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How COVID became a religion (and why it’s hard to sway them) [my title]
Twitter (via thread reader) ^ | John Hayward

Posted on 03/28/2021 7:16:26 AM PDT by ReaganGeneration2

Every crisis becomes a religion if it lasts long enough.

One factor in that transformation is the Beautiful Theory phenomenon: the power elite insists its remedies are logical and politically correct so they MUST work, even if the actual evidence shows they obviously don't.

When Beautiful Theories crash into hard, cold reality and shatter, faith is the glue used by the elites to put their precious ideas back together. They need MILITANT faith to get the job done: true believers eager to crush doubt and compel obedience by making war on the infidels.

Some are swept into the faith because they desperately crave a sense of control over the crisis. They need to believe Something Can Be Done, and they'd rather invest their faith in debunked Beautiful Theories than have no faith at all. Faith is a coin that demands to be spent.

Some crave social approval, and the purveyors of Beautiful Theories have immense political, economic, and cultural power to make their faith seem fashionable. Virtue signaling is such a plague in modern society because the signals are pre-packaged and made very easy to send.

Some aren't even hoping they can assert control over a crisis by converting to its religion. They'll settle for just having some MEANING, some simplicity, a sense that the righteous will fare better than the unbelievers, that virtue will be rewarded while sin is punished.

That's a very common impulse with the Church of Covid, since the Beautiful Theories were so very obviously wrong. There isn't much left of the faith except the visceral communal satisfaction of hoping unbelievers will be punished for their blasphemies with sickness and death.

That sort of thing happens with all of the crisis religions, although not usually as quickly and obviously as with the Church of Covid. Look at the endless stream of movies about how the world became an apocalyptic hellscape because people didn't believe in global warming.

The last resort of every crisis religion, the last thing that puts asses in the pews, is that addiction to misery porn, the collective hope that unbelievers will suffer someday, and everyone will admit the True Faith was right all along as Judgment Day crashes down upon them.

The elite will never have the humility to admit they were wrong, and they'll never give up on politically or financially profitable "solutions" even when they obviously don't solve the problem. Founding a crisis religion means they never have to say they're sorry.

That applies to some very longstanding crises, like the War on Poverty, whose nostrums long ago transformed into fantastically expensive articles of religious faith even as mountains of data accumulated that proved they were utter failures, and often made the problems WORSE.

You can look for some telltale signs of a crisis transforming into a religion. The most obvious one is when the high priests tell you the "war" you've been drafted into will never end. They become very angry when asked to define success or failure, or lay out exit strategies.

Watch for the moment when you're told "science" means not asking questions, defying dogma, or challenging "consensus." That is the literal definition of faith, not science.

Always keep an eye out for Moving Goalposts, which are the signature miracle of crisis religions, their version of parting the waters or loaves and fishes. Crisis religions work very hard to make their faith unfalsifiable by constantly changing the standards of evidence.

Check to see if certain people are accumulating huge amounts of money and power from a crisis. That's a pretty good sign it's turning into a religion. A crisis should be solved as quickly and efficiently as possible. Don't let it fester long enough to become a special interest.

Above all, look for the whiff of ARROGANCE to develop around a crisis. Wise religions and effective crisis managers have something in common: a sense of humility. Crisis religions are militant faiths that quickly become arrogant, smug, and totalitarian.

Dedicated people who truly want to solve a problem will look for evidence their analysis is wrong, or their policies aren't working, and make adjustments as quickly as possible, no matter the cost or embarrassment to themselves. This is humility.

Crisis religions are arrogant. They reject criticism, insist their Beautiful Theories MUST be right because they're ideologically pure - they fit snugly into a worldview that must not be challenged. Their plans only fail because their commands were disobeyed or sabotaged.

The high priests of a crisis religion see devils everywhere, leering at them from the rubble of every failure. Only sin can explain why their Beautiful Theories are tarnished. Failure never THEIR fault, so it must be YOURS. They find your lack of faith disturbing.

And you know what? A LOT of people want to see the world that way, including a great many self-described atheists. They hunger for the comfort of faith and the vibrant energy of militancy. They want to be right, and they want the wrong to suffer for their folly.

Conservatives think religious faith in the State is terrifying and wonder why so many embrace it. It's because uncertainty is much more frightening. A simple false story is better than a complex true one, and with enough faith, maybe we can force the simple story to be true. /end


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: covid19; newsforumabuse
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To: ReaganGeneration2

You worship what you fear. They don’t fear God.


21 posted on 03/28/2021 8:18:42 AM PDT by spacejunkie2001
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To: rb22982

I think it’s possible many deaths were “pulled forward” as you theorize. The virus primarily targeted the old and sick (obese, diabetic, and other chronically ill). We all know stories of young, healthy persons who died, but these are pretty rare. Evidence of reduced death rates in this and following years would support the theory.


22 posted on 03/28/2021 8:21:58 AM PDT by CitizenUSA (Proverbs 14:34 Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.)
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To: Slyfox

We don’t have an antenna or cable tv but I catch the 6pm news at a buddy’s house sometimes and lately, it’s been a covid infomercial and I’m guaranteed to see people getting a shot. They showed St Louis doctors giving kids the vaccine and smiling Karen moms were very proud to put their kid on TV getting a shot. They said the doctors were testing the kids’ possible reactions.

The next segment showed reporters at various vaccination centers/locations and they’d talk to the people in line.

TPTB really really want everyone to get the vaccine. And wear a mask and stay home.


23 posted on 03/28/2021 8:25:55 AM PDT by Pollard (Bunch of curmudgeons)
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To: ReaganGeneration2
And the experimental, fetus-tested vaccines; forever masks; and psychosis-inducing lockdowns are your solutions for all Americans?

As far as psychosis goes, I've never felt more sane. Watching the lunatic behavior of those around me has been enlightening.

As for vaccines, I'm giving mine away for the greater good. It's the kind of swell guy I am./s

24 posted on 03/28/2021 8:27:58 AM PDT by Stentor
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To: Stentor

As for vaccines, I’m giving mine away for the greater good. It’s the kind of swell guy I am./s
= = = = = = = = = =

Early on, ‘they’ were trying to infer that maybe WHITE males had preferential standing in receiving the shot(s)

I asked if because I am a straight, white, OLD male and I ‘donate’ my shot to one of the ‘other’ will you quit labeling me a Racist/Sexist OLD male just because I am white?


25 posted on 03/28/2021 8:38:36 AM PDT by xrmusn (6/98 "Message to GOP "GO FUnd YOURSELF")
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To: rb22982
There were ~352,000 Covid deaths reported in 2020. There were 479,000 excess deaths. that leaves 127,000 excess excess deaths-deaths above and beyond the Covid deaths. The truth of the matter is, you all told us it was a hoax, it was a cold, it was the flu, the death count was over inflated, etc.

But here we plainly see that the exact opposite is true, the true number of Covid deaths is HIGHER than the official report. and you all have the nerve to accuse someone like me of being the religious zealot here? laughable. the truth is right in front of you and you're still refusing to see it.

You were wrong then. You're wrong now. You're the gaslighting zealots here.

26 posted on 03/28/2021 8:40:14 AM PDT by RC one (When a bunch of commies start telling you that you don't need an AR15, you really need an AR15)
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To: Pollard
"...lately, it’s been a covid infomercial..."

This can't be overstated. I don't do boob-toob so it's only the occasional visit to someone's home where I get any exposure to the massive propaganda effort. If it is as relentless as my admittedly infrequent look suggests it must be relentless.

Discovering this gave me a far greater understanding of the gaslighting that is taking place and why so many of my neighbors are still skulking around like frightened animals.

27 posted on 03/28/2021 8:40:47 AM PDT by rockrr ( Everything is different now...)
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To: DesertRhino
So we can't believe anything unless we read it on Free Republic, and certainly not government statistics? GTFOH. The data is in, you were wrong then, you're wrong now. Every state is not involved in some conspiracy to inflate Covid deaths. That is nucking futs. You're the gaslighting zealot in this argument.

You have no business accusing anyone else of engaging in zealotry about Covid.

28 posted on 03/28/2021 8:44:38 AM PDT by RC one (When a bunch of commies start telling you that you don't need an AR15, you really need an AR15)
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To: fireman15

Masks are useless.

As an essential employee, I wore one constantly at work.

I was still hospitalized with COVID...twice! My lungs are now destroyed.


29 posted on 03/28/2021 8:45:16 AM PDT by TheWriterTX (Trust not in earthly princes....)
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To: xrmusn
I asked if because I am a straight, white, OLD male and I ‘donate’ my shot to one of the ‘other’ will you quit labeling me a Racist/Sexist OLD male just because I am white?

You know the answer. You are just attempting to signal virtue so that you can avoid the inevitable struggle session. Your whiteness is Original Sin. You must be baptized in a cleansing fire.

30 posted on 03/28/2021 8:49:20 AM PDT by Stentor
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To: ReaganGeneration2
And the experimental, fetus-tested vaccines

You go ahead and do all that. No one is saying you can’t. Leave the rest of us to our own business.

I'm perfectly happy with lockdowns and masks and vaccines. You BSed us all for all of 2020 but the facts are in now, excess deaths increased by 17% in 2020. So after a year of your BS, conspiracy theories and outright lies, I don't know why anyone would listen to you now. I'm certainly not going to.

31 posted on 03/28/2021 8:56:23 AM PDT by RC one (When a bunch of commies start telling you that you don't need an AR15, you really need an AR15)
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To: Grampa Dave

“Mit der Dummheit kämpfen Götter selbst vergebens.”
— Friedrich Schiller, /Die Jungfrau von Orléans/


32 posted on 03/28/2021 8:57:39 AM PDT by gasport (11/3 was an event, not an election...1/6 was our Reichstag Fire)
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To: Stentor

Naturally, mine was just a classical, basic rhetorical question...HA HA

Along the lines of putting Biden/Harris in ANY question/statement containing the words sensical, intelligent, patriotic etc etc etc, which falls into harsh oxymoron territory.


33 posted on 03/28/2021 8:58:43 AM PDT by xrmusn (6/98 "Message to GOP "GO FUnd YOURSELF")
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To: Slyfox
The mask is a security blanket

It's more like a talisman -- no, the mask is exactly like a talisman. The completely ineffective mask against a virus -- any virus -- is nothing more than a good luck charm or face-mounted amulet to ward off a Chinese evil spirit, Covid. You could wear the mask on a chain around your neck and have the same amount of protection/transmission as you do wearing it to dehumanize yourself and to hide your identity ... it's true social purpose.

34 posted on 03/28/2021 9:00:44 AM PDT by glennaro ("Until it's safe" means "never" (Dennis Prager))
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To: ReaganGeneration2

It’s going to be interesting when I see my coworkers in person. While it’s obvious on Zoom, that a few have gained weight, others are beginning to look freakishly pale because they have stayed in their houses, watched Netflix and the MSM, and have eaten through the entire frozen pizza and snack section of a big box store. I have a feeling some will look worse in person.

For dogma reasons unknown to me, we couldn’t mention comorbities such as obesity and correlations such as populations that tend to be vitamin D deficient.

People should have been encouraged to get out on sunny days, find at home exercise programs, grow what fruits/vegetables they could (gardening is a good outdoor activity), make sure they were getting good sources of vitamin D and to put the social media down and go to sleep.

Instead parks were closed, some states considered seeds and seedling plant nonessential, and delivery was encouraged so we didn’t need to leave our homes. We were told to stay plugged in for the latest news and many of the above suggestions meant demonetization, cancellation, or got a warning because they were “anti-science.”


35 posted on 03/28/2021 9:05:24 AM PDT by PrincessB
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To: ReaganGeneration2

There is a certain percentage of the populace susceptible to cultism like the Jim Jones situation...unto their death.


36 posted on 03/28/2021 9:10:17 AM PDT by Bonemaker (invictus maneo)
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To: RC one

Your source wrote:
“They descend from cells taken from elective abortions”

So we agree that without the act of aborting children, these vaccines would not exist.

You wrote:
“I’m perfectly happy with lockdowns and masks and vaccines”

But are you ok forcing others to have this behavior?

If so, you’ll have a hard time finding evidence to conclusively support these tyrannical measures, which will prove this author’s point, that you will resort to pointing to FAITH in this new religion.


37 posted on 03/28/2021 9:17:00 AM PDT by ReaganGeneration2
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To: RC one

Yes, all states are manipulating Covid death numbers. They get money and power for doing so.


38 posted on 03/28/2021 9:19:21 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. .... )
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To: ReaganGeneration2

THAT BIDEN WIN IS AN AWARD TO CHINA FOR INVADING US USING COVID 19

Every time an American looked at an item for where it was made in it came from China. Now China’s reliance making everything was being threatened by a change in leadership in America which was a major consumer of those products. When Americans hailed their leaders decision to make many of them in their country US. Their politburo worried.

Worse yet opponents to the Chinese regime in power had its citizens protesting its policies , as in Hong Kong, since that change in American leadership, wave the American flag and present Trump’s name when doing so.

All of which presented those in power the need to destroy that leader Donald Trump. In totalitarian political circles this strategy has been reported to be frequently considered Would a runaway plague created by a nation which could threaten populations of an enemy cause them to react by demanding extreme restriction of movement by its population to prevent its spread ? Thus wind up fragmenting its economy and create defeat for that leader’s upcoming election.When they released it that was the CCP intention but it got away from them and went world wide and they should be made to pay

There was a compliment paid to the CCP by the Biden campaign for bringing in the virus which they admitted really helped fix it to get Biden elected http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3940857/posts


39 posted on 03/28/2021 9:20:12 AM PDT by mosesdapoet (AKA Lee J Keslin posting in the hopes comments get passed around )
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To: fireman15

“To me there is nothing funnier than seeing people walking in sunshine outside alone or in pairs all masked up in the unlikely event that they get within 6 feet of another person.”

We live on a long dog legged cul de sac. Our east side road which runs north and south has a fairly mild incline over about 150’ before running into some serious increases in angles and elevation.

The south leg starts some serious increase up hill at the SE edge of our property. In about 50 yards the road takes you from fairly flat to serious climbing for about 3 hundred more yards.

Serious and in shape walkers use this area to keep in shape.

None of those people wear masks. A few idiots try to walk up the grade with masks.

One day my across the street neighbor and I were without masks in the street talking to each other.

An overweight walker with a red forehead and N95 mask trudged by us and started walking up the hill. He was literally panting while trying to catch his breath.

My neighbor is 6’7”. He hollered at the guy, “If you pass out and fall down, we will only call 911. You will get no CPR from us if you are wearing a mask. The guy took his mask off at about 50’ from us and gave us a dirty look and started trudging up the steep hill. We both raised our thumbs up to salute him.

Flash forward about 2 weeks, an unmasked younger generation version of the masked one asked us, if we told his father that we would give him zero CPR if he passed out while wearing a mask going up our hill.

We said, yes. He thanked us for waking his dad up. Then, he continued to walk up our hill without mask. He got the same thumbs up salute from us.


40 posted on 03/28/2021 9:24:36 AM PDT by Grampa Dave ("The Covid 19 Circus has run out of acts. It’s time to reopen. It is past time! It’s long overdue! ")
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