BRENDAN O'NEILL
EDITOR
EDITOR
No. 2558
WROTE:
“The New Normal. These
are the three most chilling words in public discussion right now. Masks,
keeping our distance from each other, avoiding overseas travel, half-empty pubs,
nods of the head taking the place of handshakes and hugs... these are all part
of The New Normal….It’s clear now that the regime of social distancing has
little to do with Covid-19. Rather, it’s the latest manifestation of
contemporary society’s culture of distrust, suspicion and separation, where
we’re always encouraged to see our fellow citizens as dangerous and diseased,
liable to harm us with their words, their come-ons, their second-hand smoke,
etc.”
Nor to mention the absence
of masks, which if one is not wearing one will precipitate the instant deaths
of customers at the neighboring table, even as they sip their latte.
For relief
from this insane totalitarian culture, I repair to several of my bought movies,
such as: North by Northwest,,
The Manchurian Candidate, Gladiator, Laura, and a dozen more, such as Shane and High Noon.
The big attraction for these
and other films is the absence of face masks in any of the stories. They are
the “Normal” for me, not “New,” or regurgitated assertions of “fighting” the
virus to mandate obedience and “patriotism,” which are political impositions
and aspirations, hiving on totalitarian opportunism if anything else..I need to see these films as a relief from the constant
threat of being punished for not wearing a mask (which I will not wear; I’ll
starve first) and the incessant announcements and reminders to
wear masks and maintain one’s “social distance.”
O’Neill wrote:
“We need to ditch the
distancing and get back to the social – to a properly civic world in which
people pull together rather than avoiding each other literally like the
plague.”
It is a plague
we are in thrall to now, in thrall to ir because the government, the authorities,
and the MSM consensus command it.
I am startled by how much the 17th century doctors’ plague masks resemble in alleged function (if not in appearance) to the useless, disfiguring masks of today.
I am startled by how much the 17th century doctors’ plague masks resemble in alleged function (if not in appearance) to the useless, disfiguring masks of today.
Hilsa said:
ReplyDelete"Rather, it’s the latest manifestation of contemporary society’s culture of distrust, suspicion and separation, where we’re always encouraged to see our fellow citizens as dangerous and diseased, liable to harm us with their words, their come-ons, their second-hand smoke, etc.”
HiDA also said:
ReplyDeleteThe plague masks are super creepy. But the current mask wearing is even creepier because it makes me feel like we're living in very dark times.
Hilda
Whether or not masks protect us from the spread of this disease is still scientifically unsettled. I wear a shield because I do not want to frighten (and lose) my students or their parents. I would quite literally starve if I were to lose them. Yes, it is uncomfortable and most unattractive but a small price to pay if I am to continue with my work. In any discussion I let my thoughts be known but that is all. I pity and abhor what these children are going through now. The sooner this thing is licked the better. It has to be! There are intelligent and even fearless people who are working on it. It won't last, Ed, it won't!
ReplyDeleteTeresa
Teresa: It will last as long was the politicians and "authorities" want it to last, to their advantage, not to ours, which is indefinately.
ReplyDelete:indefinately" should b "indefinately,
ReplyDelete"InswdinRWLY" s/b "indefinitly."
ReplyDelete