Monday 28 February 2022

The West "woke" to its demise

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

'Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.'

That's one of many maxims from Mark Twain. Were he to be with us today, it's safe to assume that he would be siding with the majority when it comes to Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The West "woke" to its demise: The West is far from its best these days.
Dark days for the West. Is it capable of recovering its vigour? (Image from Pexels.)

Russian, rush out?

Personally, having become accustomed to being against most of the legacy media in much of their reporting and their general stance as regards the coronavirus pandemic, that I find myself largely in agreement with them now in terms of the anti-Putin coverage seems rather strange.

Reading the full translated text of Vladimir Putin's speech as he outlined his reasons for the assault, looking at things from a distance and being far from an expert on the subject, his pretext for war really does seem absurd.

For sure, as it is for most things in life and as history has repeatedly shown us, it's not a case of one side utterly evil, the other side without any fault whatsoever.

However, while Putin speaks of neo-Nazis in Ukraine who would love nothing more than to see Russia obliterated — of which there perhaps are such types at some level — it has been his own Adolf Hitler-esque utterances and actions that lead one to the conclusion that he has lost it.
'Decisively is the operative word here. Deranged and miscalculated as it may be, Putin has acted. He's not a ditherer.'
Had this been a preemptive hit one could understand it more so. Strike before being struck. Yet, from the perspective of facing an actual military invasion, Moscow's move was unprovoked.

Of course, those defending Putin's actions say that a gradual squeeze has continuously been put on Russia from the West, in various ways. The Kremlin's ability to push back has been getting weaker.

Also, Europe's dependence on Russian gas, a powerful card as it is for Putin, isn't going to stay in his hand forever. So, the thought process must have been, 'act decisively now, or never.'

Betwixt and be Twain

Decisively is the operative word here. Deranged and miscalculated as it may be, Putin has acted. He's not a ditherer.

OK, when one is a dictator of a relatively powerful state, one doesn't have to worry about following everyday rules and regulations, never mind international law. 

The West, on the other hand, with all the caveats in viewing it as one united bloc in mind, is often hindered by its own well-meaning but at times pernicious laws.

What's more, whilst Western leaders are quick to talk up the virtues of their democracy, freedom and pluralism, they tend to suffer from long-sightedness. That is to say, they come out fighting — in word if not in deed — where they see such values under attack afar, but do little to address falling standards at home.

Over the last few years, it's almost as if many in the West have felt the end of history actually has been reached. 

The agenda-setting comfortable classes and elite in high-income nations, rather than concern themselves with deadly issues such as actual war and vast inequality, have focused on what at best can be described as fringe issues (read identity politics in its various forms here).

Instead of being liberating forces, they've been putting up barriers where none had really existed. (See https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/08/forget-novel-coronavirus-novel-first.html and https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2021/06/hold-tight-worst-is-yet-to-come.html for more context here.)

Seen in such a light, Putin's decision to invade Ukraine and his threat to those in the West who may dare to physically counterattack makes some sense.

Politically, the West has been weakened on the alter of irrational wokeness. One could go as far as to say that many of the policies that leaders from Warsaw to Washington have been implementing of late go against the very values they claim to uphold.

In this sense, whilst condemning Putin's actions one can also take the time to, as Twain put it, 'pause and reflect' and ask what exactly our own "camp" is trying to achieve. Beware of that majority mob.
_______________________________________________________________
Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

 

Monday 21 February 2022

Lest we forget

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

Sitting unhidden in one of my barrio tiendas sipping on a litre of Poker beer, it dawned on me that less than a year ago such behaviour was officially prohibited and had been for the guts of 12 months.

Lest we forget: Lads on the lash, facemasks in force. A tienda bar in Barrio Santandercito, Bogotá, Colombia.
Saving face: Colombians seem particularly keen on facemasks.
I'm not sure about you, but as things gradually return, for the most part anyway, to how they were pre-pandemic, I've nearly forgotten how absurd those "lockdown"/restricted-movement days were (it's good to have my various blog posts during the period as a reference point. See, for example, https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/03/coronavirus-collateral-damage.html and https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/06/coronavirus-auxiliary-killers.html. Here's hoping the internet's Ministry of Truth doesn't get at them).

Failed estate

This isn't to say that my tried-and-trusted Bogotá tiendas are devoid of signs of those crazy times. Clientele's wearing of facemasks under the chin is one rather inane reminder. There's also the odd sign to wash one's hands (a tad difficult in establishments without adequate facilities in this regard), to wear aforementioned masks and even notices to disinfect your footwear, a practice that was found early on to be rather ineffective in combatting contagion in most settings.

As for the facemasks, Colombians seem quite happy to wear them, anywhere and everywhere. Whatever about their efficacy in terms of reducing the spread of respiratory infections — the jury is still very much out — they may at least offer some protection from Bogotá's contaminated air. Although, when worn around the chin, it's unlikely they'll be of much help.

Nonetheless, it's good to have some reminders of what we've just gone through — as long as they're kept at a safe physical distance that is.

Of course, people still afflicted by coronavirus monomania will not only say that all draconian measures introduced were necessary but they are also likely to argue that they didn't go far enough nor last long enough.

Again, the evidence that strict lockdowns work in combatting a disease such as covid-19 is far from conclusive. And when viewed solely through the lens of Sars-CoV-2, one is guilty of inflicting other causes of pain and death on those who would otherwise be fine. It's a delicate balance, one that many countries appear to have got shockingly wrong.
"Those who have been most faithful to the creed, if they're not quite rewriting recent history their changing tack is explained as 'we weren't to know.' Really?"
As we begin to accept that we must learn to live with covid rather than stop living and as we move our focus onto the next global cause for concern, any proper, unbiased analysis of the last two years must critically examine the role of much of the media in unquestioningly following the official line.

A majority in the Fourth Estate, not for the first time and it certainly won't be for the last, decided to take refuge elsewhere.

A dubious narrative was established and followed with fervour. "The Science" — the one that promoted heavy-handed containment measures and has coerced people into taking covid vaccines even when it is clear that some have robust natural defences against the infection — became the true faith.

Signs of the time: Hygiene recommendations aimed at reducing the spread of coronavirus on display in Bogotá, Colombia.
Signs of the time. Careful now ...

Those of us who dared ask fair and reasonable questions were blasted as heretics. We were selfish, content to needlessly let people die, so the attacks went. Very early on in this collective, dangerous insanity I called out what was for the most part nauseating, hypocritical virtue signalling (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2020/03/coronavirus-fallout-virtue-signalling.html).

We now have some of those who were most faithful to the creed backtracking. If they're not quite rewriting recent history their changing tack is explained as 'we weren't to know.' Really? They seemed utterly convinced of their righteousness at the time, trying to rubbish those of us who went against them.

Centre fight

In any case, it's quite easy for them to shrug all this off now. Vaccine certs proudly in hand, life is pretty much back to normal. (More power to the countries that are doing away with jab passes — little by little, society appears to be taking a more reasonable, rounded approach to this. Let's not mention atrocious Australia, crazy Canada or nefarious New Zealand, though.)

Thus, some people tell me I should get over all this, 'hum a different tune'. For the most part, I am doing that.

However, the agents of coercion and control who were given a new lease of life with the arrival of the novel coronavirus continue to try to make life difficult for us "infidels". 'Just conform, goddamn it!'

Many appear quite happy to have the state overseeing more aspects of their lives, often falsely believing that it's for the greater good of society. It generally means a little less personal responsibility, too, so they'll acquiesce.

Yet, an all-powerful state with much of the media in tow, doing its best to silence — or cancel, if you will — dissenting voices, painting any opposition as conspiracy theorists and so refusing to engage with it, is not something to be endorsed.

It's why I won't simply let this go, not while we still have what is effectively nothing more than official opinion or debatable science being peddled as unquestionable fact.

As we've seen over the last couple of years and as history has repeatedly shown us, giving free rein to such forces rarely leads to positive outcomes.

The centre can hold for a little while longer. We have to be prepared, though, to battle hard to keep it together.
_______________________________________________________________
Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

 

Saturday 19 February 2022

Letter to the editor: Climate crisis hypocrites

@wwaycorrigan

Well, this is a real sign that things are returning to normal after the coronavirus chaos. The Irish Independent has published a letter of mine, unrelated to the pandemic as it is. Wonders never cease, hey?! (For some context, see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2021/08/my-unopened-open-letter-to-ireland.html.)

Below is a screenshot of the letter and you can read it in full at https://www.independent.ie/opinion/letters/class-categories-demean-everyone-so-can-we-please-stop-defining-ourselves-by-our-earnings-41361557.html (fourth letter down). For a somewhat related piece see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2021/01/the-great-reset.html.

Wrong Way Corrigan's letter in the Irish Independent, Saturday 19 February 2022.
I didn't pick the heading.

_______________________________________________________________
Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

 

Monday 14 February 2022

Never-ending solo searching

@wwaycorrigan

[Listen to an audio version of this blog entry here.]

A long-standing friend made an interesting and, I think, somewhat accurate observation about me recently.

Never-ending solo searching: Solitude is bliss (most of the time!). Photo taken on the Gachetá-Junín road in Cundinamarca, Colombia.
The road to tranquillity. Or the road to nowhere?

He noted how I spend a lot of time fretting about casually meeting certain people to the extent that if I see them on the street or wherever I'll often go out of my way in order to avoid them.

Blather matters

However, if I happen to be spotted by the person I had been trying to shun, I'll then be the one who'll end up doing most of the talking and keep the encounter going on for longer than it really needs to go on.

This "hiding policy" isn't in reference to people who I generally dislike either. It tends to be those with whom I have no issue whatsoever.

What seems to be at play here is my overall dislike of small talk and, paradoxically, as mentioned, my inability to not engage in it when I meet someone.

So I try to nip this in the bud and not let the situation arise in the first place.

"I'm not quite at the level of the Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle, who I recall saying that 'a stranger is a cunt you haven't met.'"

Such behaviour might be more understandable here in Colombia if it was purely down to a language issue i.e. the additional effort needed to converse in a non-native tongue. Also, there's the fact that many Colombians tend to spend a lot of time on meaningless chatter, for example, asking pretty much the same basic greeting in various ways, '¿Cómo estás? ¿Qué tal? ¿Cómo ha ido?', etc. But it's not solely a Spanish thing. I've done this shunning back in Ireland, too.

Considering I've worked in radio, presented podcasts, "starred" in various film/TV productions (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2022/02/freedom-fighter.html and https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2021/09/blast-from-past-making-scene-in-sin.html) and regularly host events (https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2021/12/iquiz-bogota-pub-quiz-edition-liv-quiz.html), some people find it odd that I'm often happier to avoid mixing with others. There's an assumption that I'm an extrovert. The reality is, I'm more of an introvert.

Cunning stunt

It's one big reason why I don't like house sharing, particularly with people who I hadn't known previously, which is what I've had to deal with for the majority of my time in Bogotá (and something I'm doing again after a seven-month respite of sorts in a studio apartment. The Bogotá nomad moves once more. Oh dear).

The same goes for travelling. I prefer going solo. The only real benefit I see in travelling with others is to keep hotel costs down, in places where you can share a room that is.

Then there's my panadería office. I don't like to be interrupted by anyone when I'm there. This is more "acceptable", though, seeing how I frequent the place to write, read, send emails, tasks that require some concentration.

When it comes to a few letting-off-steam beers these days, my version of socialising that is, I tend to stick to the quieter tiendas and mix with only a small circle of friends and acquaintances.

That being so, I'm not quite at the level of the Scottish comedian Frankie Boyle, who I recall saying that 'a stranger is a cunt you haven't met.' I'm still open to befriending people; I'm just not too proactive in seeking them out. Also, I often find it easier to become pally with older people rather than my peers.

Whatever the case, the idea of escaping to an isolated rural retreat, going off the radar for a time, appeals. If I could make such a life sustainable, that is.

Finding satisfaction from this solo searching, however, may be an impossible task in this shared life of ours.
_______________________________________________________________
Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".

Thursday 10 February 2022

Freedom fighter

 
While I remain in the fight against discriminatory covid-19 vaccine mandates, I did take a little break to tackle — appropriately enough considering the authoritarian approach of leaders we're seeing in some countries these days — an evil dictator.

The full results of this particular battle should be seen in mid-2023. I can't say much more than that without, perhaps, getting into trouble!

Wrong Way Corrigan, a "freelance" fighter for freedom in all sorts of guises!
True calling: Did Wrong Way go down the, um, wrong career path?
_______________________________________________________________
Listen to Wrong Way's Colombia Cast podcast here.

Facebook: Wrong Way Corrigan — The Blog & IQuiz "The Bogotá Pub Quiz".