Living through history is cool right? For myself, I know that I have spent hours upon hours trying to digest what has happened over the past 18 months. The only conclusion I have been able to come to is, what the fuck is going on? Somehow March 2020 feels both like ages ago, and just last week at the same time. To some of you this might not be news, and others have said it before, but Covid truly pulled the vail off of this thing we call “society”, and exposed how fragile the collective consciousness of the country is. When Covid first touched down, we were all, justifiably, in a frenzy. We dashed to the store to get supplies. We ran out of toilet paper and paper towels (we made Mother Nature proud with those). I mean for christ sake we had to put up with that shitty watery hand sanitizer (hand sanitizer is nothing without the viscosity). Not to mentions the masks.
Remember those times? I look back at the beginning of Covid almost in a fond way. I know I will be in the minority on this, but it really provided me with the opportunity to take a step back from the fast-paced life that felt so familiar to me. It gave me the chance to take a breath, and I will forever be thankful for that breath. Now, I don’t want to speak too romantically about the worst pandemic we have seen in over 100 years, but I also have to acknowledge how privileged I was in that moment. Unlike many of my fellow Americans, I didn’t have to take time off of work, or even worse, lose my job. I didn’t lose a family member, or someone whom I loved. I didn’t even catch the damn virus (knock on wood). I had it easy. In a time that has brought more suffering, pain, and sorrow into the world than any in recent memory, I was fine.
The most striking part to me about the early stages of Covid were how united we all seemed to be. We were all on the same team, for the most part. We all wanted to beat this virus into submission so we could get back to “normal”. I was honestly proud of how the citizens banded together to do their part, not all of us, but most of us. But, this is America. That whole kum ba yah feeling was never going to last forever. I mean, once we realized how truly unprepared the government was for something like this we lost our minds, and that all is thanks to the mainstream media, and when I mean mainstream media I mean every single news publication. Right or Left. Anything. Because after all, there are only like 5-6 corporations that own basically every television station and major news publication. I wouldn’t really call that “news”.
That is my first real point. I have come to terms with and accepted the fact that the truth is probably the least lucrative commodity for sale today in America. I mean it really is. Why? I think it comes from naivety. We all have been assuming for the past two plus decades the news was telling us the truth. Inside of everyone, there is an instinctual feeling of self preservation. Anything that threatens your life and or your way of living is immediately the first thing that will be on the top of your mind. You’re thinking about it. You're angry. That will get views and clicks, and therefore create revenue. Thats really the blueprint, in my opinion, for the medias approach to Covid. Just get everyone pissed off, scared, and basically two steps away from getting in a fight with a complete stranger. I mean, there are some people out there who really are ready to snap. So let’s just all treat mainstream media the same way our teachers used to treat wikipedia. It’s not a valid source, for anything.
I’m getting off the rails here, but basically, who would have thought that our feeling of unity would be absolutely crushed after like 10 days?
If you’re able to sort of follow this chronologically, Let’s get back to it and pick up in Summer 2020. Well, May 25th to be exact. That was the day we all witnessed a man named George Floyd die. By die, I mean he was murdered. There’s just no other way to describe it. I’m not really sure what else to say. It was just unbelievable to me that someone could have such hatred and disregard for the life of another human being. Shoutout to all of those people out there that were trying to make excuses for Chauvin. I mean you really showed your true colors. “Well he was a criminal”, what the fuck difference does that make in terms of whether he deserves to die or not? The fall out of that infamous day drew us, once again, into a media shit storm. If we were being realistic, the conclusion we, in my opinion, should have come to as a nation is that this is not acceptable. We cannot have horrible evil police officers on a power trip killing unarmed citizens for any sort of infraction. On the other side of the coin, we cannot allow for the defunding of the police. We need cops. We do. The good cops keep us safe and do their jobs when called to action. Defunding police solves nothing, and even worse creates giant power vacuums. I mean, has nobody been in a high school history class before? The most rational conclusion would be reeducation and police reform. Training police to deescalate situations, and to use force as an absolute last option. These are just my opinions, and I know my “solutions” are incredibly vague. But, that’s okay. I’m not a cop, and I have no knowledge of police training and policies. It’s okay to not be an expert, especially when the “experts” or people with the power to create change are doing absolutely nothing as they are more preoccupied with securing campaign donations so that they can keep their jobs and continue to do nothing.
It is okay to not be an expert or to be wrong as long you are someone who has the humility to admit both. The simple phrase, “I don’t know” can be incredibly powerful. I don’t know if the protests were “super spreader” events as Fox News claimed them to be. I don’t know, and I don’t really care. It makes me infinitely more proud of this country and its people to see them use their rights to their full potential. To show an outward display of anger and disgust for the way some police officers choose to treat their fellow citizens. The protests made me feel more pride than could ever be outweighed by the threat of a virus. The same can be said for the looting and general mayhem that ensued that summer as well. I don’t know how I feel about it, other than I feel for the small business owners whose livelihoods took yet another hit, because remember, the government didn’t help small businesses at all. So I feel for those people. But Target????????? Do I feel bad that a Target was burned to the ground somewhere? No. They can take the hit. I only feel for the workers who lost their jobs. To me, the looting was symbolic. It should have sent a message to everyone watching. That message being, that after months of lockdowns and lost incomes. There are Millions of families on the brink of homelessness and millions barely able, if able at all, to put food on the table. To see the way corporate department and grocery stores were looted made me think, “Wow. There are so many people who are absolutely desperate for survival, and all the news and government are doing is demonizing them.” I don’t know if that is the correct assumption to make, because I have never been in the position, but to me, the looting and riots were not some simple event. Nothing in this past 18 months has been a simple situation. The attempts at treating complex issues with buzzword solutions has driven us into an abyss of argument and hatred, and oh yeah, zero progress. At this point we are just shooting political cannon fodder “fuck you’s” at each other from our keyboards, and lobbing them across the hell-scape of a battlefield that is Twitter. Thank you very much Mr. Dorsey.
That being said, that summer was very fun. It was scary but fun. It was probably more fun because it was scary.
Its really the first time where I had this feeling of being both Post-Covid, yet Pre-Covid. The sense that the second wave of lockdowns is coming when the season begin to change, but in that current moment it felt like we were out of the woods. At least a little bit.
There was a bit of time between the previous events and the infamous 2020 election, but for whatever reason the time between the 4th of July and “Stop the steal” is all a blur in my mind.
That election was a shit show huh? We had two guys who were just absolute disgraces and insults to the progression of our nation. Two ultra boomers who barely knew how to operate a computer (well Trump knew how to use twitter while he had that, somehow) duked it out to lead a country where a good portion of the youth are biting their lips and simping over women who do jumping jacks on tiktok. It seems like there might be a little bit of an age disparity, no? I honestly don’t even want to get into this that much because it was just such a hilarious debacle. I’ll try to keep it short and sweet. I wanted Trump gone. As funny as he was in debates (he was funny, it’s undeniable, but I don’t think that’s a good quality for a president to have), he was terrible for our society for a million and one reasons. Was there election fraud? I don’t know. But the claim that there was absolutely zero election fraud is, in itself, incredibly fraudulent. Considering the success that the CIA has had across the globe over the past 5-6 decades in fixing elections, what’s to say it didn’t happen here? Would it really be that hard? Did Trump really win? I don’t know, and I don’t think so. I don’t have any answers, all I and everyone else will ever be able to do is speculate. But at least we replaced Trump with the reincarnartion of JFK right? Obviously the answer is no. All we got in return is a corpse who loves too smell the heads of children. Is Biden better or worse? I don’t know. If Biden does anything during his presidency, it will be continuing to show the American people how much the government doesn’t give a fuck about them. Truly. I just can't get over how mentally not there he is. Is it dementia? I don’t know. All I know is that back in the day Jimmy Fallon used to throw a tennis ball out from behind his desk and say that VP Joe Biden was going to fetch it. This is the second straight election where we have had to choose between “the lesser of two evils” . I ask you this, my friends, how evil are we as a society willing to let the “lesser of two evils” become, before we find ourselves in too deep of a hole to ever have a chance of climbing out? Things don’t seem to be getting any better.
I also wanted to give a massive shoutout to all of those absolute morons who were at the capitol. I mean I found that Q stuff pretty funny to read up on. I was actually kind of hoping that Trump was leading a shadow war against the Clintons, pedophiles, and child-sex traffickers. Like, Trump is leading all these children through tunnels under New York City. Don at the front yelling at the kids like, “I’m the best at saving children! I really am, people tell me all the time they say, “Donald you’re just so outstanding at saving children!” I would tell them it’s because I do the Lord’s work! Its True!”. They pop out onto the subway tracks, Trump is helping kids up onto the platform, as he steps up he hears Hillary Clinton’s voice say,”Oh, hello, Donald”. As Trump turns, he sees Hillary Clinton, standing on the tracks pointing a gun toward his head. She says, “I’m Just Chilling in Cedar Rap-” as the train takes her out. Saving the son of the Lord himself, Donald J. Trump. That would be the most spectaculer thing to happen ever. That would blow the minds of the entire world if it was true. But, it’s really not. All of those Q people at the capitol on January 6th got tricked so hard. Even the year of build up around Q was just so stupid. I was really wondering how it would all end, and I guess I got my answer. Those people were truly not smart people, and they believed crazy shit that made them do something that wasn’t really as bad as the news portrayed it. I mean it was bad, and they should all be locked up, but that wasn’t an attempted coup d’état. We all know that it would take way more than that to try to take over the government (The real power isn’t even in D.C.). It is simply too big for that. They lit stuff on fire and took selfies. They basically got let in the place. But, I don’t know. I don’t know the truth, and I will probably never know. That, I do know.
I might be flying a little toooo close to the sun with this part, but I’m just joking around and having fun. I don’t condone any of their actions. Not a single bit. My heart truly goes out to those people who lost their lives. I also cannot disregard the truth in what Q people were saying. That being the criminal networks of child sex-traffickers whose web stretches from NY to LA, and from Houston to Columbus, OH. That stuff is true, or at least a lot of it is. The Epstein’s of the world. You know, Bill, Prince Andrew, Bill Gates, and Donald Trump’s buddy? That shit is real and there have been some very brave journalists who have spent years investigating these horrific crimes against those of us who we all have a duty to protect. I can’t put it any other way than to tell you it’s true. Read ‘The Franklin Scandal’ by Nick Bryant. Watch “Who Took Johnny” about an East Des Moines paper boy who was abducted while doing his route. Read up on the “Finders” cult. Or, read up on the crimes committed by Francis Shelden with Brother Paul’s Nature Camp. You’ve probably never heard of it, but there was an Epstein situation that happened in the mid 1970s. It occurred in nowhere else but my home state of Michigan. North Fox Island to be exact, not too far off the coast of Traverse City. Just a short plane ride away. Those things happened, and this problem still continues to this day. I believe them to be true, and the only way that anyone else will come to believe is by being able to ask yourself a question. That being, “Are you willing to reckon with the possibility that some people in our government and the CIA are willing to commit the most heinous of all crimes?”. Truly the things that I have read have made me have to take a break. I’ve shed tears. I don’t know about all that voodoo shit people claim they’re doing though. That stuff is wild. In summation, the storming of the capitol was wrong and stupid. Everyone that was involved was absolutely stupid, and about 95% wrong. I don’t condone their actions at all. I don’t know, cancel me if you want to.
Okay everyone, take a breath. I really was in the zone earlier. I basically wrote a comedy sketch?? I think those last two paragraphs summed up in one word would be: chaotic. Let me try to reel things back in.
So, From January through about June it felt like the world was just absolutely miserable and not too memorable. Another period of time which, for me, feels like it was a blur.
We now arrive in the Summer of 2021. A summer that has absolutely, been the bomb (pun intended). Everyone seems to be arguing more and more as we get more and more fed up with this stupid virus. Whether it be the horrific crimes of the Israeli Government (obviously when I say that I mean specifically the Israeli government and not Jewish people as a whole. I just feel like I have to clarify that), or our disastrous second departure in 40 years from the country of Afghanistan (we will get duped into round 3 I’m sure). We are all just so fed up with everything. Hell, we even have started to come to the realization that many of the jobs available to us are absolutely soul sucking. We are so fed up with everything. Everyone is. Well, every person who isn’t on twitter all day ranting and screaming. Regular people. We are fed up. Everything is a right vs left debate and everyone seems to be standing for everything, yet nothing at the same time.
The vaccine, for one, is the hottest of all the topics now. Me, personally I chose to get vaccinated back in April. I did it because I wanted to play my part, and I thought that it would be the best thing to do to get back to “normal”. The more that comes out about the vaccine, the more it seems like it was oversold in some sense. The information I saw initially said that it would stop you from getting sick, and it would help prevent but not eliminate the transmissibility of the virus. Now with new variants like that one named after the airline (9/11??? again, kidding.), and all of this new information, it seems like this is a virus that is endemic. Its going to turn into something similar to the flu. I think thats what that means, but I don’t know for certain. So at this point, why are we pushing so hard to force people to get this vaccine. If it doesn’t prevent you from spreading Covid or catching Covid, and If all that it does is prevent death in people who are elderly or people who have co-morbidities, why are we trying to force it on to younger people who are healthy? Not to mention forcing it on the least likely of all to get sick and die, children. Why? It just doesn’t make sense to me.
This forced vaccination thing is really creepy to me because I can see where those who say it infringes on our rights, are right. Not to mention the least vaccinated people in this country are those of minorities. People on the news are incredibly patronizing to those groups. They speak on behalf of people who are more than capable of speaking for themselves, and with more honesty and integrity than Jake Tapper or Tucker Carlson ever could. The news makes it about everything except for the fact that many minorities have more than valid reasons to not trust the government, big pharma, and the healthcare system. Has everyone forgotten, or not heard about Tuskegee? Have we all ignored the forced sterilization of minorities deemed “too dumb” back in the day? Are we continuing to ignore racial discrimination currently happening in our own health care system? Those events should be lessons to all of us. Why? Because those are Americans. The horrors were committed against Americans. That should be a good enough reason? What I’m trying to say is that the phrase “My Body, My Choice” should be kept and held onto for dear life. It should exist and be a right for every single citizen in this country. Not just for vaccines but for abortions as well (Fuck you Texas). I’m not anti-vaccines, truly. I just think there could be a batter way than forcing every single person to get the vaccine. Surely it should be given to those most at risk? Or even if you’re not at risk. If you want to get the vaccine, go right ahead. I did it. I have zero problem with the vaccine and I am happy that it has been effective in preventing death in those who would have been in serious trouble without it. It should be your choice. When was the last time the government took away rights temporarily? Never. They never give them back. I feel like our generation forgets that, given we have only known a post 9/11 world.
Then there’s the whole Ivermectin thing. I’m not a scientist and I will never claim to be one, but obviously scientists saying it works are not using the horse de-wormer. Obviously. I mean for Christ sake it won the 2016 Nobel Prize. Ivermectin, to my limited knowledge, has been used to treat malaria in Africa and other viruses across the world. Especially in more impoverished areas. Remember India? India was on the news as the worst place for Covid on earth for a few weeks. Then it was just out of the news in a flash. I don’t know all the stats, but it seems like their use of Ivermectin helped. There are more countries that decided to use Ivermectin. Japan just had some health ministry guy go on the news and recommend Ivermectin as a treatment (allegedly). There have even been small studies done among hospital staffs in the United States, and those have seemed to be promising. I get why people argue about Ivermectin and that it isn’t FDA approved, but there is a big difference between an experimental vaccine (now recently FDA approved) and a pill that hasn’t shown to produce any negative side effects in the short term. Why does Ivermectin get such a bad name? Why? Because, its cheap. It’s not patented. Any drug manufacturer can produce it. I just hope, for the sake of all of us that this isn’t all about money. However, I feel as though my hopes are for nothing. We, along with public health experts, and scientists should be trying to consider all possibilities. We should be promoting being healthy, without demonizing those who are unhealthy. We should all be exercising, and eating as well as we can. Taking care of ourselves should be our highest priority, mentally and physically. I’m not saying we all have to get shredded or something, I’m saying we have to be honest with ourselves and put our best foot forward for ourselves and each other. I mean this with nothing but love. This along with considering all possibilities of Covid treatments would go a long way to turning all of this around. Is the vaccine the answer? I don’t know. It seems alright. Is Ivermectin or some other alternative the answer? I don’t know. It seems like nobody knows. So why have we stopped searching for a better solution?
This brings me to now. I am sitting in my living room, and for the past few days I have been getting that strange feeling again. That Post-Covid, yet Pre-Covid feeling. As the breeze starts to get a little more brisk, I can feel that the season is beginning to change. It seems like this feeling is becoming a little bit of a pattern. This summer has felt like normal, apart from the masks. As the temperature begins to slowly drop, I cannot help but feel a level of uncertainty in the air, and in how we interact with one another. It’s like we are all asking each other what is going on, and what is going to happen next, without using a single word.
These thoughts and ideas keep me up at night. Sometimes I wish I could just be, in all honesty, a moron. I don’t mean that in an insulting way, I just wish I wasn’t so drawn to how the world works. I wish I wasn’t so drawn to how we interact with each other. At the same time, I couldn't imagine not being able to explore my curiosities and to continue to ask questions of the world I see through my own lens (or lenses, my glasses). I will not tell you how to live your life, or how to think. Your lens is completely different from mine. All that I ask of you is that you think. Think for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. You don’t have to agree with me in totality, I would never expect that of everyone, nor would I ever expect to agree with anyone else in totality. Just take whatever you think maybe be of use to you. Am I crazy? Maybe? However, I don’t feel crazy. I feel like I am kept up at night by the horrors of our world, because on the other side of that coin I have so much love for life and for humanity. I guess thats the Yin and the Yang of it all. If I'm crazy, but I think the world is crazy, maybe i’m not so crazy after all?