Yes!
i think one of their biggest victories (and by "they", I mean, of course, the group of serpents trying to steer us) is convincing us of this us vs. them bs. Hate of the outgroup, rather than love of the in-group, again, is sadly what drives so much of the world today.
It's heartening to see there are still people out there who can get together in spite of not sharing absolutely every political opinion (and not only).
In 2021, I started studying Russian and met this woman, about 10 years older than me, who insisted on disinfecting herself every 20 mins and wearing a mask always. Quickly wrote her off as brainwashed sheep, and let the scorning begin. Yet circumstance dictated that we developed a friendship of sorts, and today, I think she's one of the kindest, most luminous people I know. I get why she did those things now, and what I particularly appreciated was that albeit being triple jabbed, she stuck by me when restrictions were at their hardest. We wanted to get together, couldn't go get coffee or whatever, unless you'd...you know. She didn't care it was the middle of winter, she was like it's alright we go for a walk then. We must've taken more walks over the past winter than I've done with others in years. And that meant something.
I'm glad you have these people. Especially since you've all got pretty awesome taste in music :D
Speaking of music, I try to keep these Pink Floyd lyrics close to heart, always:
Strangers passing in the street
By chance two separate glances meet
And I am you and what I see is me
Starting at the end I had to say- every person your age who can think critically and is not following the crowd that I've spoken to has the same taste in music :) When my daughter met her boyfriend, one of the things that initially attracted her was his well developed musical taste. They enjoy the company of our friends more than people their own age half the time, so it isn't unusual for them to show up to a gathering
(My kids-Ethan & Zoe, the boyfriend Markus & my hubs Howie at our friend's place)
Also, it's funny you mention Floyd because I am currently watching a recent interview with Joe Rogan and Roger Waters- Roger is a self-educated, thoughtful intelligent man, this is one of my favorite Rogan interviews of all time.
That's awesome about your friend. There's a woman like that in our gatherings, she's a school teacher and did all the things, but also defended the rights of people to Not do them. We could share our perspectives with each other without feeling judged, which helped both of us gain a deeper understanding and respect of the opposite point of view. I think that one of the biggest reasons people have developed this sense of "we must be enemies" is because they believe those of different views are judging or going to judge them. Perhaps they have been judged by friends and family, perhaps just people online, or they just heard this in the msm and so the assumption is "Anyone who agreed with the mandates" or "disagreed with them" thinks I'm selfish or a sheep etc. and so they approach it angrily and defensively which inspires those exact reactions, therefore confirming their fears.
Communication is key. Which is why all of the banning is so terrible and intended for exactly this. Because we can find all of the banned material- it wasn't truly banned, just not allowed on certain platforms- therefore those with a mind to disagree with the MSM are exposed to a ton of information that those with a mind to agree never even see as they wouldn't go seeking out platforms like bitly etc.
Where are you from? You said you couldn't get a coffee the past winter? All of that was dropped here in NY by spring of 2021 except some places in the big city, pretty sure only Cali and cities like Chicago dragged it out a little longer. I wouldn't be surprised if there was one more wave of it though.
First off, what a lovely family you have <3 It's wonderful that your daughter and her boyfriend get along so well with everyone. I'm the same, always drew towards older people, since they're the only ones who actually seem willing to think.
Oh God, I loved that interview!! It brought tears to my eyes. I mean, I like a lot of Rogan interviews, but this was the only one that had me stopping in the street every 5 mins or so to write down some name or some book or whatever to research. What Roger says about his mother, and reading, and learning as much as you can, that really struck a chord.
It's funny how there were a lot of people like that on the anti side, perfectly willing to support another's right to vaccinate or wear a mask or whatever. Not so many on the pro side, though, which makes them all the more valuable.
What always got me was how so many people were willing to blindly accept that these people, many of whom they'd known for years, were turned overnight into "bad people" who wanted to hurt you. I don't think that about any of my friends. If I did, well, we wouldn't be friends, for a start. I don't get why you wouldn't rather assume that people are reasonable -- talking to them then, and even arguing against them, would be immensely more valuable.
True. But I don't know how much they'd have been willing to believe. The way I see it is, the information was out there. I saw it, a lot of people I know or met during that time saw it. Maybe you could've seen it, too, just chose not to. I have another friend, I was telling her recently about Pfizer admitting the vaccine wasn't even tested. And she was shocked. She goes "but I've had 3 shots". So outraged, as if anyone has a duty to keep you informed. Unfortunately not, not in this world, at least.
I'm from Romania, though currently moving around Europe a bunch (wanted to before the pandemic, now finally can). It fluctuated. I think over the summer of 2021, they'd lifted most of it, but reintroduced it when the "cases spiked" in autumn. Kept it until around spring 2022.
Wouldn't put it past them, but I so, so hope your wrong.
Could you bullshit your way through, where you are? In Ro, at least, you could like sneak into shopping malls, or get into cafes and restaurants if you were ballsy enough. Everyone turned a blind eye sort of thing, though only in the later months, obviously.