Guest Post by Margaret Anna Alice
1) Ask them to share their perspective—and listen.
Make it clear you are not an adversary but a fellow traveler seeking to understand reality as clearly as possible and you’d appreciate their help trying to do that.
Make it clear you are not an adversary but a fellow traveler seeking to understand reality as clearly as possible and you’d appreciate their help trying to do that.
Instead of bombarding them with information (my specialty 😉 that contradicts their worldview, try asking if they would share their perspective of the last few years. Rather than challenging them, ask them to elaborate on any details you think may elicit deeper reflection—for example, if they express frustration, anxiety, regret, or disappointment, you could ask how they coped with that and if there were any lessons they gleaned from the experience that could help in the future.
Why-do-you-think-that-is questions are less threatening because you are encouraging them to practice their problem-solving skills and come up with the answers themselves.
If they are open to discussion, you could ask some more direct why questions (see my Retrospective in Whys from my Corona Investigative Committee presentation for ideas), but make sure they don’t feel attacked or like you’re lecturing them.
Emotion shuts down logic, and you don’t want to trigger their fight-or-flight response. This is why my usual strategy of showering people with facts fails—people tend to make decisions based on emotion, not reason.
You could also try asking if they had known X (e.g., that people who suffered the worst from COVID tended to be vitamin-D3–deficient so could have easily lessened their risk with sunshine and supplementation, that lockdowns are now known to have caused significantly more harm than good, or that early treatment protocols minimize symptoms), would they have agreed to Y (e.g., mandates, lockdowns, or experimental vaccines)? If they’re entrenched in their beliefs, that may be too confrontational, so you’ll need to exercise your judgment.
The important thing is to listen. If you’re lucky, they’ll reciprocate and ask for your perspective in kind, but don’t force your views on them if they’re showing signs of resistance as that will just cause them to push back.
2) Try a conversation starter related to a pertinent news item.
Here’s an example: The New York Times just published The Startling Evidence on Learning Loss Is In showing how detrimental school closures were to children’s learning levels and mental health. The NYT editorial board concluded that:
“The school closures that took 50 million children out of classrooms at the start of the pandemic may prove to be the most damaging disruption in the history of American education.”
The article also states that CDC survey data obtained in 2021 revealed:
“more than 40 percent of high school students had persistent feelings of sadness and hopelessness; 22 percent had seriously considered suicide; 10 percent reported that they had attempted suicide.”
Ask them what they think about these findings and how they feel about school closures now that we understand the harm they caused children and teens.
3) Be respectful.
Don’t sling ad hominem attacks, imply they are stupid, speak contemptuously to them, or judge them. Remember what you were like and what you believed before you awakened to the corruption, propaganda, tyranny, and democide. They have not been exposed to the same information you have, and they have been brainwashed by the propagandists to fear anything that doesn’t come from the Ministry of Truth. Try to extend the grace you would like extended to you if you were in their shoes.
4) Practice humility.
In this witty post, the ebullient Jenna McCarthy shares a passage from The War on Ivermectin, a book she coauthored with Dr. Pierre Kory.
Jenna introduces the excerpt with, “Dr. Pierre Kory opens with a description of the man he calls ‘Old Pierre,’ a book-smart but clearly brainwashed dude.” Pierre writes:
“Old Pierre believed that the elite, esteemed medical journals represented the best of scientific thought and study. The Lancet or the New England Journal of Medicine said so? It was settled then. Old Pierre religiously read the New York Times from cover to cover, because it was the paper of record; the arbiter of truth. If you wanted to know what was really going on, you read the Times. Period. He voted for Biden (although in his defense, he wasn’t exactly a fan and never put a BIDEN-HARRIS ring around any of his social media profile photos), trusted the government (I know!), and actually believed that public health agencies were committed to safeguarding and improving . . . wait for it . . . public health. He knew—knew, I tell you!—that vitamins were a scam and that hospitals were life-saving centers of care, compassion, and excellence. Old Pierre dutifully lined up for his own annual flu shot and followed the childhood immunization schedule to the letter with his three daughters.”
Jenna adds, “Dr. Kory summarizes his former self thusly: ‘He was a clueless sonofabitch.’”
To his immense credit, Pierre has successfully completed my twelve-step recovery program for menticide, and now he can look back on his old self with humble self-deprecation.
Your loved ones are just at the beginning of that journey, and you can try to help them cross over into awakening with patience and love, but they have to take the first step themselves.
5) Express your feelings.
In couples counseling, therapists encourage the partners to describe how an act made them feel rather than criticizing the other partner for committing it. This helps prevent defensiveness from arising while enabling the partner responsible for the behavior to see it from the recipient’s perspective.
If you are talking with someone who behaved in hurtful ways, let them know how that made you feel. Don’t accuse them but instead convey the emotional impact their actions had on you (e.g., you felt hurt by their rejection of you or information you sent because you value your relationship and were trying to share something meaningful to you).
6) Don’t get defensive.
If they say something to rile you (e.g., name-calling to deflect responsibility from examining the information you provided), let it roll off you and proceed calmly. When you maintain control of your emotions and practice civil dialogue, that will either make their continued disrespectful behavior more shameful or encourage them to mirror your tone. As Thomas Jefferson wrote Francis Eppes:
“Nothing gives one person so great advantage over another, as to remain always cool and unruffled under all circumstances.”
7) Take responsibility for your own actions, apologizing if appropriate.
You may feel like you have nothing to apologize for. That’s understandable. But maybe you failed to see what the experience was like from their POV, or perhaps you reacted defensively and said some things you now regret.
You may feel like you have nothing to apologize for. That’s understandable. But maybe you failed to see what the experience was like from their POV, or perhaps you reacted defensively and said some things you now regret.
When I tried to view my behavior from my friend’s POV during a recent exchange, for example, I realized I was coming across like a religious zealot because of my passion for the subject matter and eagerness to share information I thought would prompt her to reconsider.
This backfired and caused her to want to end the discussion. I thanked her for helping me see what the conversation was like from her perspective and apologized for being overzealous.
This, in turn, led her to apologize for throwing out her opinions but then saying she didn’t want to talk about it anymore, which she realized put me in an impossible position. That opened the door to healing dialogue in which I tried to be more mindful of her boundaries.
8) Don’t tell them what to think—help them rediscover their innate curiosity and analytical abilities.
Great teachers don’t tell someone what to think but equip them with the critical thinking skills to arrive at meaningful, evidence-based conclusions independently.
You could try sharing a bit of information they may not be aware of and ask them what they think of it or why that is. Use an authoritative reference so they can’t dispute it based on the source.
For example, you could tell them the CDC has received 1,605,764 adverse event reports for the COVID injections, including 36,501 deaths. You could pull up the OpenVAERS red box summaries and mortality charts so they can see the visuals and then ask them why they think the CDC and media haven’t been reporting these adverse events.
Or you could print out and show them the nine-page list of 1,291 adverse events of special interest reported by Pfizer to the FDA in its 5.3.6 Cumulative Analysis of Post-Authorization Adverse Event Reports of Pf-07302048 (Bnt162B2) Received Through 28-Feb-2021. Ask if this list concerns them and why they think the FDA tried to keep Pfizer’s pre-licensure safety data hidden from the public for seventy-five years.
9) Make the conversation fun and leaven it with humor.
People will actively avoid anything that causes them pain (e.g., cognitive dissonance) while seeking out opportunities for pleasure. Try to make the conversation as fun as possible by activating their creativity and giving them space to explore ideas, ask questions, and solve puzzles.
Relationships that weather the storms of conflict usually owe their survival to humor. Should your efforts to foster productive dialogue fail, lighten the mood with humor. If you are in the middle of a heated argument with a loved one, a well-timed joke can instantly diffuse tension.
Relationships that weather the storms of conflict usually owe their survival to humor.
10) Know when to pull back.
If they are showing signs of visible discomfort, anger, or resentment, pull back. Forcing the issue will only drive them further away, and retreating will open up space for them to return to the topic if they muster the strength to do so.
If they are showing signs of visible discomfort, anger, or resentment, pull back.
Don’t expect them to instantly see the light and agree with everything you’ve been trying to tell them the past few years. If you plant a seed of doubt here and there during the conversation, their brain may continue working on those problems in the background, and they may eventually start asking more questions on their own.
11) Ask for advice.
If they shut you down, ask if there’s anything you could have done differently that would have made them more open to listening, watching, or reading something you wanted to share. Thank them for taking the time to provide you with constructive feedback, and take their advice to heart.
If they shut you down, ask if there’s anything you could have done differently that would have made them more open to listening, watching, or reading something you wanted to share.
In the case of the friend mentioned above, my asking that one question led her to say she might consider watching the video of vaxx-injured testimonials because she does acknowledge there have been some injuries. This led to the resurrection of a conversation I previously thought was over, and I subsequently paced myself to match her comfort level and made greater headway as a result.
12) Ask if they would be willing to watch one short video and discuss it with you.
So they don’t feel overloaded, pick one video, article, or podcast you think is the most compelling and appropriate content for them. I’m going to focus on videos because they are the most accessible; can be watched and discussed together; and require a minimal time investment.
Below are several candidates for consideration. Purely by coincidence, all my videos so far are four minutes long and thus serve as efficient espresso shots of truth.
a) Do You Remember?
Do You Remember? (Video)
Visceral Adventure created this video to illustrate my short story Do You Remember? Out of all my videos, this one is the gentlest, least threatening option and can be used to prompt dialogue about Before COVID versus After COVID. It may help you find common ground regarding COVID policies you both feel were harmful.
Even if they believe much of the narrative, they may at least be able to recognize how much freedom has been sacrificed in the name of safety—a promise the authorities failed to deliver on. Ask them what their 2019 selves would think of the world we are living in today.
As I write in Letter to a Covidian:
“I wish I could talk to your self from two years ago. If that self had been told the entire world could be brought to a halt and our freedoms suspended at the whim of its leaders for a phenomenon humans had been living with and adapting to in countless variations for millennia, you would think I was describing a dystopian fiction. I might still be able to reason with that self. Instead, this is likely a futile exercise in trying to awaken a hostage suffering from Stockholm Syndrome to the fiendish machinations of her captor.
“Think back to a couple of years ago—summer 2019, let’s say. What were you doing then? What was your life like? How did you feel about your past, present, and future? What did you care about? How did you spend your time? What were your core values? What would you think about how you think, feel, and behave today?
“That’s the person I want to talk to—not your present self. I’m sure your 2019 self would be fascinated to hear what your current self has to say—although I’d be willing to bet a few thousand inflationary dollars she wouldn’t recognize what you’ve become.”
Letter to a Covidian: A Time-Travel Experiment
b) Mistakes Were NOT Made
Mistakes Were NOT Made: An Anthem for Justice (Video)
This video of Dr. Tess Lawrie reading my poem delivers a highly concentrated dose of truth in a heartfelt, crystal-clear fashion. It may be too brutal for reluctant viewers, so use your judgment to determine when they may be ready for this much of a reality check.
c) Who Will Help Us?
Even if they believe the injection is generally safe and effective, it is likely they have been unable to escape at least anecdotal stories of the vaxx-injured. Maybe they have even experienced some strange symptoms or new conditions themselves but haven’t yet acknowledged the cause.
Even if they believe the injection is generally safe and effective, it is likely they have been unable to escape at least anecdotal stories of the vaxx-injured. Maybe they have even experienced some strange symptoms or new conditions themselves but haven’t yet acknowledged the cause.
Ask if they would be willing to spend twelve minutes listening to the testimonials of people who have been harmed. It is very little to ask considering how much the victims have suffered. These are just highlights from the three-plus hour hearing, so you can share that with them if they are interested in learning more.
Remind them these injured individuals were not anti-vaxxers but people who willingly got the vaccine because they believed it was the right thing to do for themselves and the community. They trusted it was safe, and they are now permanently disabled or bereaved without any legal recourse because the pharmaceutical companies are protected from liability.
d) Silence
This music video is only three minutes long and poignantly captures the experience of what it feels like to have been vaxx-injured and then silenced by BigPharma-controlled Big Tech, Big Media, and Big Government. It may help them understand the impossible situation these people have been placed in and how preventing them from sharing their experiences literally adds insult to injury. Worse, it leads to other people experiencing similar agonies because their heart-tearing cautionary stories have been suppressed.
e) A Letter to Dr Andrew Hill
I have shared this video more than any other and have long considered it my number-one red-pilling video—at least until I released Mistakes Were NOT Made. They both happen to be directed by Mark Lawrie and star Tess Lawrie. In just nineteen minutes, this video captures the scientific fraud underpinning the ivermectin disinformation campaign necessary to permit the liability-shielding emergency use authorizations for the injections.
Most importantly, it contains the Zoom call between Tess and Andrew Hill in which Tess confronts Hill for altering the conclusion of their meta-analysis to downplay ivermectin’s efficacy for COVID. He also admits Unitaid, a Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation nonprofit that had just given Hill’s university a $40-million grant, played a role in rewriting that conclusion. When pressed by Tess, Hill acknowledges the change could cost half a million lives. I include salient excerpts from the transcript in my Profile in Courage on Tess, but it is a whole ’nother experience watching Hill squirm under her piercing integrity in real-time.
One after-viewing discussion question is who do they trust more—Tess or Andrew? That may also open the door to viewing Mistakes Were NOT Made if they haven’t already watched it.
Profiles in Courage: Dr. Tess Lawrie
Letter to a Scientifically-Minded Friend
Letter to Alex Berenson on World Ivermectin Day
f) Sharyl Attkinson’s TEDx Talk on Astroturfing
In just ten minutes, this TEDx talk by Sharyl Attkinson encapsulates how the pharma-funded propaganda machine deploys the disinformation playbook to influence perception of a pharmaceutical product. Because this was delivered in 2015, it predates COVID and thus your audience may be more receptive to its message.
g) Julia Galef’s TEDx Talk on the Scout Mindset
I have repeatedly shared this video ever since Mickey Z. introduced me to it in our interview. In a little under twelve minutes, Julia explains the difference between what she calls a scout mindset (see also her book The Scout Mindset: Why Some People See Things Clearly and Others Don’t) and a soldier mindset. This is an excellent video to start with because it is not about any politicized topics—including COVID since it was made in 2016—and gets the viewer thinking about whether they have a truth-seeking scout mindset or a belief-defending soldier mindset. It may cause them to be more open-minded before viewing additional videos or engaging in discussion.
h) Asch Conformity Experiment & Elevator Experiment
In four minutes, this experiment shows how people can be persuaded to conform to the incorrect consensus against the evidence of their lying eyes.
You can add the two-minute elevator experiment to drive the point home.
i) Century of the Self
At four hours, this Adam Curtis documentary is the most time-consuming choice, but it is one of the most important films for understanding Bernaysian-style psychological manipulation, event orchestration, and mass control employed by corporations, governments, and other institutions. Since it is from 2002 and was produced by the BBC, there’s a chance narrative believers will not automatically dismiss it and may consider it credible.
j) Network
This visionary, uproarious 1976 masterpiece written by Paddy Chayevsky is such a crucial primer on how the news is used to propagate narratives and manufacture consensus that I made it my first movie recommendation in my Recommendations Roundup series.
Recommendations Roundup #1
k) My Dinner with Andre
If I were dictatress of the world, I would make My Dinner with Andre required viewing for all of humanity in addition to Network. It features heavily in my second essay, COVID IS OVER! … If You Want It, because it not only predicts with harrowing accuracy the open-air concentration camp installed during COVID but also because it offers pragmatic advice regarding resistance.
COVID IS OVER! … If You Want It
l) The Matrix
Like its mind-liberating dystopian kindreds 1984, Truffaut’s Fahrenheit 451, THX-1138, Brazil, and A Clockwork Orange (all great additional candidates for watching, four of which I spotlighted in Letter to a Colluder), The Matrix is perhaps the clearest and funnest (this should have been made a word centuries ago) way to make the medicine go down, packing in so many eye-opening revelations about reality versus illusion that the red pill has now become symbolic of awakening. If you’re sitting down to enjoy some recreational time with blue-pilled friends or family, this film could be just the ticket for peeling back the lies and sparking illuminating conversation, hence its inclusion in my adventurous romp down the rabbit-hole titled Are You a Good German or a Badass German?
Letter to a Colluder: Stop Enabling Tyranny
Memes by Themes #7: Awakening
Are You a Good German or a Badass German?
m) Additional ideas
For more viewing recommendations, see my Letter to the Menticided: A 12-Step Recovery Program (specifically Step #9 in the recovery program) and A Primer for the Propagandized: Fear Is the Mind-Killer.
Letter to the Menticided: A 12-Step Recovery Program
A Primer for the Propagandized
I also cleaned up my Wake-up Toolkit so it is much easier to scan for relevant posts. Please take a look if you haven’t seen it recently:
Wake-up Toolkit
What are some of your favorite red-pilling videos? I had to leave hundreds out due to space, but please share your recommendations in the comments so this post can become a repository for communication resources.
My Own Endeavors
I hope to share my communiqués with blue-pilled friends in a future series, but in the meantime, you can read some of my previous forays here.
My exchange with this belligerently bamboozled troll is one example:
Dispatches from the New Normal Front: Sparring with the Belligerently Bamboozled
You may appreciate reading Mike Yeadon’s reflections on this post from July 2022:
“I remember reading this piece from Margaret Anna Alice’s Substack around three months ago.
“I just re-read it & it makes me sad.
“It’s not an essay, though it almost could be. However, if MAA had simulated an exchange between what we know to be a blazingly awake person & what appears to be a smart-enough person who’s completely fallen for the bamboozle, you’d probably reject it as utterly implausible. No one could be this dense without it being deliberate.
“But no. This isn’t a fictional exchange but a real one.
“‘John’ genuinely appears to have believed all the programming, to the extent that not only have they accepted the mad contradictions, but they can even defend them against attempts to dismantle them against reasoned arguments. That’s Class A cognitive dissonance cloaking, right there.
“What makes this exchange so unusual is that, although the participants do insult one another, they never go completely nuclear in that regard. This permits the exchange to continue.
“The reason I feel sad is the awareness that, in MAA’s place, I would fare worse.
“First, I would boil over quickly. It takes self-discipline to set aside the desire to escalate.
“More importantly, I don’t think I’d have mounted more effective examples to place before John. The mental realm he evidently inhabits is so complete that he apparently literally cannot see what the VAERS data, represented visually, is telling us all. Somehow, he doesn’t even do a double take at the huge pulse of deaths, beginning the day mass inoculations began. I guess that since he “knows”, absolutely for certain, that these products are “safe & effective”, he cannot change his mental model, even in the face of data so clearly showing that deaths soar immediately after commencement.
“Though I’m not able to guarantee that I will read responses to this post, I would be particularly interested to learn from any other of you your answer(s) to this question: ‘You’ve seen unbelievable examples of people unpersuaded to even begin re-examining their distorted beliefs. What three things could you have said in this exchange with John, with the sincere desire to help him see things differently?’
“I refuse to accept that it’s completely impossible! Though I’m well aware that it can be so, in certain cases.”
Although my own direct attempts to persuade the entranced have mostly failed, I have been heartened to learn readers have been able to use my writings to successfully reach others.
Ryan Gardner gave me permission to share this comment thread where he reported being able to use this dialogue to stop a friend from getting his second booster shot:
“Your efforts are not in vain. I won a friend’s father over today because of your posting.
“He was going to go get his 2nd booster tomorrow. He canceled.
“I also wanted to encourage you because myself and many others learn from you.”
He detailed his experience in a subsequent comment:
“He gave me an hour and I went through your email exchange.
“BTW: This gentleman is brilliant. One of the smartest people I know. Once I left he said, something along the lines of; I can’t believe I fell for this, tell that gal (don’t take offense – he’s an older Boomer) she got smarts and is one heckuva fighter.
“He was moved by your message. I’m hoping he talks his wife out of her 4th.”
Dialogue with a Curious Injectee: Afterword
When I asked him a few months later if his friend had been able to wake up his wife, Ryan shared:
“Yes! They are both on ‘our’ side. They managed to make sure through much dialogue (and some grief) to prevent their 9 grandchildren from taking the poison.
“I can also tell you that your work, Gatos, Igor’s and Sages has had a MAJOR impact on preventing my two-shot-and-done friends/family from taking boosters.
“I can never repay the four of you!”
I told Ryan:
“WOW, Ryan! It is exhilarating to know that one person’s awakening has had a domino effect to not only his wife but to nine grandchildren! It is a profound honor to have played some small role in that process, which would never have happened without you, so HUGE props to you for having the courage to speak the truth!”
This is a reminder that there is no substitute for face-to-face conversations. I can provide the resources, but I rely on you to use them to help rescue your loved ones from inculcation.
Have you had any successes breaking through mental walls? Please share your experiences and own tips in the comments.
Communications Curriculum for YOU
The videos in the tips section are aimed at helping the blue-pilled unsubscribe from the narrative, but the following presentations can equip you to serve as a catalyst for awakening.
The following TED talk by former Westboro Baptist Church member Megan Phelps-Roper comes courtesy of streamfortyseven. She explains how one kind person broke the spell of her cult programming, offering lessons all of us can draw on in to help people escape the Covidian cult.
streamfortyseven’s thoughtful critique of my Letter to the Menticided offers some valuable insights:
Dr. Lidiya Angelova provides a concise lists of tips in How To Change Minds you may find handy:
In How Can “We Wake People Up” to the Dangers of the Covid Jab, Dr. Emanuel Garcia emphasizes two keys “to the opening of stubbornly closed Covid minds”:
“To show, by example, that the fear they assume and have been assaulted into believing is baseless. No amount of talking, reasoning, lecturing, dictating, cajoling or persuading will be able to achieve anything in comparison to a live demonstration of calm fearlessness.
“To encourage, once an attitude of questioning has been engendered, a disavowal of mainstream media sources. In our vast proliferative decentralized realm of the internet one may occasionally lose one’s way, but one is far more likely to arrive at truth.”
The brilliant Meredith Miller (whose Dissident Dialogues interview is still underway due to my unrelenting schedule but is a must-read I hope to finish soon) explains in her Corona Investigative Committee presentation why so many people succumbed to the COVID narrative.
Dissident Dialogues: Meredith Miller (Rolling: Q&A #1)
Just as I was finishing this article, Conspiracy Sarah published a conversation starter article, complete with her own video intended to raise issues few people are aware of let alone discussing:
Reaching People
In one of her first Tess Talks episodes, Tess Lawrie spoke with David Charalambous of Reaching People about how we can use the behavioral psychology techniques that have been weaponized against the public to undo that very programming.
I have only just begun watching the resources available at the Reaching People website but have found them exceptionally informative. They explain why I and so many others have failed to penetrate the menticidal programming while also providing concrete steps people can take to more successfully communicate with those with differing viewpoints.
Below are a few selections. You will find more at the Presentations page at their website. See also their Do’s and Don’ts for Reaching People and Conversational Checklist.
In their Resource Toolkit, David recommends making a habit of visiting The Decision Lab and gradually working your way through their biases index to familiarize yourself with the concepts—both so you can defend against these biases yourself and recognize them in others.
On their About page, David reminds us:
“We swim in a sea of assumptions we are largely unaware of. Increasing this awareness leads to growth, collaboration, and improved relating to each other.”
He states in Powerful Messaging Template, “One point delivered is better than ten rejected.”
Real-Life Example
To illustrate this one-point rule as well as many of the tips I outlined above, I would like to share an email a dear friend of mine sent her narrative-believing contacts.
First, I will reprint what she sent a group of awake friends to introduce her email:
“I wanted to share an email with you that I have written to some of my friends and family whom haven’t indicated to me that they have questioned much of the official narrative these past two years.
“Some had asked me to not share information with them, which also meant they weren’t hearing how their friend (me) was doing in processing this experience over time. I was being asked to hide a part of myself and a major area of concern in my life from them. I’m trying to come to grips with this and have today decided to write an honest email to bring this topic up. I personalized each email, but it was essentially something similar to what follows the link below.
“I’m sharing with you in case it’s helpful to you, in case you want to explore doing something similar. I would also love to hear feedback if you notice a blind spot on my part (we all have them) where I maybe should have worded something another way or avoided saying something altogether, or could have approached it differently. Have you tried anything similar?
“This is an experiment, once again I’m putting myself out there and being very vulnerable in the process (as friends should be able to be with each other). I feel that being asked to hide such deep concerns from friends/family is not sustainable and can’t be serving any higher purpose or our personal relationship. I also really want to understand those who have not questioned much. So I hope they share some of this with me. I believe that honest dialogue is the first step. Let me know if you’ve tried anything similar or have other ideas to connect across the divide. It’s something I’ve been grappling with for a long time and felt that I needed to finally reach out in exploration.”
And now here is the email she sent the narrative believers minus the preliminary niceties:
“I’m wondering if you can help me out. Would you read the article above (just a randomly selected recent article, one of many I could have chosen) and help me to understand how I can just move past Covid as if all is well?
“Should I: disregard the entire article as ‘fake news’ because that’s what Facebook would tell me to do?
“Should I: stop reading articles and information presented by independent physicians, scientists, journalists, and other experts and concerned citizens because Facebook tells me to?
“Should I: ignore my own eyes, critical thinking skills, logic, intellect, deep concerns, etc. and bury my head in the sand?
“Should I: another option?
“Help me out here, please, because I am troubled by the whole past two years and so very many, many disturbing things happening in our world, to humanity, and to the people that we love. If I could wake up tomorrow to discover that I’ve been completely misinformed, I’d be the first to jump with joy! But thus far, I have not been convinced of this.
“I occasionally try to share information, studies, data, articles, and interviews that counter the official pharma-funded media narrative in hopes of a discussion. But it’s mostly crickets. That’s okay, but I’m curious to know how you are seeing things these days. Do you have any questions or concerns with how things have played out? Do you have confidence that all is well with the official narrative, safe-and-effective, Covid shots okay for babies, no need for concern? I really want it to be okay for people to have real conversations, to wonder, exchange info, share concerns, as we all try to make sense of a crazy time.
“As a friend I just want to share – I am genuinely concerned by what I’ve seen, by what I’ve experienced, by the fact that some people want to disregard my concerns as my being misinformed or a conspiracy theorist. I’m tired of the name calling (in the media) and being disregarded. I know that there are thousands upon thousands of people around the world seeing what I’m seeing, asking questions, and who are equally, deeply concerned. Even if you think we are misinformed, please don’t disregard the fact that people like me are going through a lot because of what we are seeing and by how we have been treated. These are real human experiences.
“Thanks for the help. Any thoughts, comments, sharing your concerns, questions, data, articles you are inspired by, anything would be helpful. I’ve made new friends through all of this who are also questioning and concerned. But I want to be able to be open with my old friends and my family about my deep concerns. If I have to hide my deepest concerns, if I cannot be my full self, then I cannot be fully present. And that feels dishonest and not what friends and family should do.
“Thank you for listening and for sharing anything at all. Take your time if need be, but please reach out at some point. I’m human, a deeply feeling person, I care about people, about you, about the state of this world, and what will happen if we allow powerful entities to continue to take advantage of our humanity and our health.
“Thanks for listening and for letting me be honest!”
After sending the email, she told me:
“I shared that email with you because it feels like another step in my liberation. To have full honesty with the people in my life.…
“Lately I feel I’ve been carrying a burden, and a lot of grief, a fissure in many of my previous relationships, and a frustration with this supposed need to ‘pretend all is well’ kind of fakery I despise. So, I had to break it all open, be vulnerable, reach out with honesty.…
“Because I’m feeling somewhat unsettled in these relationships, I need to figure out how to try to find equilibrium in these relationships, with full honesty, for my own well-being.…
“And I can report that I feel a buoyancy, a lightness, and yet also the sense of being quite grounded since writing and sending out all these emails. Less nervous anticipation than I would have thought.”
She later relayed:
“My point with this reaching out wasn’t to wake more people up. (Though that’d always be great.) It was partly to check in to see if anyone was starting to see some cracks in the narrative themselves, or maybe had started asking questions, because I was genuinely curious. But it was mainly to go beyond the sharing of info, to reminding them that there’s a human being behind this sharing. A person deeply concerned. For them, for all of us, for the future if we don’t call this out. And it’s a heavy weight to carry. And I need them to know that sharing articles with them isn’t just a past time. This email was my own need to address all this openly and honestly. To see what happens next.”
I found her postulations about why people continue to resist our attempts to share narrative-cracking information compelling:
“Time – too many people lack the time to learn. Overwork, kids, activities, all the daily life stuff and stressors. No time to research uncomfortable things.
“Curiosity, inquisitiveness, open mindedness – also seem lacking here. You can’t force someone to open their mind. Maybe some need to consider the parable of the sun and the wind competing to get a person to remove their jacket. The passive warmth of the sun worked better than the fierce intensity of the wind. Hmmm. It’s probably all hands on deck though, we need the sun and the wind. The wind could work, if struck at a particular kind of jacket in just the right place, and if the coat didn’t have a zipper that was being used. Maybe only 30% of coats have zippers (all zipped up and stuck), so if the 40% of coats in the middle don’t have zippers in use, so the sun or wind could work here, perhaps. (Okay, I won’t continue this silly analogy).
“Trust – so many people still have trust where they probably ought not. Losing trust in something you rely on can be a devastating experience. The media, health care, so many institutions, have failed us. So, if someone still does trust the institutions that have failed to serve the people and don’t see that they are instead serving power, then the whole story doesn’t add up to them. That’s a huge stumbling block.
“Sources – if people are new to this, it’s confusing to know who to trust, what to look at. Especially if their trust is still with the old media and captured science. Which is why our sharing links, like all the links in your writings are so important.”
She received a handful of responses to her email, mostly dismissive, but this one offers hope to the rest of us trying to connect with loved ones:
“We had the best conversation. He was open and listened, I listened. He knows the official narrative, he’s actually a biostatistician, he knows math and numbers. But somehow, he has always seemed to me to be attached to the narrative in a looser way than most. He has listened to me talk quite often over these 2+ years about all this. He’s a good listener. Yesterday we had a lengthy, engaged conversation. I could tell that he was unfamiliar with so much of what I brought up. He actually conceded a number of times agreeing that, ‘you’re right, that doesn’t really make sense’. I listened, he’s smart, but it was still mostly narrative. I left him with one of my loaner copies of RFK, Jr’s book (in a brown paper bag and I took the scary dust jacket off, making it a tad less triggering.) He and his wife are strong Democrats, so I plead RFK, Jr’s case, which is easy to do. He said he had thought about buying it, but hadn’t yet. He’s busy, but I do think he will be reading it.”
Her father-in-law replied (shared with his permission):
“Thanks for sharing. There is this folk song out there that says, ‘when hearts are never opened, that’s how every empire falls’, and another line ‘when no one asks and no one answers, that’s how every empire falls.’
“I am deeply touched by what you have written. As you may know … part of my journey on the bike was the hope of having full conversations about my own understanding of our present state of affairs. Really, bearing ones soul, so to speak, in a way that only personal dialogue can. By the often hesitancy, the inflections of voice and body movement, etc. The authenticity it bears. One never knows the effect it has and among whom. Thus, I hope to visit with you soon.”
My friend summarized the results of her experience:
“I think there may be some beautiful layers of depth added to my relationships for having put myself into this vulnerable position and laying it all out there.”
I will close with the folk song by John Prine (h/t nymusicdaily) her father-in-law quoted as well as the R.B. Morris rendition my friend sent me followed by the fourth and fifth verses, which struck me especially hard.
Padlock the door and board the windows, put the people in the street
‘It’s just my job,’ he says, ‘I’m sorry,’ and draws a check, goes home to eat
But at night he tells his woman, ‘I know I hide behind the laws’
She says, ‘You’re only taking orders’: that’s how every empire falls
A bitter wind blows through the country, a hard rain falls on the sea
If terror comes without a warning, there must be something we don’t see
What fire begets this fire? Like torches thrown into the straw?
If no one asks, no one will answer: that’s how every empire falls
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#13 shoot em in the face and roll em into trench.
And pass the stuffing bra ….
Thank merciful God my family gatherings are a source of great joy
and not strife. I feel for those who dread what I welcome with anticipation.
well in advance, I’d announce “no talk of religion or politics at Thanksgiving dinner – if you can’t handle that, don’t come”
grace would be said, though
Tell them get over themselves because I give a rats how much money they make or their status among well to doers.
Tell them no alcohol because that leads to the religion and politics. If they choose to go out to the car for a nip remind them on the politics side , FJB and Fuck Donald Trump…don’t come back in and ruin what we are here for, a time of thanksgiving.
If you can’t talk religion, then what is even the point? If you can’t talk religion, someone has bad religion.
Gratitude is entitlements anti thesis ….
BORING.
Of the authors communications tips, I shall use none. She made it too complicated.
We all are wise enough to not discuss politics, but as Thanksgiving will be in my house, We will practice RosenThorn, Bud.
Nah. Just end every conversation with “FJB” and keep on eating.
Plenty of like minded at my family gatherings. Then there are those who want to remain ignorant. So it’s pointless to have any serious discussion.
Entertainment is not totally pointless, ya know. Make them squirm.
Why do you think you are such a dumb cunt who believes all the bullshit you are spoon fed? Wait cunt was unnecessary. My bad. What I meant was why do you think you are such a dumb sheep who believes all the bullshit you are spoon fed? Happy Thanksgiving…… Cunt! Now pass the gravy please.
The thread’s pic, I’d like to see how the face matches the other end revealed in the ankle skirt. Yikes.
” Straight to the gutter!!! ” ( this really cool guy who used to work with us used to say ) (-:
No flakes at my Thanksgiving dinner. Plenty of Wild Turkey to go with our roast turkey too. Eat drink and be merry.
Dear Lord, keep it pithy man. Who’s got time for this all, y’all? That said, I stopped at #1. “Ask them to share their perspective”. Are you fucking kidding me? That’s what will ruin your Thanksgiving douchebag. That’s like lighting a spark in a bag of diseased donkey dicks encrusted with gunpowder. (the ghost of stucky must be in my head…).
I don’t argue or associate with stupid morons. Period. Life is too short for that.
My boomer father, thankfully, makes an exception for me.
My leftist family are having their own get together. I am having a young pastor and his family over. Much better!
The article? Read the first half paragraph. Any article that long is a total waste of my time. Say what needs said clearly and conscisely and shut it off.
The Bible has something said about they think they will be heard for their much speaking.
Yup. I agree Balbinus. Just the facts ma’am, just the facts.
thinking about you and hope that you are well…take good care..
My radar aligns with yours as I was thinking about you to. Hope you and the Mrs. are faring well.
I do not understand this article. This is not how I communicate. I prefer to force feed.
Admin, you forgot the “/sarc” at the end.
TLDR
The author provides a lot of information; one might look at this information as a large food buffet: take what you want, in small portions, leave what you dislike, and go back later when you want more.
I was unfamiliar with the term TLDR – I learned something, thanks hf.
STFU, Margaret. Ain’t nobody wanna hear yo’ preachin’ ass up in here.