'Death to dissenters. It's for your own good.'

@wwaycorrigan

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

I do find it somewhat perplexing — and occasionally amusing — how self-proclaimed freedom-loving liberals demand that others follow their path. At times, this is seen in a passive-aggressive manner. However, more frequently these days it's simply done aggressively; there's nothing passive about it whatsoever.

'That's my boy, Bart. Just comply. Life shall be easier then.'

It's no longer a case — as at least it seemed to be only a decade or so ago — of being open to alternative views when there is no conclusive evidence that one belief is the real truth, with all others simply wrong. No. The tone of this pugnacious proselytising wouldn't be out of place in the days of Europe's Reformation and subsequent Counter-Reformation.

Only EU can make the darkness bright

From an Irish perspective, more understandable as it is with its quite incestuous media and politics, we've seen it with Brexit and the coronavirus pandemic. I have tried, from afar, to provide a little bit of balance as regards the latter (see https://wwcorrigan.blogspot.com/2022/01/covid-19-anti-vaxxers-immunity-my-chat.html).

With Brexit, OK, there is the old quip that Britain's, nay England's, difficulty is Ireland's opportunity. There is, after all, a long bloody history between the two islands (there's been much intermingling of a more peaceful variety, too). So, despite the better relations that have developed between them over the last couple of generations, many Irish still have a deep-rooted desire to see England fail.

Add in the fact that most of Ireland's agenda-setters naively see the European Union as a rock of rectitude and it's not surprising to find such a hostile attitude towards Brexit. (If I had to choose one over the other, seeing the direction of travel of the EU and playing the long game, I'd opt for Britain over a Europe dominated by France and Germany. For one, the traditional common law approach tends to defend the individual more so than civil law.)

Coming back to the pandemic and zooming out from Ireland to a global level, to go against the narrative of lockdowns being a necessary evil, that they were the 'only viable option', was akin to blasphemy. As early as March 2020 I questioned this wisdom in Coronavirus' collateral damage.

'These facemask fascists, rather than castigate others for not "complying", should stick a sock in it, quite literally.'

Some commentators who submissively went along with all this back then are now, however, trying to rewrite their own history.

Some, that is. Others, those who seem to think that covid-19 is the only threat to human life, appear to want to have indefinite lockdowns. 'Can't everybody just work from home?' Eh, no, they can't.

Such types also tend to be facemask fascists. 'I care about others, that's why I wear a facemask.' Wonderful. The snag here is that there is no conclusive evidence that a piece of cloth wrapped around one's mouth and nose is truly effective in reducing the spread of coronavirus.

Indeed, there are so many variables at play that any study showing a benefit in this regard comes with numerous caveats. (For a detailed breakdown of such studies carried out so far, see https://brownstone.org/articles/more-than-150-comparative-studies-and-articles-on-mask-ineffectiveness-and-harms/. Also, https://emilyburns.substack.com/p/no-masks-dont-help-keep-kids-in-school).

Thus, if people want to wear a facemask because it makes them feel safer or more virtuous, fine. However, this castigating of others who don't wear them, well, such facemask fascists should stick a sock in it, quite literally.

'A jab a day keeps Pfizer in play'

Then there are the covid-19 vaccines. Considering the number of breakthrough infections we've seen, this idea that prevails in significant quarters that an unvaccinated person is more of a risk to him/herself and society in general compared to a vaccinated person just doesn't stand up to scrutiny.

Personally, and so far it seems to be holding true, my immunity or whatever natural defences I have against covid may be stronger than that of many of those who have had multiple vaccines.

Yet, the covid-19 vaccine-mandate brigade continues to exert a significant influence across the globe. They insist that the benefits outweigh the risks in all cases, when there is strong evidence that suggests otherwise, particularly the lower down the age cohorts one goes. (For more on that, see https://brownstone.org/articles/are-the-covid-mrna-vaccines-safe/.)

Now, while not all who endorse compulsory vaccination and mask-wearing are woke, illiberal leftists, there does certainly appear to be a substantial crossover.

These attempts at control, to force submission and/or destroy the credibility of the dissenters match nicely with the woke ideology.

Such types talk of equality and freedom but on their highly prejudiced terms only. (I went into more detail on this in Drunk almost to death on the culture wars.)

Putting an optimistic spin on it, it would appear the ordinary Joe and Josephine don't really go along with those who follow a more militaristic line on the above and other similarly contentious issues.

The average, informed citizen seems to realise that these matters are more nuanced than they are often portrayed. It's not, so to put it, 'everything black, good; everything white, bad.'

The problem, particularly in the West, is that in the traditional media and politics — spheres that exert much influence of course — there's an over-representation of these illiberal liberals.

Thus, it's incumbent on those of us of a more balanced nature to push back at every opportunity. Death awaits us regardless, so we might as well go down putting up a fight.
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Colombia's dissenters

Colombians have many things to be proud of in terms of their country. For one, a stunningly diverse landscape – from dense jungle to sparse deserts, serene coastal settings to entrancing rolling hills leading to snow-capped mountains and much more in between. With such a contrasting topography comes an array of different and colourful flora and fauna – it is one of the most diverse places on the planet.

Unspoilt beauty.

Add to this a largely helpful, welcoming populace – at least initially* – with an easy-going nature and you begin to see why many of the locals speak very highly of their land and its people. 

Indeed, for those of us who are uneasy with gushing praise in any context, such talk from some Colombians about their hallowed place, which can often descend into hyperbole, can become a little unsettling. We can all get carried away, though, from time to time.

In this regard, bearing in mind the number of locals we’ve met who won’t hear a bad word said about the country, it can be a tad refreshing to hear some born-and-bred Colombians speak in not-so-glowing terms about their homeland. A bit of balance brought to proceedings, in a sense.

Perhaps for every ten natives we meet that fall into the ‘Colombia can do no wrong’ category, we encounter about three that, if not utterly critical of the place, are certainly more focused towards its faults.

The truth – if such a thing can even be measured in this context – generally falls somewhere in between. The fact that our prime residence throughout our time in Colombia has been in the nation’s capital and largest city, Bogotá, helps to explain in some part our encounters with the more ‘negative’ (or is that realist?) elements.

Many of them are not Bogotanos, generally hailing from warmer, less crowded and, usually, environmentally cleaner parts of the country. They had to relocate to the metropolis in order to study or find work – nothing unique there, of course; an internal population flow to a country’s biggest, economically most important, city.

The majority of these Bogotá ‘blow-ins’, though, would generally prefer to be living elsewhere, back in their place of birth for one, and this contributes to the ill feeling many of them develop towards their country.

Eating on the job.

As mentioned, most of them come from warmer locations, so the relatively chilly Bogotá nights don’t help in building a ‘loving’ relationship with the capital either. 

The minus points thus start to grow; unfriendly, untrustworthy people – a big contrast with the official line that – disorganised, backwards, dangerous. In some of the conversations we’ve had with these dissenters, an actual hatred is palpable.

Again, though – the disorganised, backward labels apart – such feelings, especially of unfriendliness, are commonplace in many heavily populated cities across the globe. You tend to get a truer reflection of the soundness of a country and its people outside of the big urban centres; and in this regard, Colombia scores relatively well from what we’ve experienced and written about.**

Another aspect of what we’ll call a more rounded appraisal of the country is what Colombians now living abroad say about the place. In a recent book-editing project we undertook which featured interviews with such types, there were some common observations made.

Chief among those was the work ethic – or lack thereof, to be honest – of their compatriots back home. Now, on face value, this may surprise some people who visit the major Colombian cities. The locals generally rise very early to go to their place of employment and return pretty late – 12-hour plus days are commonplace here. There is a difference, though, between being at work and actually doing work.

As their fellow nationals, now plying their trade outside these borders, noted, there exists a more 'relaxed' approach to getting things done here. A ‘What’s the rush?’ style mentality you might call it. 

You only need to look at the ongoing infrastructure works in downtown Bogotá to get an idea of this – they’ve been at it since before our first visit here in early 2009 and there still seems to be no end in sight. Sure it’s only the capital’s city centre.

Never-ending works.

We’re all on for having a more laid-back life, but when you’re still spending most of your time at your place of work but just not doing a lot, that doesn’t sound like much fun. For our Colombian expat interviewees who have discovered the art of efficiency elsewhere, coming back to the typical way of doing things in the old country is something they’re not too keen on.

Yet despite the faults and oft-frustrating idiosyncrasies of the country and its people, for us, the many plus points outweigh the bad. It’s why we’re still here we guess.***

For some of the locals, however, getting out of the place can’t come quick enough.

Sometimes, to truly appreciate your birthplace, you need to leave it – if only for a short time. You might find, though, that the grass is indeed greener on the other side.

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*For our take on some of the less positive aspects of Colombian friendships, see http://bit.ly/LbcE9V

**A host of previous posts to choose from in this regards, including 'Finding Filandia' http://bit.ly/W1qXDw, 'Buenaventura's dirty delights' http://bit.ly/11ksFmP, 'Dirty Old Town' http://bit.ly/VG94Ho and 'Turbo Living' http://bit.ly/SVtkWW

***We did address this in some way in 'Por qué Colombia?'  http://bit.ly/W1t3DF