Let me be abundantly clear… this is an off-brand opinion piece concerning current events. But then again, you should probably be used to reading and listening to opinion pieces by now. See, literally everything you’re being told right now is just an opinion. I can feel you already getting your back up for me saying that. But here is why I’m so confident: The news media, the government, even the CDC and the WHO (more on them later) have prefaced everything they have moistly spewed at us with the phrase “this is unprecedented”.
So, this is MY opinion piece. And I have been told in no uncertain terms that if MY opinion doesn’t align with the status quo (AKA: YOUR opinion) then I’m not allowed (or entitled) to have or share said opinion. Other people have told me that my OPINION is just flat out wrong. So you’ve been warned. Carry on reading at your own risk.
It’s far from the first time I’ve been told this (that I'm entitled to my opinion, but it's wrong). Hell, I was literally raised this way, told my opinion was wrong or invalid, so for the first 28 years of my life I believed this was just how it was - occasionally fighting it, but never getting anywhere. No wonder I had such low self esteem and lack of self worth.
An opinion is a personal view, an attitude, thought or belief about something (or someone).
So, how can my opinion be wrong if it’s my own view or belief? Well people have quickly informed me that facts trump opinions and their views and beliefs are based on facts… but isn’t that in itself, just their opinion? Because facts are NOT the opposite of opinions. Indifference is. Apathy is.
Can’t facts be disputed? Can’t people see things… even facts… from different perspectives and thus have different opinions about that “fact”? All about interpretation, right?
This past month has been hell for me. It’s probably been the loneliest month of my life; and it’s because my opinion of what's currently occurring in the world isn’t mainstream and doesn’t align with the masses. I’ve literally lost friends (again) because of my opinions, and I only had a handful of friends to begin with. That has made me question, “why are we so afraid or intimidated or threatened (and get so defensive) by anyone who has an opinion that goes against the status quo?”
Do you realize that every fact… started as an opinion. ESPECIALLY in the middle of an “unprecedented pandemic”! So what’s not to say my opinions aren’t in fact, facts?!?
PAID INFLUENCE
Let's start with why everyone is so blindly believing everything they see or hear. Well, no not everything - which is weird to me. How are you determining what is true and what is not? Who do you trust? You all seem to have an algorithm, but it’s not logical and it is impossible to decipher.
I used to teach a business ethics class at college - it was one of my favourites. I started the class by showing 16 pictures - one at a time, and then asking the class if they trusted the person (or position) the picture depicted. A teacher, A priest, A police officer… etc. (I know it sounds like the start to a bad joke, right? Trust me, I never imagined that in April 2020, it actually WOULD be - just wait, the punchline is coming) … A doctor, A TV news anchor, a President and a Prime Minister.
I have taught hundreds of students over the past few years… do you know how many of my students admitted that they trust doctors? ONE! (because both of her parents are doctors). The rest said Doctors have agendas or are bought off by big pharma or are swayed and influenced. Do you know how many students admitted that they trust TV news anchors? NONE! Not a single one. In fact, when I show that picture, I’m usually met with laughter. And then for the President and Prime Minister, I usually get groans and eye rolls. Not a single person admitted to trusting them either.
And yet here in 2020, you are unconditionally trusting, without question anyone in scrubs. And I mean ANYONE!!! You saw that viral Instagram nurse, Imarus Vera, right? Bernie Sanders shared it to his 9 million followers, CBS shared it, it was everywhere for about a week. This poor nurse didn't have any PPE, so she took matters into her own hands and bought a mask for herself, but then her manager wouldn’t let her wear it, yadda yadda yadda. Well, this paid influencer got caught in a string of lies and the video was discredited - but only after it had spread worldwide!
And then while we’re talking about trusting ANYONE in scrubs, let's talk about someone’s brilliant marketing idea of hiring America's most well known and widely recognized doctor to help spread information: Ellen Pompeo. Oh I’m sorry… slight Freudian slip there… what I meant to say was Dr. Meredith Grey. A paid actress telling you how serious it is, to stay at home, practice social distancing, and you’re soaking it up. How could Dr. Meredith Grey lie to us? You know after all this doctor has gone though, what with surviving an airplane crash, horrible calamities and her husband, renowned neurosurgeon Dr Derek Shepherd die in a car crash.
But there have to be real doctors and nurses talking, right? Nope! The health regions have put gag orders on them. They are not allowed to talk. Where I’m writing from, it’s been radio silence from the hospital or anyone legit. But then again, our hospital is virtually empty of any Covid-19 patients. The emergency tents? Empty. Haven’t seen a single patient. My health region is just slightly smaller than the entire country of Italy and we currently have 50 cases. Six in Hospital. One “death” (keep reading if you’re curious why I am quoting that word), and all the “underpaid, overworked frontline workers who are risking their lives day and night dealing with this crisis while sleeping in their cars not being able to see their families” are silent. They are not allowed to speak out. But we’re calling them “health heroes”. (Wait… who coined that first? Oh that’s right… the media did!) We’re praising them for their bravery. But weren’t they brave before this flu hit? Isn't every day a potential life and death for them?!? But now because the media is making such a big deal over a few deaths, we need to drop everything and applaud these workers for doing the exact same job they were doing a week ago, a month ago, a year ago. I’m all for recognition of these people… but just like I said before… why now? Why are we being told this is important right now? Meanwhile, they are making TikTok videos showing off their PPE (wait… I thought they didn’t have any?!?) and why is there no gag order on TikTok videos being recorded in the hospital?!? Is there a gag order? Or is that just what the media is telling us?
In April 2020 the ratings for news shows like CBS, CNN and FOX are soaring because you NEED to know what’s going on. You NEED to know how many people died today. You NEED to know what those people in scrubs are saying, and suddenly the most trustworthy place to get your information is from the media. Why? Because they do all the work for you. They capture the pictures for you. They write the stories for you. They do the research for you. They interview (because they have access to) people who have lots of money, titles and letters behind their names. And they even think for you. It’s sponsored content. It’s paid influence. All that’s left, is for you to absorb it. And you are. But what you fail to realize is that it’s not all real. A lot of it is fake. President Trump has been calling them out for years now, but we all thought he was the crazy one. Don’t get me wrong, I still think he is, but maybe he got this one thing right. They are using the same footage, the same stories, the same pictures, the same headlines - but just changing the names and locations. If they get caught, they will just claim it was an editing mistake. And they can do this because they know you’re stuck in your bubble completely paralyzed by fear and that you don’t have your own opinion - you’re indifferent. You just want to fit in and do what you’re told, or at the very least you don’t want to be left behind and miss out, so you’ll do what everybody else is doing.
Then there are those world leaders you claim you don’t trust—well, their ratings have spiked too and the “new normal” is to gather around the TV, tune into a very trustworthy news media channel and watch the daily briefings from our political leaders. Because if the leader of our country (insert whatever country you’re from… because they’re all the same) says it, well then it HAS to be true. While not even four months ago…. ya know what, forget it. I give up. I will never understand your logic.
But then there is the World Health Organization. They are the ultimate authority in a “pandemic” such as this, right? Surely you won’t question them! Well I do. I’m wondering why the WHO appointed (essentially) a politician to the role of Director General, and for the first time in history not a physician. And a questionable politician (but then again, which of them aren’t?) at that. Sure he’s got some great things on his resume, but he also has some horrible redacted items of scandal and political gains on his resume too. But let’s blindly ignore all of this and trust him wholeheartedly, because he has the title. He is the world's ultimate authority on health issues and “pandemics”. Which by the way, you’ll notice I always quote when I reference because whenever I use that word, it’s only because YOU are using that word. I don’t believe it’s true. For God's sake, it was CNN that first labeled COVID-19 as a pandemic.
SIMPLE MATH
I think for a lot of people (even adults into their 40s and 50s) this is the first time they have realized or have seen/been told just how many people die in the world on a daily basis. The overly exaggerated and sensationalized numbers of COVID-19 have either left them awake at night or have driven them to purchase 30 cases of toilet paper (or both)! It’s almost as if people failed to realize that death is an intrinsic part of life. You can’t avoid it. But for the past three months you have tried… and you think that you’re winning.
What you don't realize is that these numbers are normal - small, in fact. Literally since day one - for me that was March 13, I think, I have primarily questioned the numbers because they DON’T. ADD. UP.
I have never poked fun or joked at the fact that people are currently dying from the flu… sorry, from “flu-like symptoms associated with COVID-19”. What I’ve tried to expose is that last year (and every year) 650,000 died from influenza and pneumonia. Even more if we factor in respiratory failure.
Every time I express my opinion that this is comparable to a cold or flu, everyone jumps on the fact that this is more contagious and more lethal. But again… that is just them replying to MY opinion, with an opinion of their own. When 96% of those who have recovered from COVID-19 only experienced “mild flu-like symptoms” it leaves me with a lot of questions.
As of publishing date, the amount of deaths worldwide that are being labeled as COVID-19 still haven’t come close to the average number of deaths that influenza/pneumonia/respiratory claims every single year.
Our leaders and the media are not extrapolating data accurately. Plain and simple. They are skewing the numbers to sensationalize them. To create fear. The percentages are not even remotely accurate as they are referencing those who are tested - and not the entire population. That’s simple math, that the entire world has overlooked. Well not the entire world. There are leading immunologists blowing holes through this theory and trying to get your attention, but the media isn’t promoting these messages. In fact even on social media these doctors posts and comments are being deleted. I wonder why...
Because the numbers STILL don’t add up. So let’s keep poking holes in theories.
What was of great concern to me is that when a few of us questioned the numbers, we were shot down so quickly by the big 3 - scrubs, media and suits and were told the numbers couldn’t be compared. Again, not a fact… just their opinion. But you fell for it. Memes and graphics popped up instantly condemning anyone who questioned the numbers. Well, doesn’t that just make you want to question even more? Never mind. That’s a rhetorical question. But for those of us who are awake and opinionated, it does.
So let’s begin with the CDC. If you can answer me this, I would be all ears. Why did the CDC feel they needed to send out a 7 page document to all the doctors in America “coaching them on how to fill out a COVID-19 death certificate”? It’s not a rumour… You can still find this document published on the CDC website.
In that document it states that if a patient tests positive for COVID-19 and they then die for ANY reason (car accident, eaten by a shark, suicide… okay, maybe those weren’t the examples given - but they could of been for all intents and purposes) COVID-19 is to be listed on the death certificate as the underlying health condition. And if that’s not bad enough, this next part should make my point crystal clear when I compare COVID-19 deaths to influenza and respiratory deaths. It clearly reads “Ideally, testing for COVID-19 should be conducted, but it is acceptable to report COVID-19 on a death certificate without this confirmation”. And THAT is why the CDC is “coaching” doctors on how to write a death certificate. Do you still believe that 130,000 people have died from COVID-19? Of course you do because that’s what the doctors, media and suits are telling you.
The numbers don’t add up. But do you know what DOES? The money. This is their pay cheque after all. Oh wait—you don’t know how much doctors are pocketing for each case of COVID-19 they test, do you?
A pay cheque of $30,000 a patient still is pocket change to some. I have a huge problem with why a software developer is being touted as the leading authority of this virus and “pandemic”. Now here is where I need you to believe me when I say I’m not a conspiracy theorist (which is what every conspiracy theorist says!). There is an online group (Karen from Facebook) that is spouting rumors that a patent was taken out on Covid-19 two years ago by an institute funded by this software developer. I don’t buy it. Prove it to me first.
That being said, why did he resign from his trillion dollar tech company on March 13 only to then step into the spotlight as the authority of this health “pandemic”? That doesn’t make sense to me. It was also interesting to note that his new documentary on Netflix was featured in March. That’s no coincidence. That was carefully planned and scheduled and his platform has always been on controlling the world population, and promoting vaccines. Maybe he’s claiming the spotlight because like I said already, we’re having a good year for population growth. The overall death toll is down and if all those coronababies are born in December, well, we might just hit 8 billion by the end of the year after all. Oh, but wait, I hear there is another flu season coming in October and I’m sure there will be millions of terrified citizens waiting to receive “life-saving” flu vaccinations.
FEAR
“Fear is a great way to control people. People lose the ability to think for themselves when exposed to fear for long enough."
This was probably the best quote I heard in the past month, and ironically it came from someone with both significant political and medical power.
This is the chapter of Covid-19 that has made me the saddest. See, I lost most of my friends in week one of this ordeal. The conversations were all the same. Discussing fears of this virus and ways to navigate this “terrifying” situation. But, like always, once again I was too honest. (Yes, a blog on this topic is coming soon too!).
I was blunt and told them/you that I wasn’t scared at all. To which on more than one occasion, Madison was used as ammunition. Ask me how I feel about you using MY daughter in attempts to win YOUR argument. I think I pissed a few of you off when I laughed at you and said “Madison has survived the flu before, and she’ll survive it again. Or she won’t. In which case it was her time to go.” Holy hell, that got your blood boiling. How could I be so nonchalant about this?!? How could I be so cold and uncaring?!? Or my favourite, “You’ll regret saying that when you’re watching Madison be intubated… or worse yet, when she’s fighting for her life and there are no ventilators!” Again I think I scoffed at this knowing that we’re not in control. But just look at the gross overreaction of the entire world thinking that they ARE in control.
Case and point, those fucking ventilators. We’re not hearing about them so much anymore, now are we?!? That’s because they killed more patients than they saved. Once again, this was an “unprecedented” “pandemic” which means it was someone’s OPINION that ventilators were going to be the key life saving component. Oops. Boy, did they get that wrong. But don’t forget it is only MY opinion that is wrong here.
But the media got you. You were duped. You’ll never admit it, and next year you’ll probably even share a meme laughing at how ridiculous 2020 was - but I’ll remember the truth. And the truth concerns me.
The only thing to fear is fear itself. If only one thing has been confirmed for me this past month, it’s this. See, for a day or two I have to admit I was scared too. I was watching everyone lose their minds over this, and I was afraid that because of the severe overreactions, it would inevitably affect and even hinder or hurt my life. Just look at the toilet paper fiasco. The shelves are STILL empty because you overreacted due to fear. And who started it all? Really?!? You’re 90% through this blog and you still can’t figure that out?!? I remember this vividly. It was the media blowing up a press conference from “someone” in authority who suggested we may need essential supplies - and then they offered up a specific example by saying “...such as toilet paper for up to two weeks of quarantine". And what did you do?!? You calculated that during the average two week period you went to the bathroom 3,678,993 times and used 753 rolls of toilet paper each time. And the rest is now our sad, infamous, pathetic history which we will forever be remembered for.
Quarantine and social distancing?!? Are you serious? YOU. WERE. DUPED! This is simply fear controlling people. It doesn’t help. It makes things worse!! We need to be strengthening our immune systems… not weakening them by hunkering down and eating junk food while watching Netflix 24/7.
I started this chapter on fear with my favourite quote from the past month… here is the one I hated the most:
“In the end it will be impossible to know if we overreacted or did too much, but it will be quite apparent if we under reacted or did too little.”
No. You’re wrong. Plain and simple.
First of all “reacting” at all is what magnified this global issue in the first place. Did you not learn this key life skill as a kid?!? Reacting = Bad. RESPONDING = Good. But nobody responded to this. Everyone was so focused on whether or not they were over or under reacting.
Then second. Yeah… it’s not impossible to know if you overreacted. It’s been pretty clear to those of us awake enough to see the truth that you all chose and went "all in" on overreacting.
It doesn’t help matters that everything is open for interpretation.
Remember… this is all “unprecedented”. We haven't gone through this before, so we’re all blindly trying to figure this out… using nothing more than our OPINION of how to handle it.
Look at how nothing is consistent. Our leaders are changing their minds on a weekly if not daily basis.
“Wear masks!!!”
“Don’t wear masks... they are only an illusion of safety.”
“Masks are now mandatory on airplanes as it prevents the spread of the virus”
“We don’t have any masks for our front-line health heroes”
So how can everyone of those statements be called a fact? But they were. And you believed them. Because you don’t want to hear someone's opinion... you just want the facts. So the media calls it a “fact” and you buy it.
Nothing is consistent. Rules change from one place to another. But yet “they” expect us to listen and obey their “guidelines” (aka: opinions) when it’s clear no one knows what the hell is going on or what to do. One region is giving out an $800 ticket to a family rollerblading while another region is opening golf courses and promoting outdoor activities. And that’s just one example of an endless list of contradicting messages, guidelines void of any logic, and desperate messages with only one common theme: instill fear in everyone.
For the first time in his 3.5 year term thus far, I actually agreed with something the President said: “We cannot let the cure be worse than the problem itself.”
Well, the world didn’t listen and now we have years—maybe even decades of cleaning up and rebuilding to do. The economy is ruined. People's lives have been ruined. Businesses- some long-standing pillars of our society have closed for good, while others are already informing us that if this isn't sorted out by May, they will be closed too. And the worst is yet to come. In Canada alone over 7 million people have claimed the emergency relief payment from the government—that’s 20% of our entire population.
A lot of them are my friends as my two career industries have been among the worst hit. I was in hospitality/food & beverage for 15 years - even as managing partner and owner of three restaurants near the end of my career. The bigger chain and franchise restaurants are surviving with take-out options, but a lot of the hidden gems and the small family-owned restaurants won’t survive.
Then my most recent career industry in concerts and live entertainment has been completely annihilated and this is unforgivable. I will forever be bitter and resentful for this. I guess the selfish silver lining is that I packed up and shut down my company at the end of 2017. If I hadn’t, this past month would have killed me.
I have friends who should be on suicide watch. You see in this billion dollar industry an enormous amount of money is invested upfront and we recoup it from ticket sales at a later date. When cancellations and postponements occur, that money is never fully recouped. For that reason alone, some of my friends will never be seen or heard from again. And then there are those who have worked for YEARS on one event… long awaiting their payday (and in this industry the payday from one event can often eclipse what you earn in an entire year!) which now will never come. They have lost everything and are literally being forced to declare bankruptcy due to no fault of their own - AFTER WORKING THEIR ASSES OFF FOR MONTHS, IF NOT YEARS! And for what?!? A cough? The flu? A hoax? An overreaction? No... FEAR!
And I can’t even begin to write about what all the long lasting mental and physiological effects will be from this. If not from fear, then from the “cure” as the president accurately predicted. Locking people up away from their loved ones. I chose to interpret the “quarantine” and stay-at-home guidelines fairly loosely, but that doesn’t mean we weren’t affected by it. I’ll never forget the look on my son's face and tears of confusion and rejection when he was denied entry into a store. The secondary effects of Covid-19 have lifelong effects on everyone - and no one is looking at this.
But then to be fair… while you’ve been scared of a sneeze, I’ve been scared to publish my thoughts, feelings and beliefs; my opinion of current events. I guess this just proves we’re all consumed by fear in our own ways.
CONCLUSION
My stance hasn’t wavered since day one. It’s taken me six weeks to publish this blog, but most of it was written back in March.
I don’t know why I’ve been so awake for this “pandemic”, immediately seeing right through the ruse. It’s ironic in a way because I rank among the most exhausted, sleep deprived parents out there… but I’ve been wide awake for the past month. I’ve always had impeccable intuition and gut feelings… the problem is that I second guess them and am often swayed off or away from them. This time I dug my feet in.
But the results of that were catastrophic for me and potentially repairable. I quickly saw that this ordeal could be likened to people’s stance on politics, gender, religion, race, etc. it was polarizing people - and not just random strangers and keyboard warriors on Facebook, but my own friends and family.
So I retreated. I went dark. I shut down. I initiated an Autism campaign for my social media posts to distract me from what was really going on. But I couldn’t let it go. And then our doctor admitted to me after showing great disdain for the regulations in place, that he had it on highest insider authority that it was all a ruse. Then a police officer told me the same thing after I learnt that (at least in my region) they can’t issue a ticket for ANYTHING because all they have is opinionated “guidelines” that aren’t enforceable. And then someone else confirmed my hypothesis and “opinion”, that this has actually been a pretty average flu season - with less deaths overall. And all of a sudden I saw I wasn’t alone. It wasn’t just me with a crazy opinion.
What’s going to happen in October when the next flu season comes around?!? I’m scared shitless that the world is going to freak out again.
I’m done. I’m exhausted. You guys, wake up. It’s time to wake up. This April fools joke has gone on long enough. Do I believe COVID-19 was real? Yes! But it was just the seasonal flu. Was it bad? Yes! Just like the flu ALWAYS is. The flu always kills people. Lots of people. Did we overreact? Yes! Mainly because our misinformed leaders, and corrupt media told us to. Is it time to wake up and start questioning things like this and use logic and common sense instead of blindly trusting our leaders? Yes! A million times yes!
This is completely off-brand for me, and I’ve struggled to write it and experienced even more struggle in publishing it. If you’ve even made it this far, I wouldn’t be surprised if you unfollow me or block me - because it’s clear my opinion is wrong, right?
Sometimes people don't want to hear the truth because they don't want their illusions destroyed.
But then I heard of this museum asking for letters, photos, stories and memorabilia from this time because they feel generations in the future will be interested in what really happened. And that inspired me to tell my side of it. I don’t want just the articles and stories of fear to dominate that exhibit.
Stop the fear mongering and find the truth, because the truth will set you free.