thetrekkiehasthephonebox:

jellybeanforest-a-go-go:

Okay, so, I just saw this post about how shelter-in-place/quarantine measures for the coronavirus are test runs for authoritarian dictatorship because it punishes people who step outside their homes, suspends freedom of assembly (for social distancing purposes), promotes censorship of the internet (to combat misinformation), and paves the way for mandatory vaccination/medical treatment programs. They also define the quarantine as “extrajudicial, indefinite detention,” and the classification of activities as essential or nonessential as the very definition of totalitarianism. I saw this post, and I mean this from the bottom of my heart:

WTF, guys.

Seriously, WTF.

Look, maybe you feel better thinking that someone has control of this situation enough that this entire pandemic was orchestrated to herd in the sheeple or whatnot, but I promise you, the people who want this to be over as soon as possible are also the people in charge. If they didn’t, then they wouldn’t say they are okay with some of us dying if it meant everyone got back to work and the economy got back on track, then having to backtrack because saying that they are okay with millions dying so they can make a few bucks makes them look bad.

Because I don’t know how to tell you this, but you should care about other people. Social distancing works; shelter-in-place works, but in order for this to work, everyone has to do it so they can stop spreading this damn thing. And if we don’t do this now, significantly more people are going to die. All these people having parties and purposely breaking quarantine rules are not rebels, they are plague-enthusiasts. I mean, come on. Have a little perspective. Is the ability to go out and have a drink at a bar worth someone’s life? I think it’s pretty clear that if the rich and influential could order us all back to work, damn the consequences for the working class, then they would do it, because the pandemic has exposed a lot of societal problems they would rather have us stay complacent to, especially in the US. Namely:

(1) The true essential workers, the backbone of the economy, are first responders, service industry people (like grocery store workers, delivery people, plumbers, electricians, cleaners, etc), and people who produce food and essential products (like farmers and factory workers), not C-level executives. The true essential workers are needed and powerful and should definitely be paid more. 

(2) Everyone should be entitled to Paid Sick Leave.

(3) The importance of Universal Healthcare. Maybe it’s not so great to have healthcare benefits attached so strongly to employment, especially in times like this where the health of every individual is important to the health of the community as a whole. And while we’re on it, why are so many essential workers not given health insurance? If they get sick because of their job, shouldn’t it stand to reason that they should be covered? 

(4) And on that note, Universal Basic Income is not such a bad idea. If everyone had a base income, maybe we wouldn’t have so many people on the verge of homelessness worried about how they are going to pay rent or mortgage or buy food when they can’t work. I mean, evictions are suspended for now, but for people who owe back rent… even when this is over, how are they going to pay 2-5 months of back rent when they just got their jobs back? And that one-time $1200 stimulus the government promised a while back? That’s not going to cover the necessities for several months of stay-in-place. All this creates a restless populace, and when you have a large segment of the population that is hungry, angry, and hopeless… that never goes well for the ruling class.

(5) Misinformation is deadly. I thought we learned this four years ago and many times since then with all the anti-vax fear-based propaganda that keeps causing localized outbreaks of diseases like measles and whooping cough that should have been eradicated by vaccination. You aren’t special or smarter than everyone else by believing in conspiracy theories and not getting vaccinated. You are leaving you and your family permanently vulnerable to disease that could disable or kill you and others. You think that the people that propagate this anti-vax nonsense don’t have skin in the game? That they aren’t making money from their bogus essential oil cures, “natural” detoxes, or (even worse) fake autism “treatments” like MMS that injure and/or traumatize autistic children? If so, I have a bridge I’d like to sell you.

Anyways, this virus is not a conspiracy by the powers-that-be because it works against their interests, and they all desperately want to convince us to go out there and risk exposure and death so their bottom line doesn’t suffer. They would love it if people thought this was some kind of authoritarian test-run or some other bullshit because it makes the average Joe underestimate the pandemic and want to go back to work, revitalize the economy, make them some money, and stop asking questions about the glaring issues with late-stage capitalism this pandemic has brought to light. And if some of us have to die to accomplish this, then so what?

Stop playing into their narrative.

Also why do people think that the economy is just going to magically open up again if the government says so?

Even if the stay at home orders are suddenly rolled back tomorrow, that doesn’t mean that people are going to show up. The economy isn’t paused. We can’t just magically go back to the way things were. It won’t happen like that. At this point, the government isn’t keeping me inside, I am.

(via the-barefoot-hatter)