A Cult of Ignorance
It's a cheap no class ploy when starting out writing an opinion to use a quote by a much better writer but there are times, like this, that it doesn't matter.
“There is a cult of ignorance in the United States Canada, and there has always been. The strain of
anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way
through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion
that democracy means that 'my ignorance is just as good as your
knowledge.” ― Issac Asimov
An update as of June 6th here before I go into thesis of this blog: Thailand has the virus contained. There has been, as of yesterday, no community infections for 12 consecutive days. There were 2 new asymptomatic ones reported yesterday, one from Russia and one from Kuwait. Both are being held in government quarantine. The beaches were re-opened on the 1st, and all retail is open for business again with strict tracking in place. There are still strict rules about partying, gathering in groups, the curfew is now 23:00 to 4:00, the bars and large 'entertainment' gathering places (boxing stadiums etc – Muay Thai is really big here) are still closed. The government has said they 'might' relax the rules a little more depending on the results of next few days. If there is an uptick, they'll lock the country down again. There are complaints filtering in about people not wearing masks in places like Bangkok – you can expect a harsh police response to the anti-maskers until the order is lifted. A few international flights from select locations are now allowed – none from Canada or the US, both considered hot spots. The hard lock down began on March 23rd. They may have won and everyone, government and population combined did it together.
Update:
Thailand went on a 136 day run with no community infections until a handful spread in Tak, a north western province on the Myanmar border. It seems to have been contained.
https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/2003815/tak-closes-crossing-after-covid-test-find
Now, to make this an even bigger a show of laziness I'll use a scene from the TV show “The Good Place” There is a discussion in it that was taken a from a philosophical discussion I'll be damned if I can find but, for this blog's purpose, the script will do just fine.
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“Okay, here's my guess. As humans evolved, the first big problem we had to overcome was "me versus us." Learning to sacrifice a little individual freedom for the benefit of a group. You know, like sharing food and resources so we don't starve or get eaten by tigers, things like that.
The next problem to overcome was "us versus them, trying to see other groups different from ours as equals. That one, we're still struggling with. That's why we have racism and nationalism and...”
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The point, I think, is because of the 'exceptionalism' propaganda from the US that 'freedom' or the extremist notion of freedom, became a god theory. Using that god, people in the US and eventually Canada, reverted to the primitive pre- "me versus us" stage. We see it in the neoliberalist economic model where “I've got mine f**k you!” so it's no surprise to see it on the streets during a health crisis. “I'm healthy and strong f**k you, I need a haircut.”
Since the pandemic began, March 12th, both Asimov's quote and the reversion to “me before you” has been adopted in earnest. All over Asia where there have been continuous societies for 1,000s of years, they've managed to have gotten a handle on the virus while Canada and the US are failing miserably. The US is a total shit show so I won't bother commenting there, Canada on the other hand is failing because of a segment of the population worshiping the freedom god. The notion of the greater good (so we don't starve or get eaten by tigers) has been beaten out of people by neoliberalism and the free-market. They're willing to trade their lives and the lives of those around them to feed the biggest con job ever. Thatcher and Reagan wounded western democracy to such an extent that we can't even help ourselves deal with a lethal health crisis, we can't even take care of ourselves. The god of freedom and the free-market has won.
The second wave of COVID-19 will be devastating and that will lead to social strife the likes of which has never been seen before. From a selfish point of view I worry about my pensions. I know CPP is well funded but OAS comes out of general revenue. If that collapses so does my support, here or there. I had decided a while back that I would probably make this my last year in Thailand, getting old, thinking some stuff (body-brain) might wear out and more medical might be needed.
Then the pandemic hit and exposed Canada's weakness in ways I could never have imagined. From the nightmare of human warehousing in LTC facilities to stupid selfishness of its anti-maskers and its haircut enthusiasts, Canada has become a dangerous place for someone like me. From this perch, 16,000 km away, Canada is a mess health wise, due to the stupid belief in the freedom god. So instead of returning to Canada for my final years in November, which was moved up to September because of the virus, I contacted my visa agent to get the ball rolling on renewing my retirement permission to stay until September, 2021. If there is a 2nd wave, this is the place to be, much safer. People and the government here will respond with the entire society in mind and not just the billionaires supported by the politicians who are owned by them.
Riots or Rebellion
The hate fest in the US has spilled over into Canada, maybe not quite as bad yet but it's being fostered by the Conservative Party of Canada, Postmedia, the Alt-Reich, the Proud Boys, and other white supremacist bastards. Every once in a while I'll do a deep dive into one of their time lines on Twitter to see what kinds of conspiracies they're peddling and one thing I've noticed, about every 20 tweets or so, there is someone linking to their Go Fund Me page, or one of the other fundraising sites out there. It's a rush for cash by professional cons taking money from the worst people in the world. Not sure if I should be angry or glad about that. Some go to real hate groups though, most, I believe, go to scammers.
Police Brutality
The cops in the western world are broken, no doubt about that. They've gone from the quaint notion of “Serve and Protect” to “Control and Dominate” The more we see the riots (rebellion) in the US the more it brings home that they've been given absolute power over everyone on the streets but no power over the suits in the office towers or political offices. The idea that they can, at any time, demand you obey a “lawful order” is something I hadn't thought possible in a liberal democracy. Nearly 40 years ago, well before the internet, I saw a news report showing religious police in Iran beating 12 year old kids for playing in a pool. They were beating these kids with long (maybe 2 meter) poles, not sticks, but thick bone breaking poles. That was followed by some graphic film of executions being held in a local soccer stadium – a mullah would lecture someone who was on their knees, wagging his finger in their face, then he'd shoot them in the head. We are seeing something very similar in the US but instead of a bullet to the head, it's a knee on a neck or a violent push to the concrete. Sadly, we're also seeing Conservatives in Canada lauding those actions so they can own the Libs. The US is now, in my opinion, near collapse and a failed state. It'll take a miracle to pull them back. Trump has a heavily armed private army in DC surrounding his compound (the WH) so he's not going anywhere.
Systemic Racism
And I totally agree with some people's frustration that we have about the Democrats, most progressives and 'lefties' in Canada as well and their 'bad apple' bullshit. When one cop bulldozes a 75 year old man onto the concrete, he lays there blood streaming out of his ears, and all of them -all of them- walk past looking to stop people from recording what could possibly be a murder – the entire barrel is rotten to its core.
I get really angry at times on Twitter when those same damned idiots say “That's not like us.” or, “That's not Canada, we're better than that.” when they see another racist attack on the streets in Vancouver or Toronto or more police brutality against POC or indigenous people. When the hell will these boneheads understand – that is Canada and that it has always been Canada and until they recognize that it will never change. Every time that lame pleading foolishness is used, the racists win, every time.
For over a week now we've witnessed some politicians, exclusively Conservatives like Ford and O'Toole, tell us there's no such thing as systemic racism in Canada. They're echoed by American funded talking head activist journalists (not reporters) who also tell us systemic racism is a construct of the progressives and Liberals (say with a sneer.) The one commonality of these people - they are all white.
I spent my formative years in a small southeastern town in Ontario which was about as white as white can get, loyalist white. It was such a bigoted racist town that in high school you could take a course in Latin or Spanish but not French. “Wouldn't want to encourage them.” I actually heard it said. We had two Chinese families. One ran the local Chinese restaurant the other ran a Chinese laundry. My racist mother noted that “Those people are used to doing the dirty jobs we won't do.” FNs people were abused and even attacked if they dared walk the streets at night. The restaurants and bars (all bars were in hotels back then) were native free zones. I met a few kids from the local reservation in public school but by high school the white locals had made it clear they were not going to be accepted so, no high school for them, futures cut off before they even got started. I hated that place.
What's next?
It's been said that we are seeing a life changing series of events over the last few months. How that'll work out, I have no idea. But the biggest societal change in my lifetime was during the 1960s. Everything from Vietnam war protests to the 1968 riots in the US that spilled over a little bit into Canada, I got knocked over by a police horse and tossed head first into a paddy wagon one night. The Cuban missile crisis made the entire planet fearful for its life. After that, and for a while things got better. More compassion was seen, more intellectualism, more progressiveness everywhere. Then some years later Thatcher and Reagan saw a weakness and an opening to push their selfishness into the mainstream, now we are there. The culmination of their ideology is here, riots in the streets and the worst wealth disparity in history. Most of Asia has rejected that ideology but it still exists locked up in some self-serving enclaves and private islands. So we're left with the growing power of China and its patriarchal authoritarian system and no one to challenge it.
Maybe the Terminator movies got it right. We'll be the first life-form to be removed from the planet once A.I. takes over.
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