Monday 16 March 2020

Don't blame the crows! It's Not About the birdemic!


It's not about the birdemic... I have found this slogan to be a useful mantra.

Converting the entire developed world to a totalitarian police state in a fortnight isn't about the crow birdemic.

The birdemic is just an excuse - and, indeed, a very inadequate excuse; since the plague of crows is nowhere near severe enough to warrant any kind of mega-reaction in The West - let alone the actual reaction.


Reasons for knowing the fakeness of the birdemic

1. Numbers of international deaths too small by c.1000-fold to assume that this is a dangerous birdemic - European deaths are even less, proportionately.

2. Severely affecting and killing almost exclusively the very-old and/or already-sick - just like dozens of other Upper Respiratory Tract Infections. Apparently, zero people under age fifty have died in Europe thus far (and very few in China - and these may have had other medical conditions).

3. Severe effect is mainly seen among East Asian ethnicity, much less or not at all among Europeans. The mortality rates among the young seem much higher for China and S. Korea than in Italy - and mortality in the Italian national population may well have been disporportionately among the large East Asian immigrant/ migrant population - but these numbers are being withheld.


So the birdemic crisis is fake. Why then do we have a crisis?

Because of the response; which is not fake, and indeed amounts to the very-rapid and universal imposition of a bureaucratic totalitarian police state; run (because such are the people involved) on atheistic, leftist, anti-Christian lines.

Since the epidemic is fake, there is little reason to assume the new 'special powers' will be revoked; and at the least they will be claimed to have saved The West from imminent mass death.


Why do I infer the response is fake? 

1. The response is unlike the response to any previous crisis ever - there is no track record for its success; there is zero reason to suppose it will be more effective than other responses in the past (which fell short of a totalitarian coup).

2. The response is, indeed, precisely the same as was being asked for by the Climate Change/ Extinction Rebellion cartel of the Global Establishment: in other words omni-surveillance and micro-control of the population of The West - eventually The World; plus collapsing the world economy and international trade.

3. The response is destructive of the primary basis of survival of the world population - the 'Industrial Revolution' etc. - the international system of specialisation and trading which has increased the world population from c.1 billion in 1800 to c.7 billion now. This means that the Global Establishment are risking the death of billions of people (of all ages and health), in order to try and save thousands (almost all old and unhealthy).


Implications

We can't, as individuals, do anything to stop or ameliorate the Big Picture. But what we need to do is interpret the crisis spiritually.

The crisis is real, and it is a spiritual crisis.

It is, indeed, a spiritual battle, an example of Unseen Warfare. Specifically there has been a successful coup by the powers of evil.


This has already happened, it is too late to prevent. But it is vital to recognise that this is indeed What Has Happened.

It's not about the birdemic; it's a socio-political takeover by the powers of evil.

And most people in The West support this takeover - fanatically so! One aspect of the crisis is that things have come to a point; and nearly everybody has-taken sides; and the side that nearly everybody has taken is that of the evil (demonic) powers.

Having recognised what has happened, and that we are in a tiny minority; serious Christians need simply to continue as usual.

To continue (that is) to recognise this life - your and my actual lives - as tailred for our spiritual learning ('theosis'); and to recognise death as a portal to eternal life in Heaven for those who choose to follow Jesus.


And having said that; many Christians will find themselves pretty much alone, spiritually; and will need to develop their own resources to survive and thrive in a condition of Faith, Hope and Love.

That will be a big challenge because it is new territory, a novel situation for Christians who have been accustomed to regard themselves as primarily part of a church.

Many people will find that they are in a situation in which either they are an autonomous 'solo Christian'; or they will soon be no Christian at all.

That will be another 'coming to a point'.

15 comments:

Bruce Charlton said...

Gave you seen the new regulations - powers to detain individuals?

It contains all the hallmarks of a totalitarian state, which would usually be contested vociferously by all sorts of people. Will they oppose it now, or comply with the law? Has the demon FEAR gagged protest?

Your analysis would be appreciated.


Barry

@B - This seems to be an further increase on powers that were first grabbed just a few days ago - and I doubt it will be the last.

Maybe fear is too inadequate a word for the birdemic - this reaction is fuelled by *terror*; this is a kind of state-sponsored terror campaign. I have a few instances in my circle of direct knowledge of genuine (and unprecedented) terror among individuals who are (in reality) at essentially zero risk. I guess this is widespread.

It is now too late for 'protest' - the thing has happened. The question is how we proceed from here. And before anything else must come a recognition of the actual state of affairs; but I suspect even that cannot happen without some kind of Christian revival - since mainstream atheists have amply-proven themselves structurally incapable of perceiving the obvious (such as the difference between a man and a woman).

Ingemar said...

The birdemic is the Mother of All Reichstag Fires.

Bruce Charlton said...

@I - Yes. Except in this case, totalitarian takeover has happened all around the developed world pretty simultaneously. In both cases the mass mob (as well as the Establishment flunkeys) overwhelmingly support their own de facto enslavement.

dearieme said...

"Severe effect is mainly seen among East Asian ethnicity": is there good evidence for this?

Or are we back to the popular inference that whenever The Authorities don't mention race they are covering up an embarrassment?
(I suspect that the pop are usually right about that.)

Bruce Charlton said...

@d Judge for yourself. The pattern of mortality numbers and rates by age are available for China, Korea and Italy.

Jacob Gittes said...

I have literally only two or so acquaintances that I know in real life who understand the nature of what is going on. It's amazing.

I recently joined the Catholic Church, and have already reached the conclusion that is is basically useless as a religious institution. The priest who was with me through a crisis last year, and who is exceedingly devout and traditionalist, is a single individual. His very real and wonderful attributes do not magically transfer to the Church as an institution through some sort of commutative property. He will be disappointed to learn that I do not share his "faith" in the eternal nature of the institutional church, but so be it. I plan to be honest with him in a long letter.

The only churches locally that seem OK are the "free," small, independent churches. Their liturgies, such as they are, may lack the finesse of say the Orthodox Church or a traditional Latin mass Catholic church, but you know what? I can listen to those liturgies online. The important thing is to find some sort of in-the-flesh Christian fellowship.

God bless you for your blog. It's truly a blessing to your readers.

Ingemar said...

@Jake,

Smaller groups within the Catholic Church are acting with greater faith than the Church at large are doing their best to keep the Mass available and if not, to have it said at least in private. I'm of course referring to the Society of St. Pius X, where I was able to attend Mass yesterday. Now I still have my doubts about the society, but I didn't doubt for a second that they would try their hardest to keep Mass available--this is, after all, a society that has withstood 50 years of soft persecution by their own popes.

Andrew said...

@Ingemar -

That is a very interesting insight on your part. I had been wondering what God intended for the Society for a while. I have been supporting them from afar for a number of years and see them as the only reliable *institutional* source within the Church (there are exceptions among individual Priests).

It makes sense that this may be what they were prepared for. I hope not, for them, martyrdom - but perhaps a turn to a secret or underground Church to preserve the faith.

@BruceCharlton -

I am a naturally paranoid and cautious man, and if the state hadn't imposed quarantine it was my intention to do it myself for my family (until it became clearer what is really happening). Normally I assume people are oblivious to threats because of normalcy bias.

At this point it does seem clear. The data out of Italy says the average age of death is 80, and all except for a couple cases had underlying health conditions - the majority had multiple. So this has the normalcy bias flipped. Everyone, including myself, oblivious to the real threat. It seems a trap we have easily stepped into.

I think more people will realize the truth though if/when things do not appear to resume some degree of normalcy. Most people are living paycheck-to-paycheck and the financial hardships and clamoring for more government solutions will come to fruition very soon.

Greg said...

Bruce,

Are you sure no one under 50 in Europe has died from the virus? I've seen reports about young Italians dying from it here and there.

Bruce Charlton said...

@Greg - Correct at time of writing (according to The Lancet). But don't be distracted, you need to look behind the data (which may, of course, be false - and more likely false the longer the crisis continues).

The principle is that Deaths are among the elderly (the older the greater the mortality), the already-significantly ill; and is higher among East Asians. And some people die *with* corvid diease, not necessarily *from* it. Exceptions are Always expected in medicine: we were trained: Never Say Never.

There may be other odd cases, for reasons known (and withheld) or not known - for example I once knew a young, healthy English man in his twenties who got tuberculosis. It is incredibly rare - nearly all cases were in people from South Asia, or old people, or immunocompromised - but it happened. And more than 200 people in England die from TB each year, two every three days, unremarked.

When every case is reported, in a censored form, we get a very distorted picture of reality.

But It's Not About The Birdemic. If 300,000 olf and ill people die of it this season, there is still no reason for totalitarian takeover. The takeover is because They want it; not because of the disease. And the Godless media-addicted masses have not even noticed.

This is how peoples are justly 'punished' - Not by God, but by their own foolish behaviour and stupid, stubborn choices that follow consequentially after God and his goodness and creation have been rejected; and they have embraced fearful, hedonic, selfish, nihilistic insanity.

Meanwhile the demonic powers are rejoicing; one can imagine Their gleeful cackling at what has already been achieved so quickly and easily, and in anticipation at what They intend to do with their new totalitarian powers.

Greg said...

Bruce,

Thanks.

I fear that They are preparing us for something. I can hardly imagine all the crazy and evil policies and subversions this sham pandemic will be used to push.

James Higham said...

The first major issue is when loo roll and foodstuffs run out - eggs for example. Bread. Then the game gets interesting.

Bruce Charlton said...

@James. The first - yes; but not the last.

Meredith said...

Hello Bruce,

Huge fan of your blog. I have never seen so much fear in the mass media in my life and I am frightened that we are hugely overreacting and killing our economy. Question--as it doesn't affect youngish people below 60 as much, is a possible solution to the panic to encourage self-isolation amongst the elderly and let the younger people keep going to work, traveling, going to shops, etc to prevent a economic depression? I'm thinking they could have "elderly hours" at grocery stores, churches, maybe even restaurants to keep them away from asymptomatic younger folks. Then the younger people by fall would largely achieve herd immunity? Hopefully younger people would be extremely careful while visiting older relatives (social distancing, wear masks for the immunocompromised) I just want the panic to subside and this seems like a response more proportional to the threat.

Bruce Charlton said...

@M - The response has nothing to do with the birdemic.