I know, it's a waste of time, but I can't help myself. Some friends of friends have posted such utterly paranoid, conspiracist bollox, I feel compelled to lob a few verbal grenades. I'm not proud of myself, I'm not going to change their minds and have now stepped away from the keyboard!
I cannot for the life of me understand how adults with responsible jobs, teachers in some cases FFS! believe vaccines will be administered forcibly, contain microchips, will sterilise you or make you more compliant, Covid doesn't exist etc.
I know social media distils the very worst traits in people and gives them undue prominence, but I despair for humanity whenever I look on FB or read the comments on a BBC news article.
And breathe....
Not looking for answers, I don't think there are any. Just using you lot as a safety valve 😄
Here's How The Top 10 Things Bill Gates is Putting in Fake Coronavirus Vaccines To Control Your Baby Eating Satanists Will Blow Your Mind!
5G innit.
We have ex friends who are anti vax, anti school,anti processed food etc. Note the ex friends part.
anti friends, you might say
Here’s How The Top 10 Things Bill Gates is Putting in Fake Coronavirus Vaccines To Control Your Baby Eating 5G Satanists Will Blow Your Mind!
thanks perchy, I forgot about 5G.
mind you, someone reminded me the other day, I also forgot about dre
I have found my stress levels much reduced since I just blocked any of my 'friends' who posted such bollocks. There is no point engaging as, like with most conspiracies, they will just shift the narrative to conveniently by-pass any evidence you produce to refute their ramblings.
Do not argue, state the reason why you find their post distasteful/dangerous and leave it at that. IMO spreading this kind of nonsense is too important a thing to leave without comment.
It's not just Facebook. You'll come up against the same folk on other social media platforms (e.g. this one)
I've just stepped away from some brexiters who were telling me that the trade deals we've done so far are better than what we had in the EU and prove that all the naysaying was just Project Fear. Then they said that Nissan would have to expand Sunderland because we wouldn't be able to buy cars from anywhere else - which I don't think was such a strong argument for their case as they thought it was.
I despair for the human race.
Have you seen this that's doing the rounds?
https://twitter.com/samueljrob/status/1331005392655175687?s=19
The moon landings didn't happen, vaccines are part of a global conspiracy as foretold in the Bible, atom bombs are fake, and a sprinkling of racism. From a professor of physics and astronomy!
On the main covid thread I asked anyone not intending to get the vaccine what their rational was, given that pretty much all the posters on there with any scientific knowledge said they would fine taking it
Unsurprisingly I didn't get an answer...
I think other than the loons who believe in microchips and 5g there are 2 reasons for not wanting it. The first, perhaps somewhat understandable, is the timeline it's been developed, although this would be based on the false assumption that safety steps in process have been bypassed
The second is because I don't think folks want to be told what to do 'by the man'. These people are selfish idiots imo..
@bails I'm not going to look. Your synopsis has my blood pressure off the scale. Thanks for that! 🙄 😄
I find it a useful tool to find out who didn't pay attention at school.
Then they said that Nissan would have to expand Sunderland because we wouldn’t be able to buy cars from anywhere else
Presumably because every other factory in the UK has shut down?
I quite enjoy lobbing the odd verbal hand grenade into the usual Facebook anti-cyclists rants. Not tried anti-vaxxers though, I suspect that that's a whole other level of half-wittery.
There are almost a hierarchy of shit arguments of social media that goes something like this:
Anti Cycling -> Pro Brexit -> Anti Vax -> 5G -> Flat Earth -> Chemtrails -> ZOMG LIZARDS!!
Presumably because every other factory in the UK has shut down?
I think it was because the vaccine would make us all believe that the only acceptable car was a Qashqai
The moon landings didn’t happen, vaccines are part of a global conspiracy as foretold in the Bible,
Well there is the massive red alarm bell, anyone quoting something from the Bible ain't gonna be rational.
There was a guy on 5live last week saying he won't be having the vaccine because "who's pockets do you think are getting lined, where is all the money going!?" Nicky Campbell just said "so what!?" He had no coherant answer, but still won't be getting it.
I think it was because the vaccine would make us all believe that the only acceptable car was a Qashqai
My brother had a qashqai 3 years ago.
ZOMFG he already had the vaccine! The lizards are real!
anyone quoting something from the Bible ain’t gonna be rational.
I quite often quote from the bible in discussion, there's much wisdom in it once you get away from the smiting and the begatting.
Also, some of the smartest people I know have religious faith but i've yet to meet a really bright conspiracy theorist.
Here’s How The Top 10 Things Bill Gates is Putting in Fake Coronavirus Vaccines To Control Your Baby Eating Satanists Will Blow Your Mind!
You won't believe #7!!
Recently I engaged with some people on a Flat Earth twitter page.
I took the position that the earth was flat. It was far more fun knowing I was wrong saying how easy it was to fake all their evidence than it ever is arguing for the other side. It was way less tiring - maybe that's why so many people believe it?
An interesting article from BBC News from a couple years ago...
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/resources/idt-sh/the_godfather_of_fake_news
I would suggest that anti-vax and conspiracy nonsense posts should be reported to FB.
I tend to post a link to FullFact, like this: https://fullfact.org/health/bill-gates-chips-bbc/
It is tough, I tend to think that people spreading this claptrap should be immediately shut down. They say it in a way like they know better and they are trying to educate me.
I would suggest that anti-vax and conspiracy nonsense posts should be reported to FB.
I did this for a bit when FB friends posted clear propaganga or factually inaccurate stuff. FB were very good at removing it.
I just like using the laughing emoji thing and walk away.
I got into a "discussion" with someone who was insistent that the virus dies the moment it is outside the body as all viruses need a host to survive. He had no answer when I asked how people catch a harmless dead virus without snogging every stranger they meet
On the main covid thread I asked anyone not intending to get the vaccine what their rational was, given that pretty much all the posters on there with any scientific knowledge said they would fine taking it
Unsurprisingly I didn’t get an answer…
Perhaps @tpbiker they thought you were looking for a fight and didn't want to make your day?
I would suggest that anti-vax and conspiracy nonsense posts should be reported to FB.
You could try reporting stuff like that on STW to the Mods.
You won’t believe #7!!
I only came for the link. #disappointment
Anyway The Great Reset is over at lockdownsceptics.org - I'm still none the wiser.
I had one...a girl I dated once upon a time who seemed nice and not too dim. However, over the years she's been sucked into every conspiracy going including the one that the EU was about to issue a directive banning hair straighteners, that the Lisbon Treaty was about take everyone's "sovereignty" away and whatnot. She emigrated to Oz and started work as a nurse, but was apparently laid off back in March.
Since then we've had 5g, Covid being a hoax, Covid not being a hoax but less deadly than flu, Covid being caused by 5G...
When Facebook flags any of her posts for being misinformation, that's apparently the fault of Bill Gates. Oh and now she seems to like Trump too.
I dodged a bullet there I think.
Funny enough one of my friends asked me at the weekend if I'd be getting the 'jab'. I said yes, in fact I'd already signed up for a trial.
He said he wouldn't, and we were actually able to have a reasonably chat about it, well as reasonable as you can blowing out your arse at a 2m range.
His argument was fairly reasonable in my book.
He's youngish 40, out of the high risk group, fit and with no known health problems.
Should he catch Covid, there's a greater than 80% chance he wont even notice and 98% chance it won't make it ill enough to need any sort of treatment lower than 0.01% chance it'll prove fatal. (I don't know if those figures are accurate, but they seem to be).
On the other hand you have a brand new Vaccine. We debated the argument about "Rushed v done quickly with almost unlimited resources" but I couldn't argue with the fact the vaccine is no more than 6 months old, and some of them aren't 'just' some dead covid cells in egg white, but pretty new ways of getting an antibody response. Whilst the risks are probably very low, I don't think anyone can say that these vaccines don't cause long term health issues, because there's not a soul on earth who has had it more than a few months.
Also, whilst 30k people is a lot of people, none of those 30k people is exactly the same as him.
He considered the risks and decided it was safer not to have it.
My argument was really the only argument I really cared about, it was more important to me that we stopped the spread of the virus, more than my own personal protection from it, which he made another reasonable point. None of the virus makers have made any claim to the fact it will stop you spreading the virus, only it will protect you from getting ill. If it's proven to stop the spread of the virus, then that changes the equation.
I find it quite ironic how most rat lickers have already had their immunisations, my sister being one of them. They are a blight on the community.
After spending 6months of commenting that what they are spewing on FB is bollox I've just blocked or removed them from my FB friends. Ironically, one posted in April about signing up for vaccine trials, but now won't get the vaccine!
Had one FB friend share a load of hate (Brexit related) and he blocked me when I called him up on it.
uselesshippy
Free Member
I find it a useful tool to find out who didn’t pay attention at school.
This 100%
My argument was really the only argument I really cared about, it was more important to me that we stopped the spread of the virus, more than my own personal protection from it, which he made another reasonable point. None of the virus makers have made any claim to the fact it will stop you spreading the virus, only it will protect you from getting ill. If it’s proven to stop the spread of the virus, then that changes the equation.
But that's exactly how vaccines work and how you stop the spread, become immune! If enough people are immune you stop the spread and the virus dies.
My wife has an autoimmune disorder, we as a family have the flu jab every year. I don't have it because I don't want to catch flu, rather because I don't want to spread it to my wife.
Pissing in the wind.
You know you are.
Any "victory" you have is likely to be pyrrhic.
Either:
Completely ignore them and, as mentioned up there, exorcise them from your life.
Or:
Hose fuel onto their bonfire. As much as you can. Suggest spliffs are antidotes to microchips and LSD "reflects 5G radiation". That sort of thing.
It doesn't really matter though does it? I mean it's not like there's going to be a Hollywood ending, whereby they all suddenly realised they are talking shit and run off down to the library, is there?
It's a glide slope, you might flatten it a bit, but it's still points down. Get with the Farage et al - Stop seeing them as worthy, emotional, souls and see them as walking sacks of shit who have got too much of what soon will be, your money. (Not my modus operandi, but it might work for you).
Trouble is with getting it removed is then they think it's all part of the conspiracy and they are being censored. Then maybe they end up on Parler or Qanon sites and get even more nutty.
My solution is just to not use FB so I don't get wound up, but it doesn't really solve anything.
Some people just can't cope with the fact that life is confusing, chaotic and complex - turns out maybe we did need religion after all.
P-Jay - your mate makes rational points, even though I disagree with his choice. Lots of the opposition is utterly irrational though
No shortage of them in my industry, which I find a bit worrying.
On the main covid thread I asked anyone not intending to get the vaccine what their rational was,
My rational would be that any longer term after affects are completely unknown and untested and as I am in a fairly low risk group and already had the virus many months ago with only symptom being a slightly odd throat for a week I am not convinced in the merits of me having the vaccine.
My rational would not be based on microchips being implanted with the vaccine.
There is also the tactic of one-upping their conspiracy theories. For eg
Conspiracy theorist: 'The moon landings were faked'
Me: 'Ah, so you are one of them?'
CT: 'What do you mean?'
Me: 'You believe the moon exists' etc
Quite good sport if you can be bothered 😀
The tossers are everywhere, some do it for giggles I reckon.
Even on the King Alfred Way Facebook group, somebody has started a rumour that it will be gravel bike only and will be surfaced next year in chippings...
Well there is the massive red alarm bell, anyone quoting something from the Bible ain’t gonna be rational.
Proverbs 8:5-15
O simple ones, learn prudence; O fools, learn sense. Hear, for I will speak noble things, and from my lips will come what is right, for my mouth will utter truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are righteous; there is nothing twisted or crooked in them. They are all straight to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge.
CT: ‘What do you mean?’
Me: ‘You believe the moon exists’ etc
I thought the sun and the moon were the same thing.
My rational would be that any longer term after affects are completely unknown and untested and as I am in a fairly low risk group and already had the virus many months ago with only symptom being a slightly odd throat for a week I am not convinced in the merits of me having the vaccine.
The merits are you don't spread it to anyone else, your family, or anyone elses. As an added bonus the more people that are vaccinated the quick we get rid of restrictions, lock downs and the massive international financial burden.
Well there is the massive red bell end, anyone quoting something from the Bible ain’t gonna be rational.
there was a lot of begotting in the bible I hear
P jays post shows that there's reason and rational thinking on both sides of the vaccine argument.
It's not really about the vaccine.
If you drew the Venn diagram then it's the "arguing on Facebook" set that's guaranteed to contain the subset "all the loons".
