My journey from the vocal left, to what seems to be on today’s standards the vocal right, or even the vocal tinfoil hat
From Nestlé, Syria, Monsanto, abortion rights and animal testing, to Palestine and Israel, women’s rights in the middle east, I have been a person that always tried to create awareness any way I could. I never missed an occasion of being vocal whenever I could.
I will tell you something, my friends, the legitimate causes have been radicalized and labelled as extremist. Meanwhile, some ”causes” that aren’t really ones distract us from where attention should be focused.
Some other causes slipped in that I didn’t quite follow, taking a stand for human rights went from talking in support of people suffering, to people ”feeling bad and scared” about things that are and were totally normal up to that point. We all know what LGBT stands for, some of us know what LGBTQ stands for, but for most of us at this point it would be simpler to say the ”everyone who is not straight!” group and leave it as that! People are now being labelled as intolerant for having a certain discomfort when a term like ”chest feeding person” is used, or for suggesting that males of our species can’t give birth. We are erasing differences between males and females, but we are very different, physically, and always have been.
We are being led into thinking that this kind of language was part of our lives since forever and everyone should now be comfortable with that instantly without any social questioning or reflection. It wasn’t and we shouldn’t.
We USED to have causes, about people dying of starvation, access to water, is my point. We used to be able to use any words our hearts desired to talk about those causes. The causes now are about bathrooms, gender neutrality, skin colour…and making the vocal minority ”feel safe and comfortable” as the silent majority doesn’t feel safe anymore. We all need to elevate over the fights we are being pushed into, as the fight, happens at a higher level here. We are being distracted. The poorest countries in the world are already paying the price for this pursuit of “false problems”.
A curious mind I always read both sides of the coin about vaccines for as long as I can remember. Vaccines, in my life and my kids’, have been chosen one by one on merit, history and value.. not as a one-size-fits-all. I am not anti-vax, I more consider myself as vaccine selective. My kids were offered vaccines throughout the time but they were never singled out and ridiculed by their peers or even teachers. Never before have my kids been questioned in group settings about their vaccination status nor medical information. Having a high school teacher – with no medical qualification – referring to those who doubt, reject or refuse the experimental Covid-19 shots as “conspiracy theorists”, whatever that means, was also a first.
Each vax has its own purpose, composition – its own function AND level of protection. Its own success and risks, its own rearview mirror. They should be talked about one by one and not as a group. Just like there are a few nut heads in all families, the vaccine family contains (and has had) its own share of nut heads across the last few centuries.
That being said, we used to be able to TALK about it, about them, one by one, share opinions, testimonies, facts, etc. That changed in a significant way about 5 years ago.. More and more, the ”anti-vax” label is being pushed, the ”anti-vax” were being marginalized and ridiculed like never before. Little did I know that even evoking some questions 5 years later would land you a label of being extreme, counter current, tin foil hat lover, or even ”dangerous” to others.
Now, how do we get to me, sitting here wanting to fight for a kid I have let in the elevator only last week. Between the 4th and 2nd floor, some social experiment was unfolding in front of me. The door opens, we all politely wear our masks, I was alone in the elevator, I welcome them in… Come on in, there is plenty of room!! – How are you young man? The 6 ft apart won’t be necessary in the elevator… to which he answers, before I have my shot?..
Sad, sad… that he thought there was a chance I could be scared of him, or his ”unvaccineness” that some people might have made him feel he could be a threat to someone else, when he isn’t. Sad sad that we would bring the kids in an equation they don’t belong. (science is clear, they are not affected, nor vectors). It is NOT, a pandemic of the kids. But it is, a future of the kids…
We all made it to the first floor without incident and returned to our respective isolated bubbles. The fact is this: the causes are getting closer and closer from home, in fact, they are already home for quite a while… We just lack to recognize the enormous damage done to society up to this point. It would be a good time to slow down, take a pause and assess the situation without the influence of fact-checkers but using common sense as a barometer this time around.