensure that if a person with Covid-19 does actually infect three more, then, if two of those people are immune, this will no longer be considered an epidemic.

Insisting on lockdowns and social distancing is a strategy doomed to fail in the long run. Harvard epidemiologists have established that these strategies will actually result in more infections in the long term.

In fact, we will now start seeing countries implementing lockdown extensions, stating these are necessary because the “peak” has not passed. This is further proof that lockdowns actually delay the problem not solve it.

In other words, the longer lockdowns and social distancing are implemented, the longer it will take us to resolve this issue and the more damage that will happen, keeping in mind the escalating physical, mental and socio-economic issues these restrictions are doing to family and country.

Yes, I hear the usual chorus in the background. “The UK tried this and failed.”

True, the herd immunity response was screwed up by the UK when they tried it out but there is something to be learnt from what happened there.

Herd immunity is not something that should be done at the expense of the immuno-compromised.

If we spend our resources keeping the vulnerable away from the infected, while allowing the already immune and healthier people to interact, and restart the economy, is a far better way to handle things than locking up an entire country.

HERD IMMUNITY v2

This is the fact of the matter – responsible herd immunity is not simply a viable option.

With the way things are, it looks like it’s the only option we have.

Controlled exposure is the key.

We have had pandemics before.

People will eventually get infected, whether we lock things down or not.

“Flattening the curve” not only delays the inevitable but it makes it last longer.

Sure, it eases the immediate brunt on the healthcare system, but sets up much worse damage later down the line.

Keep in mind that the lockdown agenda is based almost entirely on the projection that 2.2 million people were going to die in the US alone of Covid-19.

A projection that is now being hastily revised to around 60,000, making conclusions drawn from it patently useless.

THIS IS FOR THOSE WHO WANT TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED

So, in the light of the above, it’s essential that things are done differently.

It’s time to question the status quo. We have to and it’s our right to.

Let’s start with the obvious.

Don’t attempt to lock others up inside because we have been told it’s a good idea and sold on projections that have now been shown to be hopelessly incorrect.

Even Surgeon General Jerome Adams now agrees and is dumping the flawed Bill Gates / WHO / CDC ‘Predictive Contagion’ model.

Don’t force others to take vaccines because we have been told they are good for us.

We all have the freedom of opinion as well as the freedom of choice.

Don’t jam either of yours down my throat. I won’t jam mine down yours.

Never bully others who have a different way of thinking.

So, all you self-appointed vigilantes and righteous brothers and sisters, please go back to baking cakes, eating crap, cracking walnuts with your ass or whatever it is you do when you’re locked at home out of your own free will.

Don’t infringe on my liberties, don’t stamp your foot and complain, don’t point righteously indignant fingers, don’t try to shut me up and don’t ask me to join your parade.

PLEASE LISTEN UP

If you think that this hysteria is insane, you’re not alone.

There is a mob mentality going on. It works the same way every time.

Scare enough people who cannot think for themselves, get them rabid with fear, and they will find comfort in numbers, gang up, grab their pitchforks and burning torches and make a rabid beeline for anyone who doesn’t agree with them.

Don’t let it scare you. That’s what all this is designed to do.

Under enough pressure, even good people will buckle and eventually start doing the same as the others so they are not singled out.

Even if they don’t agree, they will still comply.

People living in fear will willingly surrender their most basic rights to what they perceive as benevolent authority and blindly allow that authority to make decisions.

However, in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “Those who would give up essential liberty, to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.”

So – PLEASE DON’T.

We cannot afford that. Absolutely not.

Why?

Because YOU are the ones that will eventually make a difference.

Our Maltese and Gozitan way of life matters.

Our jobs are a vital component of our life, in more ways than one.

Having a say in something that we ourselves built our lives on and around matters.

We cannot allow any agenda we are not part of to take everything away from us.

We cannot focus on a virus for today and let go of the bigger picture of tomorrow.

We cannot give everything to win a battle only to end up losing the war.

That’s so short-sighted, it verges on the criminal.

We either stand for something – or fall for nothing.

WE CAN DO THINGS DIFFERENTLY

There are better way of making sure the infected don’t come into contact with the vulnerable and a more responsible way of introducing herd immunity.

It’s a better way of spending our resources, and ultimately, the only way out of this.

The lives of those who are dying from Covid-19 are just as important as those lives that are being completely destroyed (which will also, in many cases, lead to death) by a global economic and social lockdown the likes of which have never been seen before.

Good sense and sensibility must prevail.

Or if we wait too long, there might be nothing left to save.

It’s time to be Gozitan and Maltese again.

With all our failings, shortcomings and issues – but the power to choose our own destiny, and not have it dictated to us.

Comments