ANALYSIS/OPINION: This is another gem from our friend Tom Woods. We wanted to share it with you because we believe that millions of us are feeling this way. And sometimes, it helps just to know that others in fact, do feel the way you do. Please read this letter written by an intelligent, frustrated citizen of the UK.
~ courtesy Tom Woods
March 11, 2021
Sometimes I share with you something I receive in the ol’ mailbag.
Usually these are particularly awful cases of abuse related to COVID.
This one, though, simply sums up the way millions of us are feeling:
Thank you so much for your continued work on this. I am one of the many who have been introduced to your work by your commentary on the virus.
I’m writing from the UK where the government have now set out its route out of lockdown- setting arbitrary dates on which we may get some of our freedom back…freedoms that weren’t theirs to take away in the first place!
I constantly have conversations with friends, family and colleagues who believe in the COVID voodoo (the type that end every conversation or message with #staysafe) and in response I cite data, peer reviewed papers and studies that show lockdowns, masks etc. have no effect on the virus. A lot of these people I would describe as rational, intelligent human beings. I am baffled therefore, to hear them repeating government propaganda and slogans, mask shaming and saying things like “these lockdowns are not strict enough” and “if these people just followed the rules, we would be out of this by now.” I even had one person (who had even had the vaccine) tell me, “I hope they don’t open things up too quickly as cases will spike.” To top that conversation, I was on a Zoom call with a group of friends and someone mentioned that some countries had no masks, lockdowns etc. and they had lower numbers than the UK….silence….I waited with bated breath….then “well maybe they are just being more careful and are wearing masks anyway.” So close.
It seems no amount of data or argument will shift these people from this stance. It is bizarre. Quite frankly, I am running out of energy to argue as it doesn’t make a difference to their zealous belief in these ludicrous policies. I’ve even had members of my own family follow the guidelines like sheep — even when today’s guidelines ban activities that you were “allowed” to do yesterday they follow without question. Like something magical happens at midnight.
It is disturbing how many people have welcomed so much interference into our lives. Moreover, it is frustrating how little I can do about it.
Thank you once again for continuing to fight the good fight, you are indeed, keeping me sane.
I hear his frustration: data and evidence amount to nothing to these alleged “followers of science.” Absolutely bizarre.
My own plan of action:
(1) Keep writing about it.
(2) Relentlessly share charts that undermine the official line. When people worry that opening X or Y will lead to devastation, show charts from places that have opened X or Y. Or remove the labeling and ask: which of these places, based on the charts, do you think limited indoor dining, and which didn’t? We definitely need more quizzes like that. Maybe when they keep scoring zero, something will get through their thick skulls.
(3) Support people who defy the orders, and even politicians (whom I normally do not support) who favor reopening.
(4) Most of all, care for my own friends and loved ones, and help them navigate through the craziness.
If you’re feeling isolated — or if you just enjoy the Tom Woods Show — I hope you’ll join us in our haven of sanity, the Tom Woods Show Elite, where you’ll find a whole bunch of people who see things exactly as you do:
https://tomwoods.us5.list-manage.com/track/click?u=77713d21ff56f1c126607d2c5&id=4a0f9fc614&e=53e210e108
Tom Woods
