Virtual meeting of the confinement denier genre

As unpleasant as it may be, sometimes you have to find yourself on forums where the response to expressing your opinions is not just disagreement, but the tearing of clothes and accusations of blasphemy. But don't worry, it's good for you. Like any physical or mental exercise, it may be uncomfortable in the moment, but you learn something about yourself in the process and are better prepared for the next time it happens (which it will).

So last week I had a Facebook exchange with someone I’ll call Karen, for the sake of what little dignity she has left. On a private Conservative group, someone announced the appointment of Sir Patrick Vallance as science minister and I expressed my opinion in the usual social media way with an angry emoji and wrote a few words under Vallance’s photo. Karen chose to respond and the rest went like this:

Video : Responsible for much of the Covid lockdown, the effects of which the country is still experiencing.

Karen: No! At the time, we had no idea what this virus was capable of…

Video : No! We knew before coronavirus arrived in the UK that the average age of death was over 80. Those who questioned the official narrative (like the signatories of the Great Barrington Declaration) were ignored and sidelined. Freedom Day in July 2021 happened because Boris pushed it through against his advisors (Boris proved he was right). Vallance wanted tougher and longer lockdowns.

Karen: Who are you? Yes, of course. You're an expert. Please let me go. Otherwise, I'll have to report you.

Karen: I reported you for harassing me.

Video : Why would you report me for expressing an opinion? I have not been personally rude to you or to you, I just disagree with you. You don't need to be an expert to use facts and logic; we know Boris was right on Freedom Day and Vallance was wrong.

Karen: Please clear out.

Video : I was polite, you were not. Obviously, you cannot engage in an intelligent dialogue with someone who disagrees with you without resorting to foul language. I took screenshots of this exchange, so please do not try to misrepresent me on other conservative forums or I will publish them.

From zero to madness in less than 100 words! I tried to sow seeds of doubt in the mind of the one I assumed to be a far-right person by calling Boris Johnson to defend me (I am not ashamed), but to no avail. When I returned to the thread a few minutes later, our comments had disappeared, a sign in the Facebook world that the interlocutor has blocked you. Within ten minutes, the entire thread had disappeared, so the group admins had deleted it, although they took no further action against me.

Although I was surprised by how quickly things escalated, I was not offended. Such rudeness is a sign of weakness, and I wear the names I am called in disagreements like badges of honor. There is really no reason to respond to abuse with abuse; it requires too much emotional energy, which anyone with more maturity than the average teenager will find impossible to sustain for long. And as Jordan Peterson showed in his interview with Cathy Newman It is better to remain calm and let your opponent make a fool of himself in the public square, so that any third party can see who has lost his mind. Be kind. Truly I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who insult you. There is no better way to annoy them than to not sink to their level. And always keep a copy of any exchange with the ideologically possessed. As crazy as they may seem, they are usually aware enough to know that anyone looking at their dispassionate behavior would conclude that they are wrong.

I don't think Karen is a stooge of the World Economic Forum, the 77^th The Brigade, the pharmaceutical companies or the public health authorities. But that is perhaps the most depressing thing about this little encounter. This is almost certainly an ordinary person who has been pushed to the intellectual edge by Covid; not by the virus but by the official mantras surrounding vaccines and lockdowns. The mere thought that they may have done more harm than good and that all these sacrifices were for nothing is too much to bear, even three years after the Covid restrictions ended. So the messenger must be silenced, and fast.

Although the experience of Covid checks has made most people wary of repeating them, there remains a substantial minority, maybe 20 percent, who would want the same if another public health emergency were declared, with young people most in favor of such restrictions. This month alone, The daughter of two actors has demanded that masks be returned to medical facilities in Los Angeleseven though this level of madness is perhaps normal for Hollywood scions. You have to laugh, really, it's the best way to cope and cheap dictators hate to be laughed at.

But you have to learn not to expect to be thanked when you point out that the establishment is naked. You are more likely to be labeled an enemy of the people. However, there are people who agree with you and will appreciate you saying so. So you can give them the courage to take a stand themselves. It may not be much, but it is the least you can do.