The nutbars are loose and roaming the range. Stephen Mahar writes:
On Sept. 22, Shanon Sheppard of Halifax posted a video on Facebook to share terrible news with the world.
Sheppard, who comes across like a normal, worried mom in the video, says she hopes she can keep from crying. After she composes herself, she reveals the disturbing news she just learned from her daughter at school.
“One of her friends is now in critical care in hospital here in Halifax because her heart stopped right after she had a vaccine,” Sheppard says. “She’s not well right now. She can’t breathe. Her heart keeps stopping. She’s 13 years old—13 years old, and her heart stopped!”
Sheppard denounces Nova Scotia Premier Tim Houston and chief medical officer Dr. Robert Strang for forcing a 13-year-old girl to be injected with a dangerous vaccine.
This was simply untrue. But, in Saskatoon, defeated People's Party candidate Mark Friesen picked it up:
Fresh from a fourth-place finish as a People’s Party of Canada (PPC) candidate in the federal election, he tweeted a link to Sheppard’s video along with his own video, filmed from behind the wheel of his truck.
“There are kids dropping like flies all over the world!” said Friesen, struggling to control his temper. “There are adults dropping like flies all over the world from this vaccine that you’ve now mandated! And the rest of you people, you just accept it because the government says so, because the f–king media says so, while we watch our kids die!”
Sheppard's video spread like a wildfire:
Hundreds of other people shared Sheppard’s video on Twitter. It went viral, getting more than 100,000 views on Facebook alone, before the platform took it down.
Such is the world we live in. “A lie can travel around the world and back again while the truth is putting on its shoes.” There is some argument about who said it. But it nonetheless remains true.
Image: Quotes Planet
24 comments:
We now unquestionably live in a time when lies and conspiracy theories are drowning out the truth. The grave climate crisis that is happening now (it's not a future problem) and the never ending pandemic show that the truth is not winning- we don't stand a chance against these and other developing crises- economic inequality- to name a few. Public Health officials are now just wasting their time focusing on stats- when they'd be way further ahead spending time on debunking bullshit. I feel a great investment would be in drowning the airwaves and social media with facts- debunk every last lie and conspiracy theory. It worked for the lies, why can't it work for the truth as well? BC Waterboy
That's why anecdotal evidence can't be trusted and needs to be confirmed by other means. In fact, the CDC did a study of vaccine-recipients age 12 and older and compared them with similar unvaxxed people:
"In a cohort of 6.4 million COVID-19 vaccinees and 4.6 million demographically similar unvaccinated persons, recipients of the Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna, or Janssen vaccines had lower non–COVID-19 mortality risk than did the unvaccinated comparison groups. There is no increased risk for mortality among COVID-19 vaccine recipients."
In other words, the vaccines are safe and Ms. Sheppard's tale is not to be trusted. Funny how the media is all over the Sheppard tale, but the CDC report makes hardly a ripple. The media continues to fail at its basic job of accurately informing the public.
Cap
An excellent point, waterboy. If lies spread like wildfire or social media, why not spread facts?
I guess ridicule no longer curbs the lunatic fringe. Manufactured belief, no matter how moth-eaten, can now challenge fact.
Wait, I know. Let's bring back the ducking stool. Groundless lies meant to mislead the public deserves some sanction. As an alternative to throwing them in jail, strap them to the stool and plunge them two or three times into a nearby waterway in the presence of their neighbours.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cucking_stool
I think it was Ronald Reagan who said that facts are stubborn things, Cap. We need media that stubbornly stand up for the facts.
The virus (initially know as Thatcher-Reagan-ism) is fatal to epistemology and now spreads exponentially on today's social media.
It was a simple but effective sanction, Mound. It used to make the perpetrators blush. These days they appear to be incapable of blushing.
Exponentially is the keyword, PoV. It's more transmissible than OMICRON.
Whether it's viruses or disinformation, inoculation is the answer. When people are aware of credible, large-scale studies showing the safety of the vaccine, they're much less likely to fall for the sort of rubbish peddled by Ms. Sheppard and her ilk.
Cap
Actually the weather is sitting at -32 in southern Alberta…I need to say, give or take a few degree at this very moment……people here would demand some one attempting to perform a stool strap down would be thrown in jail and the key disposed never to be seen again. The suggestion though, contains a humourous quality. Anyong
Good information is based on widespread data collection, Cap. We prefer individual stories -- the wilder the better -- to the facts.
Its just so wierd that people want to believe this shit. All people have to do is look around in the neighbourhood at who got the shot. If they're all still standing, perhaps what you're reading isn't true.
People have always liked to gossip. This is the new form of gossip and the crazier it is, the more people like to talk about it. It also makes them believe they are in on a "secrets" which makes them special.
My first thought when I read things like this is, NO WAY. Why one would ask. Well Americans like to sue, so if there were people dying all over the place from a shot, the drug companies would all be sued and lawyers would all be driving Bentley's. Drug companies have no desire these days to be sued. They saw what happened to the Perdue companies with opiods and law suits.
As a commenter writes above, the media has failed in its job to provide accurate information. Nothing new there. There used to be a line about the press, if it bleeds, it leads.
It comes down to do you trust your government and its officials to tell you the truth.
In certain cases, lying is a crime, Anyong. But most of the time it's simply treated as a "failing."
And, trust, e.a.f, is rooted in the quality of information you receive.
I love the quote used in the title
a bit like
" "May you be in heaven a full half-hour before the devil knows you're dead"." ;-)
There's disagreement on the source, PoV. But I've not heard anyone dispute the truth of the statement.
The aforementioned Mark Friesen, not long after spreading his lies on social media ended up being hospitalized with Covid-19, was intubated and spent the better part of 3 months recuperating, receiving physiotherapy to learn how to walk again after losing 60 lbs. Of course he denies he was sick with Covid, instead claiming he suffered from necrotizing pneumonia. Necrotizing pneumonia frequently happens to those who are intubated when suffering from Covid. I can't recall anyone I know Friesen's age who out of the blue gets NP and loses that much weight. Friesen still spends time on social media being anti vax and anti mask while suffering long Covid. I read somewhere intubated Covid patients have a 50% chance of passing away within the first year.
mr perfect
This sort of lying is extremely offensive and destructive. Anyong
If Shanon Sheppard had no audience with similar sympathies it would not be a story?
Perhaps the world hs always been driven to conspiracy theory due to the absence of critical theory from those that inform and teach us?
TB
You can't fix Stupid, perfect. Who knows how long Mr. Friesen will grace us with his presence?
I agree, Anyong.
If those who inform and teach us can't think critically, I suppose we shouldn't be surprised that the general public also lacks that skill, TB.
The Friedan family is a powerful one in both Sask and Especially Southern Alberta. These families think they are above reproach.Nyong
There's a lot of that going around these days, Anyong.
Post a Comment