Tag: idiots

Day 599 – They’re so angry

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Austria is locking down some of its citizens today in a bid to avert another wave of Covid. They’re locking down the unvaccinated ones, and it really does feel like we are suddenly living in a truly divided society.

And then you think: if only there was something they could do about it.

And it all feels a bit better.

And if you think I am trivialising an important issue, maybe I am. But I look at why people aren’t getting vaccinated, and the petty, juvenile, stupid behaviour is all on them. It’s honestly so very pathetic, and if you choose to be “pro-choice” – and we all know what that really means – then why should you put the rest of us in more danger? The last two years have been shitty enough without you trying to prolong it because you feel you have to believe some crap you read on Facebook. Idiots.

The self same idiocy demonstrated over the new Tesco ad.

Seizing the zeitgeist and featuring Father Christmas with a QR code vaccine passport. Brilliant.
It’s not even a good ad. It’s busy, bitty, hurried – it’s hard work… but I actually love the fact that it’s got people upset.

And by people, I mean idiots.

You do you. Go boycott Tesco, you young, brave soldiers.
Let’s see where that gets you. Bless.

UPDATE: It seems that my stance on this has irritated a few people. So be it. You irritate me.

I’m not deliberately going out of my way to upset you, but equally, I’m not going to bend over backwards to accommodate your stupidity any longer. The data are in, the writing is on the wall, the facts are facts.
I very much doubt that SA will see a (non-)vaccinated lockdown, but looking at the way thinks are going, if it comes, I’m very much here for it. Because sure, what you do to yourself is your call, but when you choose to willfully endanger others because of your selfish and foolish behaviour, I lose my patience quickly.
And quite frankly, you deserve to be inconvenienced. And we deserve to be safer.

Oh, and before you gooi around the word “tyranny”, like you are doing already… well… this.

Mmm.

On online conflict (or not)

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If there’s one thing that social media has done, it’s allowed a voice to the voiceless. And while that might seem like a good thing (and in some cases is a good thing), in the vast majority of situations, it’s actually a complete pain in the arse.

Take the anti-vaxxers, for example. I mentioned this last week: their online presence is every bit as big and organised as real medical professionals. And for a lot of people (who choose not to actually think), that means that their views are equally valid. You and I, each blessed with a functioning brain, can quite clearly see the difference between the two parties, and make up our own minds based on logic and information. Others, however, will take whatever they read first as gospel, no matter who happens to have said it, and that’s a real issue.

The other benefit/problem of this new found freedom of discourse is that you find yourself forced to continually interact with people that you usually wouldn’t choose to “in real life”, simply because you find yourselves on the same Whatsapp group because they bought a house 300m from yours or some such.

This could be incredibly enriching experience – an opportunity to see things through others’ eyes. However, in the vast majority of situations, it’s actually a complete pain in the arse.

And of course that swings both ways – they probably really don’t want anything to do with you either. And yet here we all are, each drawn together outside our comfort zones, wearing forced smiles and spouting false platitudes in order that we don’t get booted off the group in question and thus miss some vital piece of local information. Is it worth it? Of course it is – if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t still be on the group.

I don’t mind admitting that there are certain individuals on some social media groups who – for me (and others) – have gained “a reputation”. And not in a good way. You know what’s likely to be coming from them (because you’ve seen it a million times before), and you know that you’re not going to like it. Equally, I might be (indeed, I probably am) one of them to other people, simply because they don’t like what I say any more than I like what they say. We really wouldn’t last as friends. With good reason.

I don’t suffer fools gladly (because again, “in real life”, I don’t have to), but I really do try not to engage. I’ve got near endless patience and a wonderful ability to zone out and ignore most anything that annoys me. I have had plenty of practice of sitting on my hands and not responding to idiots people on twitter, and I’ve worked out that I don’t have to respond, even when someone shares something so utterly nonsensical that it rattles my spidey-senses.

But jeez. They walk among us. And on the internet, it’s likely that their voices are every bit of loud as ours. Sad and terrifying.

Alexander Blows

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He really does.

On Facebook:

And the response from Alexander Blows:

You have to be pretty daft to believe hoax messages going around on social media about water rationing are true. But it takes a special sort of idiot to “take precautions” even once you’ve got the direct evidence straight from the horses mouth.

They walk among us…

In case you need to be told

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Because some of my FB friends do: Likes don’t save lives.

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That’s the tagline of a new campaign by UNICEF in Sweden. They’re encouraging people do donate money rather than just click a button. Because while the clicks are absolutely lovely, they don’t actually do anything. They’re just an easy way to pretend you’re making a difference. It’s slacktivism at its worst.

Of course, far fewer people will put their money where their click was. But it’s worth remembering that even a single cent is still worth more to charity than any number of those likes.

(Oh, and while we’re on the subject, actually, “one like ? one prayer”, although both are worthless, as mentioned above, it’s likely to do about as much good. i.e. none.)