Authored by Professor Sunetra Gupta, op-ed via The Daily Mail,
Lockdown is a blunt, indiscriminate policy that forces the poorest and most vulnerable people to bear the brunt of the fight against coronavirus. As an infectious diseases epidemiologist, I believe there has to be a better way.
That is why, earlier this month, with two other international scientists, I co-authored a proposal for an alternative approach — one that shields those most at risk while enabling the rest of the population to resume their ordinary lives to some extent.
I expected debate and disagreement about our ideas, published as the Great Barrington Declaration.
As a scientist, I would welcome that. After all, science progresses through its ideas and counter-ideas.
But I was utterly unprepared for the onslaught of insults, personal criticism, intimidation and threats that met our proposal. The level of vitriol and hostility, not just from members of the public online but from journalists and academics, has horrified me.
I am not a politician. The hurly-burly of political life and being in the eye of the media do not appeal to me at all.
I am first and foremost a scientist; one who is far more comfortable sitting in my office or laboratory than in front of a television camera.
Of course, I do have deeply held political ideals — ones that I would describe as inherently Left-wing. I would not, it is fair to say, normally align myself with the Daily Mail.
I have strong views about the distribution of wealth, about the importance of the Welfare State, about the need for publicly owned utilities and government investment in nationalised industries.
But Covid-19 is not a political phenomenon. It is a public health issue — indeed, it is one so serious that the response to it has already led to a humanitarian crisis. So I have been aghast to see a political rift open up, with outright abuse meted out to those who, like me, question the orthodoxy.
At the heart of our proposal is the recognition that mass lockdowns cause enormous damage.
We are already seeing how current lockdown policies are producing devastating effects on short and long-term public health.
The results — to name just a few — include lower childhood vaccination rates, worsening cardiovascular disease outcomes, fewer cancer screenings and deteriorating mental health.
Such pitfalls of national lockdowns must not be ignored, especially when it is the working class and younger members of society who carry the heaviest burden.
I was also deeply concerned that lockdowns only delay the inevitable spread of the virus. Indeed, we believe that a better way forward would be to target protective measures at specific vulnerable groups, such as the elderly in care homes.
Of course, there will be challenges, such as where people are being cared for in their own multi-generational family homes.
I am certainly not pretending I have all the answers, but these issues need to be discussed and thrashed out thoroughly.
That is why I have found it so frustrating how, in recent weeks, proponents of lockdown policies have seemed intent on shutting down debate rather than promoting reasoned discussion.
It is perplexing to me that so many refuse even to consider the potential benefits of allowing non-vulnerable citizens, such as the young, to go about their lives and risk infection, when in doing so they would build up herd immunity and thereby protect the lives of vulnerable citizens.
Yet rather than engage in serious, rational discussion with us, our critics have dismissed our ideas as ‘pixie dust’ and ‘wishful thinking’.
This refusal to cherish the value of the scientific method strikes at the heart of everything I, as a scientist, hold dear. To me, the reasoned exchange of ideas is the basis of civilised society.
So I was left stunned after being invited on to a mid-morning radio programme recently, only for a producer to warn me minutes before we went on air that I was not to mention the Great Barrington Declaration. The producer repeated the warning and indicated that this was an instruction from a senior broadcasting executive.
I demanded an explanation and, with seconds to go, was told that the public wouldn’t be familiar with the meaning of the phrase ‘Great Barrington Declaration’.
And this was not an isolated experience. A few days later, another national radio station approached my office to set up an interview, then withdrew the invitation. They felt, on reflection, that giving airtime to me would ‘not be in the national interest’.
But the Great Barrington Declaration represents a heartfelt attempt by a group of academics with decades of experience in this field to limit the harm of lockdown. I cannot conceive how anyone can construe this as ‘against the national interest’.
Moreover, matters certainly are not helped by outlets such as The Guardian, which has repeatedly published opinion pieces making factually incorrect and scientifically flawed statements, as well as borderline defamatory comments about me, while refusing to give our side of the debate an opportunity to present our view.
I am surprised, given the importance of the issues at stake — not least the principle of fair, balanced journalism — that The Guardian would not want to present all the evidence to its readers. After all, how else are we to encourage proper, frank debate about the science?
On social media, meanwhile, much of the discourse has lacked any decorum whatsoever.
I have all but stopped using Twitter, but I am aware that a number of academics have taken to using it to make personal attacks on my character, while my work is dismissed as ‘pseudo- science’. Depressingly, our critics have also taken to ridiculing the Great Barrington Declaration as ‘fringe’ and ‘dangerous’.
But ‘fringe’ is a ridiculous word, implying that only mainstream science matters. If that were the case, science would stagnate. And dismissing us as ‘dangerous’ is equally unhelpful, not least because it is an inflammatory, emotional term charged with implications of irresponsibility. When it is hurled around by people with influence, it becomes toxic.
But this pandemic is an international crisis. To shut down the discussion with abuse and smears — that is truly dangerous.
Yet of all the criticisms flung at us, the one I find most upsetting is the accusation that we are indulging in ‘policy-based evidence-making’ — in other words, drumming up facts to fit our ideological agenda.
And that ideology, according to some, is one of Right-wing libertarian extremism.
According to Wikipedia, for instance, the Great Barrington Declaration was funded by a Right-wing think-tank with links to climate-change deniers.
It should be obvious to anyone that writing a short proposal and posting it on a website requires no great financing. But let me spell it out, since, apparently, I have to: I did not accept payment to co-author the Great Barrington Declaration.
Money has never been the motivation in my career. It hurts me profoundly that anyone who knows me, or has even a passing professional acquaintance, could believe for a minute that I would accept a clandestine payment for anything.
I am very fortunate to have a house and garden I love, and I couldn’t ask for more material wealth than that. Far more important to me are my family and my work. Yet the abuse continues to flood in, increasingly of a personal nature.
I have been accused of not having the right expertise, of being a ‘theoretical’ epidemiologist with her head in the clouds. In fact, within my research group, we have a thriving laboratory that was one of the first to develop an antibody test for the coronavirus.
We were able to do so because we have been working for the past six years on a flu vaccine, using a combination of laboratory and theoretical techniques. Our technology has already been patented and licensed and presents a rare example of a mathematical model leading to the development of a vaccine.
Even more encouraging, however, is that there is now a groundswell of movements — Us For Them, PanData19 and The Price of Panic, to name but three — seeking to give a voice to those, like me, who believe that the collateral damage of lockdown can be worse than the virus itself.
On Thursday, a broad coalition was launched under the banner of Recovery. Drawing people from across the mainstream of political views, the movement is calling for balance and moderation in our response to Covid-19, backed by a proper public debate and a comprehensive public inquiry.
I am delighted that it has received such a level of support.
For, ultimately, lockdown is a luxury of the affluent; something that can be afforded only in wealthy countries — and even then, only by the better-off households in those countries.
One way to go about shifting our perspective would be to catalogue all the ways in which lockdowns across the world are damaging societies. At present, I am collaborating with a number of colleagues to do just this, under the banner www.collateralglobal.org.
For the simple truth is that Covid-19 will not just go away if we continue to impose enough meaningless restrictions on ourselves. And the longer we fail to recognise this, the worse will be the permanent economic damage — the brunt of which, again, will be borne by the disadvantaged and the young.
When I signed the Great Barrington Declaration on October 4, I did so with fellow scientists to express our view that national lockdowns won’t cure us of Covid.
Clearly, none of us anticipated such a vitriolic response.
The abuse that has followed has been nothing short of shameful.
But rest assured. Whatever they throw at us, it won’t do anything to sway me — or my colleagues — from the principles that sit behind what we wrote.
* * *
Professor Sunetra Gupta is an infectious disease epidemiologist and a professor of theoretical epidemiology at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford.
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WITHOUT RESTRITIONS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Welcome, dear Doctor, to what all the rest of us have been experiencing, non-stop, for the past 4 years.
Now you see it doesn’t matter what your “personal beliefs” are. You MUST TOE THE LINE WITHOUT EXCEPTION.
Now you see it’s not about “saving lives”. It never was. If it was, then Cuomo would not have sent Covid-1984 patients back into nursing homes.
If it was, then state, local, and the Fed would see the fall out from the lock downs. The destruction of businesses, families, and entire cities.
Death comes for us all. It’s what we do with the time while we are alive that matters. And for a virus with a very high survival rate for almost everyone except those that are close to death anyway due to the natural spans of their lives coming to and end or pre-existing co-morbidities, the true nature of the beast is very obvious for all with eyes to see.
Now we have Amazon, Walmart, Microsoft, Google, YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, et al remaining while the small mom-and-pop places, and even yes regional players, disappearing like a puff of smoke.
I am reminded of the movie Demolition Man, when an awakened Stallone is told Taco Bell is “the only restaurant to survive the franchise wars”.
I watch Joe The Grift Biden shuffle around and talk about taking Trump out back behind the bleachers for a beating.
This reminds me of the Seinfeld episode “The English Patient” where a very aged character named Mandelbaum challenges Jerry to a contest of strength. And loses. Because he’s fucking OLD.
Our lives have now very much become an ongoing episode of every dystopian movie, novel, and comedy of errors ever written.
You are late to the party, Dear Doctor, and you seem shocked it’s happening to you. Get used to it, the left is just warming up.
I applaud your post & two thumbs up.
As the left has proven time and again … they will eat their own … if they do not toe the (party) line and/or agenda …
As she admitted … these are HER people who are striking out against her and the other signatories to the Great Barrington Declaration …
This should be a learning moment for the good doctor … and the rest who would dare to deviate from the path they’ve been told to follow.
“But Covid-19 is not a political phenomenon. It is a public health issue …”
And that is where you are dead wrong. It is indeed a political issue and if you don’t see that then your not much of a scientist.
It is both a health and political issue. The response to and use of Covid19 for other ends is nothing but political. You are both right.
Great post, Anon. This woman is dumb as a post and holding herself out as a martyr. She knows the answers to many of the questions she asks, but wouldn’t dare speak the truth. Total waste of time.
Exactly-right, Anon. The Evil Fuckers, Cloud people and their assistants, the Ivory Tower dwellers, while many are quite brilliant in their fields, tend to live in self-contained speech-thought- spirit – communities (with high walls and guarded gates) and cannot quite grasp quotidian concrete-hard Reality experience outside of the rarified air of the Cushy Zones (C).
She could always come to TBP and at least have some opportunity to enlighten the Rabble or blow off some steam.
Auntie wonders; what is the best method for one epidemiologist to tell another epidemiologist to “eat shit and die?”
The flak is always worse near the target………..
Most people I talk to about COVID are sheep. They are scared to death and do whatever and believe whatever they are told by the Gov.
Fuck Wiki. Libtard cocksuckers.
Thus, I put forth this Motion, to be added to the TBP Constitution;
“I do hereby submit for consideration, a Motion Of Temporary Banishment for ANYONE who links, quotes, or references ANY Wiki article. Immediate Banishment will last for three (3) days, Subsequent infractions will increase said banishment by one day. Admin will keep track of all this.”
Agree = Up Vote
Veto = Down Vote
NOTE: Only TBPers who own property are allowed to vote.
Hear, hear!
I second the motion.
The true answer is, of course, to stop listening to these coiffed, starched, multi-millionaires and mulattoes on CNNBCBSohjustforgod’ssakestopit and boycott so-called social media. The chances of this happening are, admittedly, extremely remote.
Because who wants the truth, anyway?
So, she’s a Lefty, eh?
Don’t know if I should feel sorry for her travails. Or, loathe her.
Decisions. Decisions.
Yeah, I thought about just desserts when I read that part, but then the inner snarky me said, the only time any of us really see is when there is nothing there.
When you have nothing to lose, suddenly everything is illuminated.
Lets just say I would not want her securing my 6.
An unexpected face-to-face with a Portland rioter
(Disclaimer: Drug-use, profanity, illegal acts, threats of death, actual death, general mind-crime, political heresies, distracted musings and rants abound in the following article. You’ve been warned! Seriously. This is mostly lightweight stuff, but nevertheless… Parental advisory is strongly recommended.)
It’s 9:30 in the morning. Halloween day. I’ve been awake about 4 hours already. At the moment, I’m swimming around inside my head, trying to recall the events of the previous night through the lingering fog of an IPA-induced blackout…
…It had been a beautiful autumn day in the accursed San Francisco Gay Area. The sun had just dropped behind the hills, leaving a tangerine-hued twilight canvas for lazy cotton-candy-pink and purple clouds. Opposite was a sickly-yellow full-moon, emerging through the wispy, gray haze of smog and wildfire smoke. I was cruising down-the street, blaring Ozzy’s Bark At the Moon from my speakers, and enjoying the cool air of the fell season.
I hook a chirpy left into a garbage-strewn shopping center in suburbia, and catch dirty looks from all the factory-farmed humans, waiting in line at the factory-farmed fast-food joints. Not an American in sight, only darker asians and hispanics. The invad- I mean, wokefuks- don’t care for Ozzy when a young, white knucklehead is blaring it for all to hear. It’s probably microaggressive and/or blasphemous unless it’s a trendy brown kid doing it.
Swinging around to the back of the shopping center, I pass by a young homeless guy sitting on the curb, casually a-puffin’ a cigarettay. I’d seen him around town before, flying a sign (begging) near the freeway. He’s new here, and sticks out.
Now, I’m still basically homeless myself (living out of my car, now) but I generally hate other homeless people. I always go far out of my way so that I don’t have to interact with any of ’em. This guy, (dressed in all black) looks like somebody I’d wanna send to the hospital, or at least cross the street to avoid.
(As a side-note, it’s worth noting that this kid was essentially the dictionary definition of anglo-saxon. The significance of this comes into play later, as you’ll see).
So I drove by at first, and then doubled back because I need to learn more about this unknown guy who is lurking around my main sleeping-spot, at night…
He looks like shit. No doubt he’s had a tough afternoon begging. It’s actually really tough to simply stand there with a sign in public, and beg for help. Believe it or not, it’s harder to make yourself do that than almost any job. You get sunburn. People tell you to “get a fuckin’ job!”- usually an older middle-eastern guy, or wannabe redneck. They also try to give you food instead of money, and you accept it so as to not look like a greedy dickhead, even tho you won’t eat it- because people hate homeless people, and it could be poison… or worse- laced with laxative- not a trivial concern, when you only own two pairs of pants and can’t even afford the laundromat. (Also, almost all homeless people get foodstamps, so unless the sign says “hungry”- or something to that effect- just give ’em some change…) Anyway. By far the most difficult part of begging is how hard it is mentally- it’s very degrading.
This kid looks like shit after an afternoon behind the cardboard. He could probably use a beer. So I pull up next to him in my car, and offer up my box o’ brews, and tell him to take a few. Hallowe’en is tomorrow so… trick-or-treat, ya scary-lookin’ mothereffer.
I figured I did my good deed for the day, and start to drive away to a parking-space nearby (to assess his potential threat-level out of the corner of my eye). Before I pull away, he asks me if I wanna smoke a blunt.
Wait wat.
“Yeah sure.”
Normally, I’d have passed, but I was fuming mad just previously, because the transmission is already going out on the car that I’d just bought a few weeks ago. I really needed to chill out right then, even though I’m not really tryna smoke anything these days…
So I park, get out, and beckon him to join me on the curb next to the car. He saunters over, and plops down next to me.
Swisher sparked…
Drum roll…
We exchange minor pleasantries, and I discover that he’s disarmingly polite… I take a good pull on the blunt, and ask through the smoke, “What’s with the get-up man, I just now noticed you’re wearing all black.”
Dude’s in a black matix jersey. Black hat, black shorts, black socks, black chuck taylors. Covered in tattoos. Long, greasy hair. Straight outta central casting. A lot like me, but I’m not into tattoos.
He replies, “Yeah man, I just got back to California from Portland. I was in the riots, smashing windows and shit, stealing thousand-dollar designer handbags… You name it.” He says the cops and military don’t even care about looters attacking businesses, and that they’re basically only there to protect government buildings. (Hopefully they can do the same for Trump’s White House.)
“Really?” I say. “That’s cool, lucky you… So if you don’t mind my asking, what brings you to back home to California?”
It was obvious he’s a Cali native, judging from his style- and in conjunction with all the tattoos… He’s probably from southern California…
He says he just got outta jail. (Maybe the riots ARE winding down a bit). Says he’s got kids in the inland empire or somewhere down there. Bingo, SoCal. We’re practically friendly neighbors already.
He also says he hops freight trains to travel, and he’s been to 42 different states. Shit, I wish I could do that… He mentions that I should try it, and that it’s not so hard…
(Who knows, if my car takes a shit, I might just get my Kerouac on sooner than later…). I secretly wonder if he’s part of those secretive hobo railway gangs or something… But I don’t ask that.
Instead- I ask again, for more clarity, “The cops really don’t care if you break into a store, and loot the place?”
“They don’t even try to stop people,” he says, passing the blunt.
“Y’know, I’ve actually been thinking about moving to Oregon myself.” I mention before inhaling.
“You should go to Eugene.” He says. “Or Portland, if you wanna loot some cool shit.”
“Yeah… Well, Eugene sounds pretty cool.” (NOT)
After regaling me with tales of his misadventures traveling the country by railcar, I send the blunt-roach to the gods, and he politely asks if I’d mind if he smokes a bowl of meth. I don’t really care, he seems stable enough, and there ain’t no cameras here… go ahead homie. I ask if the crystal is any good out this way. He says its okay, but it burns wrong- it’s cut a bit too much.
DRUG RANT:
I hadn’t used meth in like 8 months.
I stay away from it. But in the past, I’ve used it mostly socially, but also in the mornings for work, for creative and religious inspiration, and it also heightens sensuality when you’re with your partner. It IS a performance-enhancing drug, after all 😉 Every day there are millions of kids in school (not so much these days, but y’know) with ADHD and related sydromes, who take amphetamines in a pill. Adderall, ritalin, even- perish the thought- methamphetamine in a pill. I was one of those kids for a short while, but stopped taking those meds, because I don’t really like amphetamines. Long story short- don’t do drugs, kids.
(HEY!! Really tho… Don’t do drugs. You’ll probably lose control of your life.)
The rioter mentions that he’s just kicked heroin. I applaud him for that. Good job.
I’ve known too many junkies, and once you start down the codeine/promethazine-road, or start popping painkillers too much- you’re fucked for life. You’ll wind up digging through dumpsters for aluminum cans to fund your heroin/fentanyl addiction (you’ll also wind up shoving dull, dirty needles into your face, and you’ll eventually get a staph infection in your bloodstream, where it may attack your heart; when you’ll require open-heart surgery like my 30 year-old brother did). Those drugs, and crack-cocaine, are nothing to play with. They WILL make you their bitch. Possibly literally… Don’t do drugs.
END OF RANT.
It’s officially dark now, the full-moon is a yellow cheese-wheel behind the smog. We’re sitting on the curb behind an empty business, and its pale white lights flicker on, casting a faint, sterile, eerie white light onto the parking lot.
After watching him roast some shards for a minute, the rioter kindly offers me the glass bubble. I decline at first, but after a bit, I realize the weed isn’t having any noticeable effect. So… I take two puffs of magic-crystal smoke, and ZOOM- we’re off! (I thought you said this stuff wasn’t very strong!) ∆#%€¶π√~****$$
(On a related note, the glass pipe that we’ve all seen Hunter Biden sucking recently is a METH pipe- not a crack pipe.)
Anyhow, right around this time, a young, shitty, black, drug-zombie rolls up on a bike.
With shifty eyes, he’s approaching and looking at the rioter’s backpack like he’s about to snatch it. The rioter briskly closes the 10 paces to his bag and…
With a look on his face like he just licked the doorhandle of a public restroom, the black zombie grumbles about the rioter not making such a big deal about it. After a tense, stand-offish moment like the black guy was gonna swing (officially making a big deal about it) the white guy commits an unthinkable act- a MICROAGGRESSION- picking up his own bag. He walks back over to me for more safety. Lol.
Now, I was getting pretty high at this point, and seriously considered dancing in circles around the black zombie like the mischievious lil’ elf that I now was- but instead of making fun of him, I acted mostly normal.
The dirty black zombie walks around the corner, angrily puffing a cigarette, literally fuming. He’s just looked bad, in public, and starts sucking down his Newport like it’s his last doobie before a long trip to prison. He’s offended, pissed-off, and obviously planning some scandalous shit.
I don’t like how this smells. And I stink pretty good right now…
I’ve seen this show before, so I start fumbling around my car for more weaponry.
Twacked-out idiots, microaggressions, weapons, and racial tension. What could possibly go wrong?
The rioter tells me that the black guys around here basically pick on him, and this dude’s been hassling him.
Well… that’s just how it is in the bay. If you’re white, you’re the lowest in the pecking order, accorded no respect, and preyed upon. Ask any ACTUAL white kid in school, (not the WINOs: white-in-name-only) and that’s generally the case. No disespect intended- but I’d bet money that your kids are no exception to this rule. Any takers on that bet? I’m serious! Bueller…
Side safari:
(The night immediately preceding this, I was in a quiet place, off-camera, quietly minding my own business in my car- when two young, college-aged, shitwits pulled up on me and started getting clever. The bigger, ugly, brown one clearly just wanted to pick a fight with a defenseless homeless person. American psycho 2.0? When I told both of them to fuck off and gave the eyes of a thousand yards, they got purdy scurred, and drove off… Later that night, I tracked ’em down, and scared ’em, good and proper in my skimask… Happy HalloWEEN, ya lil’ bitch! They got the message… Also that night: two hispanic tweekers pulled up behind my car- carjack on the ground- attempting to steal my catalytic converter. They beat feet too! Just… leave me the hell alone!).
Right. Focus. Less A.D.D.
Back to the story…
Now, when I’d first met the rioter, (I was still mostly sober) I could tell that he was, actually, a very polite and friendly kid.
The shitty black tweeker-zombie, on the other hand, was clearly a stinking pile of human garbage and was trying to bully the rioter, and now by extension- albeit indirectly- me as well.
So, while said human-garbage-pile was blowing massive, angry, newport-clouds around the corner, amping himself up for the robbery he was intending to commit, I started showing off my weapon-collection to the rioter.
Guess who comes steaming around the corner, right on cue…
MOTHERFUCKER
The black dirtball re-emerges from the shadows, looking like he’s got an ass-whooping in mind for both of us, when he stops- and glances down at the sword in my hands. We lock eyes.
Recalculating… Recalculating…
He immediately turns around and scampers off into the night, sufficiently butt-puckered. I was tempted to yell that he looked JUST like a shit I took that morning… But I held my tongue. His ego was bruised enough anyway.
Now, despite the rioter possibly being antifa, the kid was actually one of the nicest people I’ve ever met- and in the atmosphere of that brief, prison-like moment, shit got racial… we were two young, puny pukes, forced together by external circumstances in the face of a common threat.
Look, I can hear your bitching and groaning now: but I wasn’t about to let ANOTHER black zombie victimize ANOTHER white kid if I could help it… Even if the white kid was antifa, and maybe deserved an asswhoopin’ on principle. I’ve been robbed myself in West Oakland, at least twice like that, and it’s just awful all-around…
(Whaaattttt!! I’m soft-hearted. Gimme a break. I couldn’t just sit there and watch! On principle. Plus, I might’ve been next… You HAVE to nip that shit in the bud when you’re able. Life-advice kids, write that one down. Also- don’t smoke meth with random stangers, and then start waving weapons around. SOMETHING BAD ALWAYS HAPPENS.)
Welp… that was a picturesque (if cliché) tweaker moment. Feeling like my old self! “Flying high agaaain.”
I tell the rioter how dangerous it is for a lone white boy in the bay area- he should at least get a stun-gun flashlight like the one I carry, because it won’t put the life of an attacker in too much danger. It also wont put YOUR life in danger of a lengthy prison sentence, when the cops see the evidence/aftermath. The alternative of the knife or bullet-wound you’ve just left in the bitchass, snitch-ass adversary WILL wound you too. Just ask KR-15 (aka Kyle Rittenhouse). But obviously… if they gotz a gun, you can use yours too, Magoo.
After I’d vividly demonstrated the merits of a second constitutional amendment, the rioter tells me how he saw someone’s “face get blown-off” while spending a few nights in West Oakland. Yeah… that sounds like the Oakland that I became wayyy too familiar with. I believe him. I tell him that West Oakland is okay- but to stay out of the hellscape that is East Oakland.
Tense situation defused, the conversation awkwardly shambles on, and he says he just got a job (the first actual job of his life!). I congratulate him. Better to work than to loot. Hopefully he can send a few bucks to his kids… I feel for him a bit- he’s at least trying. I ask if he needs clothes or anything. He only requests a pair of socks. No food, no blankets. He’s a gnarly little dude in that respect. Uncommonly well-mannered too, despite the almost two decades that he’s been on the street.
At this point, I’m fuckin’ good and amped off of amphetamines and lingering adrenaline, so I down the rest of my beer in an attempt to get back to semi normal. I intend to make the most of the night because I don’t expect to sleep much lol.
It’s not even 7 p.m. and I’ve already almost gone to prison. I need to get going. The rioter asks me for a ride so he can get some more drugs, and also to get away from the black zombie lurkin’ around somewhere in the shadows, likely not far away.
Don’t even trip, tater chip.
So I drive him to a park, drop him off, and wish him the best of luck. Afterward, I realize I shouldn’t go back to my regular sleeping spot again, as a methed-out, angry, scandalous, zombie may be hungry for revenge (perhaps brains too- it IS a full-moon after all). So, I take some time to think things through in my now-very-creative, meth-mind, and I decide to drive to another corner of town, where the hispanic gangs will keep any black zombies at bay, with sounds of their target practice echoing throughout the night.
I park in the dark, take two good swigs of vodka, and down another beer to overpower the amphetamines so I can hopefully sleep. I black out… Mission accomplished!
The End.
After this experience, I’ve come to realize that many of the looters we hear about in the media are, in fact, very poor, and it’s also possible that some of them are simply opportunists forgotten by the system, who choose to don the same uniform as the political retards, for a chance to join in the fun.
I like to wear black a lot myself, but I’m just a metalhead. (It would be great if all you older white guys would stop assuming every young guy in black is antifa.)
I never asked if the rioter was a literal antifascist, even though he genuinely looked the part. He was just too polite, I didn’t wanna rock the boat, and I’m honestly just getting tired of the constant struggles with people around me. But, regardless… despite our likely irreconcilable political differences, I was able to find some common ground with an interesting and polite person. IF I CAN DO IT, SO CAN YOU. Peace is needed- now more than ever. Perhaps this is how the German and Allied troops felt during the famous Christmas truce. Enjoy the upcoming holiday season, and be nice to people!
Thanks for reading.
Your personal reporter-off-the-ground, signing off.
-Offthehinges
Wow.
I can only quote Science Officer Spock; “Fascinating!”.
Keep writing. Keep us informed as to how you are doing. Your story is actually a bit scary … “there but for the grace of God, go I” type of thing. For what it’s worth, I’m sad that you are homeless. You seem far too talented and intelligent to be in such a position.
Hang in there.
Stuck – we need comments by drug addled beggars too lazy to work but fit enough to beg like a fucking hole in the head. Unless it is all made up bullshit, copied and pasted from somewhere. Who knows with anons. And being an apologist for looters means he is not fit to lick the sweat off your hairy balls.
1. I’m not a beggar.
2. I very rarely use drugs, and wasn’t even high when I wrote this. Therefore “drug-addled” does not apply here. Also repeatedly mentioned how bad drugs really are.
3. I wasn’t really aiming to be an apologist for looters. They’re scum, and should all be arrested. I was merely reporting the fact that the rioter HAPPENED to be a very polite kid.
4. Apologies for misplaced commas.
Don’t mind Llpoh. His bark is worse than his bite. He’s a decent chap at heart. Grew up in a rough & tough environment … perhaps even similar to your own situation … in more ways he may care to admit.
He just moved to Australia … in the boonies. I don’t think his gastronomical systems have adjusted yet. A couple good farts and I’m sure he’ll be more reasonable.
He’s smart moving to australia. I’d do something similar if I wasn’t so damn broke. Sorry if my story ruffled any feathers. It’s not my intention to change this place. I enjoy the fact that this place is NOT like twitter- or zerohedge for that matter- with tons of new stuff all the time. Personally, I enjoy a fewer number of higher-quality articles, but that’s just me.
Anyway… A blog of my own is in the works. Cheers.
-Offthehinges
Hey, I just left the East Gay area 5 months ago for good.
Thanks for the view from the trenches
(Clarification to all around: I said trenches, not gutter.)
Good nickname. Stick around, we like new voices. I’m going to bet you, no one here is going to feel sorry for you. There are several stories people have told where the outcome was either perseverance and overcoming or repeated bad decisions. Everyone has these stories in there families.
Fact is, people do what they want to do.
I would add that going to church would be a good idea also. But only if you’re going for self improvement.
1. He rarely uses drugs. He has some powerful ANTI-drug messages in his post.
2. This hardly seems like copy&paste “bullshit”. What would ANYONE gain from that? It’s 100% genuine, I’m sure.
3. He is NOT an apologist for looters. He is merely telling a STORY … his story. And, as I told him, a damned good one at that.
4. I don’t believe in kicking a man when he is down.
5. You can be a cranky old fart at times. Do you have gas?
Stuck – to address your points –
1) he rarely uses drugs? Not by the sound of it. Who the fuck shares a “blunt” with a homeless person? Man, that is like begging for a disease. And when said blunt was not effective enough, he accepted the meth. He is a drug addict. Maybe trying to recover, but not doing a good job of it.
2) what would anyone gain from it? Please ask one of our resident cut and pasters for that answer. Don’t know why it happens, but it does.
3) seriously, what the fuck? Here is what he said: “ I’ve come to realize that many of the looters we hear about in the media are, in fact, very poor, and it’s also possible that some of them are simply opportunists”. You get that bit – “simply opportunists”. For fuck sake, Stuck, that is some serious apologising going on.They are poor and simply opportunists? Fuck that – they are looters and should be shot on sight. No quarter given.
4) I do not believe in applauding that shit. I said he was a beggar, and he denies. But this is what he said: “ Believe it or not, it’s harder to make yourself do that than almost any job. You get sunburn. People tell you to “get a fuckin’ job!”- usually an older middle-eastern guy, or wannabe redneck. They also try to give you food instead of money, and you accept it so as to not look like a greedy dickhead, even tho you won’t eat it- because people hate homeless people, and it could be poison… or worse- laced with laxative- not a trivial concern, when you only own two pairs of pants and can’t even afford the laundromat. (Also, almost all homeless people get foodstamps, so unless the sign says “hungry”- or something to that effect- just give ’em some change…) Anyway. By far the most difficult part of begging is how hard it is mentally- it’s very degrading.”
He is or has been a beggar.
5) I can be a cranky old fart. But here is the deal, as you well know. I grew up poor. Nobody in the US was any poorer than the son of a Dust Bowl Indian.
Yet, I never looted. I never was a drug addict. I never begged. I never made apologies for criminals to my knowledge. And I have low fucking tolerance for those that do those things.
I am glad he is trying to turn himself around. But he is not there yet. And his smoking blunts and taking meth with homeless do not bode well, and his apologies for looting, which is what they are whether he realizes it or not, need to be called out for what they are. In no fucking uncertain terms.
Tough love is what is needed, not attaboys.
Yes, I know. And I admire you for the great thigs you accomplished in spite of such a bad start.
=============
Again, that is very commendable. I mean it. But, that’s YOUR story. Not everyone has the same story. His story clearly has more errors of judgment in it. But, — and I think this is key — his story isn’t finished yet. He very well could — and I believe he will — succeed. It’s not how you start life, it’s how you finish it that matters … or something like that. Give him time.
=======
Indeed! I’m rooting for him. So are you.
======
You are 100% correct. And you can / are the person to deliver it. I say that out of respect for you. Maybe … maybe … you could even be an internet mentor for him.
It’s midnight here. What time is it in Oz?
By the way, we are about 16 hours ahead of you.
This was a rough draft. Sheesh. My bad. I should’ve clarified my stances on things more I guess. Can’t help how it looks now… As you were. Continue with the outrage.
Son of a dustbowl Indian. Lol. I come from a line of dustbowl okies. You have no idea how life is here, now, for a white kid in Cali. You wouldn’t last a week out here, bud. But yeah, let me just pull myself up by my bootstraps like it’s 1959 again. Totally possible. Haha. I’ll rewrite it, so it’s more accurate, and let you tear it to bits again since it’s so outrageous! I get the feeling you were just the life of the party in your younger days… I’d rather have a dangerous, fun existence and actual life experiences, than simply wonder what-if as another meat-robot NPC.
Nevertheless, I don’t disagree with most of what you said, even if it was mostly ad-homimen, keyboard crying.
Pssst… you should really get out of the house more, and experience the real-world around you, and listen less to the glowing propaganda box in the living room…
-OTH
Oh boy. Hold on to yer britches … things are about to get interesting.
Can’t say I didn’t try. Hell, I was even nice, in my own way.
He is a lost cause. My opinions are worthless he says. And that coming from a drug addicted beggar who thinks the world is out to get him. I called it, Stuck. I knew what he was. I am a savant, as you know.
You gave him the benefit of the doubt. They break your heart near every time.,
OTH – you poor baby. You have it so tough. Tougher than the son of an illiterate Indian from the dustbowl where no one had ever received an education beyond grade school, at best – my old man didn’t get through 3rd grade. You poor white folks in California, where I would not last a day. Right. Got it. I mean, that I worked a job since I was 12, means I have no idea how to survive.
You are just showing yourself clueless and that you feel sorry for yourself. Knock that shit off. Stop making excuses and get on with it. It is a sucker’s game – thinking you have it so bad, and no one ever had it that bad. Hell, you have I better than 99% of the world’s population, but are still whining.
When I say we were poor, we were dirt poor, and there was no net like today. Quit thinking you have it so bad. You clearly have internet access, and a vehicle.
That makes you rich, white boy. And gives you everything you need to make a living.
Unless you change your attitude, you will never get past being a victim.
Its okay. Your opinions are useless. I didnt even read it. I dont mind. Just dont go getting into arguments with your buddies about it. K? I’ts not worth it. Hope you’re havin a cool life, I gotta get back to actually having one now. Peace.
-OTH
You’re new in these parts.
Here’s the thing. Llpoh is more of an “eye for an eye” kind of guy. Getting into a pissing contest with him only guarantees you pain and suffering. Believe me, I know.
He’s not a grandpa kind of man … who will put his arm around you, and tell you everything is gonna be OK. That person would be …. ME! Sometimes.
He’s more of a U.S. Marine Corps drill sergeant. He’s gonna whip your ass in shape, and you’d better not whine about it. He eats whiners for lunch.
Just trying to help you out here.
Read between the tough talk, and you’ll find a Treasure Trove of great advice. If I had to pick just one such piece of advice he gave, it would be this one;
“Unless you change your attitude, you will never get past being a victim.”
From your writings I’m not sure you get that. Yet. You ought to make it a priority to understand.
One last thing. Llpoh is generally brief and to the point. He doesn’t respond to many posters. The fact that he is doing both with you tells me that he doesn’t dislike you as much as you might think. Give him some respect (he’s much older than you) and you might be surprised how gracious he can be.
Happy to point him in the right direction. But he has to want to head that way.
Catch you manana Stuck.
OTH – By the way – in my humble, yet educated opinion, the opportunities for a hustling young person are now better than they have been for decades. The competition is so damn poor. Bad times make for great opportunities.
But smoking blunts and meth and thinking you have it so hard are NOT gonna cut it. Bust your ass 110 hours a week for the next 5 years, and then get back to me. Your life will be forever changed if you do. Not many will make that effort, but if you do, you will escape the pit you are in forever.
Obviously poor ol’ Llpoh has never been around a drug-user, ever. There’s an ocean of difference between a recreational, or social user, and a full-blown addict.
Keep telling yourself that, crackhead.
An interesting post. Thanks for the effort.
Also, get a handle on TBP
Looks like his handle should be OffTheHinges. I like it. Hopefully he can line the hinges up and get the pins in the right place again. We need guys like him.
You’re a current day, much more likeable (and I’m betting much better looking) Allen Ginsberg! If you were here, I’d give you a Huge Hug as long as you didn’t smell too bad and had no cooties. The circumstances you describe and the rioter information are eye opening educational.
Please don’t fade away.
Let us get to know you better.
(Although, Llpoh has some valid points, we don’t know what we don’t know until we figure out what we do know from what we should know.)
Where are Flea and HSF? Their absence is palpably concerning.
I know SeeBee, sent an email to HSF last week asking if I could visit one more time before moving. No response. If he has the shindig next year, I will see you there again!
Strange times indeed, my friend. Godspeed to you and the wife. I do hope everything works out well for everyone.
Thanks for sharing that story man. I can’t even imagine living like that. You are obviously intelligent and educated and have a good head on your shoulders when not partaking. I have a question for you, and I am not trying to be denigrating at all. Why don’t you move out of that shithole and get a job or start a business? Just want to understand is all.
I’m moving tomorrow or the day after. I just had to leave my new job (which was amazing, working on a beautiful lake, doing almost nothing except basking in the scenery, and even fishing on my lunches) because two hispanic idiot co-workers and I were fixin to have a wild-west showdown, because they were gang members and didn’t like me…
Trust me, I was not afraid, and could’ve pulped both of them at the same time and then thrown em in the lake. But I don’t need them coming after my relatives nearby because they can’t fuck with me. Lately, I’d rather avoid conflict, even if I have to backdown and look like a coward. I have enough problems to deal with just trying to survive, and more enemies than I know about. I don’t need even more people trying to gun me down for really petty shit…
So there’s that… And the fact that I may or may not have had to threaten ANOTHER hispanic fuckwit the day before that, and had the cops called on me- were the reasons I had to quit my job in that county. I waited two weeks, got my paycheck saturday, and can finally afford to leave, and will now do so.
-Offthehinges
Godspeed and Good Luck, and stick around. Don’t know if you are religious, but if so, ask God to help. He does in his own time, not yours.
Thanks. That was actually quite profound.
-OTH
Always someone else’s fault with guys like OTH. Never anything to do with them, their drug issues, their victim attitude. Always someone else caused the problems.
Dr. Sunetra Gupta-The purpose of the first radio invitation was to deliver a warning to you and to all who signed The Great Barrington Declaration. The second withdrawn radio invitation was designed to humiliate you and your colleagues. I thank you for your efforts and fully support your very hard work ahead of you at this critical time.
We wait with baited breath for the moment when Gupta starts questioning her inherently Left-wing stance…
probably like waiting for Godot.
She was “horrified” by the vitriolic and hostile reaction but STILL believes “COVID-19 is not a political phenomenon. It is a public health issue…”
Another CLUELESS academic. Welcome to the real world, sweetheart.