Remember
how after September 11th happened, there was that nasty bill that formed the
TSA and authorized all sorts of surveillance against the American people and
they called it, ironically, The Patriot Act?
Of
course, we knew then that the bill was anything but patriotic, however, that
didn’t stop it from being passed and trampling all over the Constitution. The
word “patriot” was perverted by those in power who wanted everyone to fall into
lockstep with the unconstitutional searches at airports and many other
invasions into our privacy.
Which
brings us to another word that doesn’t mean what people think it means – it was
all done in the name of “security.”
If you’ve been watching any
type of media coverage or reading articles, you’ve probably seen or heard a
plethora of words and phrases which are currently being perverted due to the
coronavirus pandemic. I don’t know about you, but if I never heard “safe” or
“new normal” again, I’d be a much happier person.
If
you feel like people are being brainwashed through repetition, that’s because
they are. Quite simply, these buzzwords and several others we’ll discuss are
being used to indoctrinate the public. As Joseph Goebbels, the Reich
Minister of Propaganda of Nazi Germany, wrote:
“If
you tell a lie big enough and keep repeating it, people will eventually come to believe it. The lie can
be maintained only for such time as the State can shield the people from the
political, economic and/or military consequences of the lie. It thus
becomes vitally important for the State to use all of its powers to
repress dissent, for the truth is the mortal enemy of the lie, and
thus by extension, the truth is the greatest enemy of the State.” (source)
We’re incredibly divided
right now and the words are being as fuel to the fiery arguments taking place
both online and in-person, during
altercations in which one party feels the other party is being callous and
horrible.
Let’s
take a look at this hostile takeover of our vocabulary with a dozen words I’d
like to have stricken from conversations, advertising, and the media.
The new normal
While it’s absolutely true
we’re never going “back to normal”
like we were before the
pandemic, there’s a “new normal” being foisted upon us which is blatantly
fueled by fear. Earlier on in the lockdown, I used this phrase a few times
in reference to the economy. Sorry about that.
The
“new normal” is most often used to get people to accept whatever
unconstitutional or undignified rule that people in charge want us to find
tolerable, like taped squares on the floor that we’re supposed to stand in
while waiting in properly spaced lines. You know how cats will curl up in a
taped-off square on the floor as though it was a box? Now they want humans to
do that for the privilege of buying alcohol or food.
Other
bizarre “new normal” activities are having your temperature taken by someone
brandishing an infrared thermometer gun, scurrying around in a mask in stores
trying to avoid other humans like you’re playing some kind of weird game of
tag, and publicly shaming those who don’t act terrified because they clearly
hate old people.
We’re all in this together
The
saccharine phrases “we’re all in this together” or “we’re all in this
together…apart” were bandied about early on in the lockdowns. Celebrities
serenaded us badly with John Lennon songs. They made videos of themselves
looking concerned at their mansions, telling us not to worry, because “we’re
all in this together.” Except, of course, they still have millions of
dollars in the bank and the rest of us weren’t supposed to go to work or open
our businesses to make the money we need to survive.
Indeed,
we all owe these celebrities an unfathomable debt of gratitude for reminding us
that they, too, are “in this together.”
Social media outlets even
made little frames for your profile pictures bearing those wildly annoying
words. Articles encouraging us to hunker down in our homes reminded us that
everyone, rich or poor, was “in this together” too. It’s just that the rich
people were “in this together” on yachts and private islands while the rest of
us crammed into the kitchen on Zoom meetings with our employers while banning
our kids from streaming anything so we had enough internet.
Stay home.
Stay
home. Just stay home.
How
many times did you hear this phrase early in the lockdown? You probably lost
count at umpteen million. #StayHome was a viral hashtag on Twitter, people
ended social media status updates encouraging others to just “stay home,” and
we were all told that if we didn’t “stay home” we were risking the lives of
every person we loved and a few we hated because we were going to unconsciously
spread the virus and kill people.
Clearly
the only people who were asymptomatic were the a$$holes who wouldn’t “stay
home.” They were COVID Marys and COVID Marks, thoughtlessly spreading illness
to old people and kids with cancer merely because they wouldn’t just “stay
home.”
In order to get us to all
“stay home” stores in some states took to establishing what their government
felt were “essential” purchases, and banning all other purchases even
if you were already in the same store. (More on the word “essential” in a
moment.) Thoughtless people didn’t realize if you only bought lettuce or a
gallon of milk, you wouldn’t pass on your cooties. Cooties were only passed
when you bought duvet covers or garden seeds.
Jeez.
Stay home, you jerks.
Social distancing
Another phrase that makes me
want to snarl viciously at those using it is “social distancing.” I’ll admit,
I’ve always had an invisible personal space bubble I don’t like having invaded,
but the whole social distancing thing means now that stores have arrows telling
you which way you can walk down an aisle and the afore-mentioned taped boxes or
Xs on the floor for standing in an appropriately social-distanced line.
Due to “social distancing” we
spent months being unable to visit with loved ones, go into restaurants to eat,
or go into the liquor store aisles to select our own much-needed whiskey.
We’ll continue socially distancing in all sorts of ridiculous ways in
the “new normal” future, with venues only allowing a small portion of their
former capacity of customers inside at a time.
Six feet
Hand
in hand with social distancing is the phrase “six feet.” If someone gets
too close to you in the store, you can shout angrily from behind your mask,
“Six feet, mofo!” and it’s perfectly acceptable. Six feet is the gold standard,
the protective bubble that keeps you “safe” from getting COVID 19 when you
can’t “stay home.”
All those Xs on the floor of
stores are measured out to be six feet apart. Children returning to school will
have to stay six feet away from other children while marching around the
playground in dismal formation. Offices are being redesigned so everyone can
stay six feet away from everyone else.
Essential
The word “essential” has also
been corrupted. If you were able to keep working throughout the entire
lockdown, it’s because you were an “essential” worker doing an “essential” job.
“Essential” was defined separately by the governor of each state, so it varied
from place to place. My daughter, who works in a beauty supply store, was
initially not “essential” but a month in when everyone’s roots began to show, she
became essential and got the travel papers to
prove it.
The
word “essential” was also used to describe purchases that the government felt
were important enough for you to be allowed to make in person, and for trips
outside the home. It was “essential” to go to the grocery store, the doctor,
the pharmacy, and out to walk your dog. However, the dog had to be walked on
neighborhood streets with all the other people essentially walking their dogs,
instead of on a trail out in the forest alone, because the trails were closed
because they weren’t essential.
Pivot
Depending on the business
you’re in, you may have heard the word “pivot” until you wanted to vomit. Small
businesses were super-busy “pivoting” to try and stay afloat while loans meant
for them went to billionaires and giant
corporations. You could “pivot’ by manufacturing something else –
something “essential” like hand sanitizer – or by offering delivery or curbside
pickup of your products.
Some
of the “pivoting” was just different marketing. Buy this laundry soap, because
we’re washing clothes for healthcare workers in it. Buy our car, because we
support essential workers. Buy from us because here’s how we’re keeping our
employees safe.
Other
“pivots” were allowing people to work from home, supporting your customers in
different ways, and selling goods from an appropriate social distance, like
literally selling new vehicles over the internet and dropping them off in
people’s driveways.
Uncertain or unprecedented
times
How many emails could
possibly have the subject line starting with “in these uncertain times” or “in
these unprecedented times”?
It
turns out, a whole lot. I can’t enumerate how many emails I got assuring me
that various companies had my back in these “uncertain times.” Everyone
from Victoria’s Secret to my internet service provider sent me a message
letting me know how they were doing business in these “unprecedented times.”
Car brands had commercials
about why you needed a particular vehicle during these uncertain times because
we all definitely need a new car while the business that employs us is trying
to pivot. Articles had headlines about handling these “uncertain times.” I
confess, I too had an article about uncertainty early in the
crisis. Again, sorry I used that word.
The
continued use of this word makes people eager to latch on to anything that is
“certain.” It makes them want to accept “the new normal” so they don’t have to
be so “uncertain.” And since all this is “unprecedented” we have no idea what
that “new normal” is going to be, so it can be anything, no matter how
draconian.
Flatten the curve
When the lockdowns were first
announced back in March, the
entire goal was to “flatten the curve.” That meant that hospitals would not be
overwhelmed like the hospitals in Italy and China. Instead of a graph going
straight up into the stratosphere, we’d have a gentle hill, spacing out the
illnesses.
Everything
became about “flattening the curve.” You can’t “flatten the curve” while going
about your business. CBS News explained (while using 4 of our least
favorite words and phrases):
Communities
are being urged to practice social distancing,
some schools are closing, sports and cultural events are being canceled, and companies are
asking employees to work from home — even if they’re not
experiencing coronavirus symptoms. Many are wondering why they
are essentially self-quarantined despite the fact that
they’re not sick. The answer has to do with “flattening the curve” — an answer
that could leave some people confused.
You’ve
likely seen “flattening the curve” graphs being used in articles and shared on
social media as a way to explain the importance of responding aggressively to
curb the spread of the coronavirus. But what does it mean to flatten
the curve, and how do we do it?
Friday
on “CBS This Morning,” CBS News chief medical
correspondent Dr. Jon LaPook explained what has become a buzzword in the wake
of the outbreak.
“Is
it really worth while to do all of this social distancing and hand washing? The answer is yes,” Dr. LaPook said.
“Normally, right now — without any measures — the epidemic might go up
[sharply] and go down. That peak number of cases could overload the system and
that’s what people are worried about.” (source)
Unfortunately, even after the curve was flattened
across the nation in April, that was no longer sufficient. Many
people are still stuck at home and many businesses are still unable to reopen.
Safe
The
most overused word in this entire list of hijacked vocabulary has to be “safe.”
If
taking a shot every time you heard or read the word “safe” was a drinking game,
we’d all be wasted by 9:30 am. Out of all the words I never want to use again,
“safe” is the penultimate. The word was already hijacked somewhat by the “safe
spaces” nonsense where people were supposed to go when they felt vulnerable
because somebody said something mean or wore a MAGA hat around them.
Now,
“safe” has crossed the Rubicon. Every other article on the internet is about
remaining “safe.” Church marquees want you to stay away from service to be
“safe.” Instead of saying “bye” or “see ya later,” the salutation when someone
is leaving is now an implorement to “stay safe.”
Some
things that used to be okay but now aren’t safe are: kids playing at a
playground, adults shaking hands with other adults when doing business, going
for a hike, eating at a table in a restaurant, getting your hair cut, or
basically having fun in any way beyond playing a wild game of Scrabble against
those with whom you are “staying at home.”
You
all know that Ben Franklin quote about safety and liberty. I’m not even going
to quote it.
Dishonorable mentions: “curbing
the spread” and “wash your hands”
While
not used quite to the same dizzying level as the words above, I’m also pretty
sick of hearing about “curbing the spread” of the coronavirus and “washing my
hands.”
First of all, every business
that sent me an “uncertain” or “unprecedented” email wanted me to know what
they were doing to “curb the spread” of the virus. Every White House or
gubernatorial press conference explained with deep sincerity how following all
the rules would result in a “curb of the spread” of COVID19. (Of course, they
also said the lockdown was only going to be for 2 weeks, and here we are
finally emerging 60 days later in some parts of the country, almost as long a
time as I predicted in the analysis I wrote back in March when
a whole bunch of readers said I was nuts and angrily unsubscribed. Let me also
note that the lockdown has not yet been completely lifted in several highly
populated parts of the US.)
And I
was already washing my hands, thank you very much. If you need to be told to
wash your hands as an adult, you clearly missed out on some important childhood
lessons.
This is what brainwashing is
like.
If
you ever wondered what it was like brainwashing somebody, this is what it’s
like. Having the same words used over and over, words that used to mean
something, until they begin to come out of your mouth too. When you
consistently hear these phrases and the opposite of these phrases is used to
incite irrational fear, that’s brainwashing.
I’m
not being a paranoid, tinfoil-tiara-wearing nutcase when I tell you that we’re
all the targets of a mass media operation to make us accept this draconian
outrageous “new normal.” When you hear things over and over again, when you
hear a script coming from the mainstream media, from social media, your sucker
of a neighbor who snitches on kids playing outside, and when every other
article has one or more of these words in the headline, there’s an agenda.
And that agenda is going to
result in the loss of more freedom and the addition of more surveillance.
(Anyone looking for a contact tracing job?)
I’m
not saying that this virus wasn’t real or that it wasn’t a public health
threat. It was. The fact that things didn’t get as bad as predicted doesn’t
mean that the measures taken were entirely unnecessary – it means they worked.
But it doesn’t mean that those measures need to be continued forever and ever.
However…as
with all things, when the government gets a little bit of extra power and
control, they become greedy for more. They didn’t let this crisis go to waste,
and they aren’t letting any grass grow under their feet while they plot to make
all this nonsense permanent.
A
fearful, indoctrinated populace is a populace that is easy to control.
Reprinted with permission
from The
Organic Prepper.
Daisy
Luther [send
her mail] is a freelance writer and editor. Her website, The Organic
Prepper, offers information on healthy prepping, including premium
nutritional choices, general wellness and non-tech solutions. You can follow
Daisy on Facebook and Twitter.
Copyright
© 2019 The
Organic Prepper
