OT: The Official COVID/Omicron Variant+ thread

[Clyde_Style]

I’m all for the vaccine but in no way should anybody be forced to take it. And they want to lock people up now for not taking it? Communists

Not “lock up”. Just temporarily quarantined. You’re brights end where they begin to adversely effect mine. Your freedoms are compromised by rules, regulations, and laws every day. This is no exception.

Like people not taking flu shots can adversely impact you. Especially with the new variants being less severe, people need to rely on their own actions and also the REASONABLE actions of others. It’s Reasonable for people to not want the vaccine. It’s not reasonable for them to cough in your face.

You’re making unreasonable demands of people, and yes forced vaccination is unreasonable.

LOL, if you don't get vaccinated, you have to get tested, boo hoo. Bunch of crybabies who are not forced to vaccinate still whining about getting tested. It's childish

[Kampuchea]

Not “lock up”. Just temporarily quarantined. You’re brights end where they begin to adversely effect mine. Your freedoms are compromised by rules, regulations, and laws every day. This is no exception.

Like people not taking flu shots can adversely impact you. Especially with the new variants being less severe, people need to rely on their own actions and also the REASONABLE actions of others. It’s Reasonable for people to not want the vaccine. It’s not reasonable for them to cough in your face.

You’re making unreasonable demands of people, and yes forced vaccination is unreasonable.

LOL, if you don't get vaccinated, you have to get tested, boo hoo. Bunch of crybabies who are not forced to vaccinate still whining about getting tested. It's childish

Just tested? that’s certainly a reasonable request.

I thought it was locking people away

[CharlesOakley]

If you are looking at this as a free speech issue that has been booted around these boards multiple times. Social Media platforms may be where we spend our time, but they are NOT the "Commons" in political terms. This board we're posting on and all of the other platforms are PRIVATE enterprises and they can choose whom to allow to post or not. You can call it censorship, but it their prerogative to ban or allow certain posters.

Moreover, Spotify is free to take the financial hit and back Rogan, but they're really only going to protect their investment in him, not his right to say whatever he wants. If they were all about that then they wouldn't have removed numerous past Rogan shows. They picked and chose which of his episodes to make available to subscribers long before Neil and Joni made their stand.

And it goes both ways since Young and Mitchell are choosing to forego a major royalty stream so I'd say they are exercising their free speech by putting their money where their mouth is.

It is a MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS, not a public park with a soapbox where you are protected by first amendment. They voted, just like Spotify has voted.

If the market doesn't support Rogan, then he's out of a job. Not that that is going to happen, but that's the deal. Pretending he is owed some form of protection against backlash is frankly absurd and anti-thetical to actual freedom of speech. Let people vote with their pocketbooks without turning this into a false narrative about a disrespect for freedom of speech, because in America people vote with their pocketbooks. They always have and they probably always will

Saying bad ideas should be given a platform is just an opinion, not a fact. They can be shot down on those platforms or told to take it somewhere else to be shot down, but Twitter and Spotify don't owed anybody an explanation. If you don't like their stance, don't use them. Or stop listening to Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, because they really don't give a chit if you do or you don't so they don't need your protection and neither do loud mouths who get de-platformed.

I'm not looking at it as a free speech issue. I don't use twitter, facebook or amazon because I believe these monopolies are mostly doing harm. I vote with my wallet and realize that's all I can do. Unfortunately, these platforms have so much political power that an anti-trust suit is a pipe dream and people are getting more addicted to shouting into their echo chambers by the minute. The "marketplace of ideas" holds that the truth will emerge from the competition of ideas in free, transparent and public discourse. I'm not sure where that is happening but I'm not seeing it.

[Gorilla Monsoon]

You're wrong though. Every platform is run by a different set of people with different agendas. Facebook has large foreign stakeholders and it is well documented how much they facilitated Trump's campaigns, including sending Facebook operatives into the offices of Cambridge Analytica to show them how to target FB users. And what do you think Peter Thiel is, a liberal?

Personally I think we're all being toyed with and pitted against each other by a common enemy. A group of global elite who are neither liberal or conservative. They are only loyal to the grandest agenda of all: a one world government. And it is now closer to being a reality than ever. But you don't want to hear that, so I'll bow out now and go back to one of the other threads where we can all be friends and agree about Julius Randle's piss poor attitude.

I leave this thread with one final comment though: I will never take the vaccine. I just easily beat Covid for the second time in 2.5 years and will continue to enjoy the wonderful natural immunity that science has proven I now have. Same goes for my wife, and many of my friends and family who are all alive and well, including my Uncle who is in his 60s and battling a very rare and brutal stomach cancer, and also just recently survived Covid. Same goes for my beautiful little nephews who have had zero vaccines since birth, and are healthy and happy and autism free, living on a farm in Florida. And anyone who thinks any of us deserve fines or jail time for holding firm to our beliefs about this can rot in hell.

I'm not saying this to beat you up, but lay off the global conspiracy rap. It's just a convenient way to package reality in a world you don't particularly like, but it has very little to do with how messy reality actually is. The one world government concept is complete and utter rubbish and the opposite of what is happening. We're in a world full of competing interests and diminishing resources trying to make sausage with the resurgence of nationalism. If anything, the transparency of borders exposed how small-minded and tribal human beings are and the last effing thing you're going to get out of that is a globally coorindated unified government run by billionaires. You're just a sucker if you keep peddling that moronic nonsense. Seriously, time to grow up and stop looking for answers in stupid youtube videos

Yes, Randle sucks. Agreed

And Biden is not going to imprison your relatives. Jesus

I didn't insult you, you don't have to insult me. I've done my own research, have read many books, have listened to lectures and speeches by many brilliant, well-respected and well-accomplished professors, philosophers, etc. I've consumed content and literature on this subject that was created long before it became so taboo and widespread, and I've been well-versed on the topic before Youtube even existed. So stop gaslighting me and making those assumptions about me, my character and my intelligence.

I love my family and friends with all my heart, and I give back to my community. I'm not a bigot, and I'm not an activist or an extremist. I'm not your enemy, and you are not superior to me just because we differ on this. I know the world is a complicated place, and that there are many factions and interests at play. But if you don't realize government and power structures have become more centralized and globalized over the years, I don't know what else to tell you.

I know Biden isn't going to imprison my family. I don't expect him to do anything besides sh*t in his diaper and continue to take orders from his puppeteers. But just look at how authoritarian Australia and some places in Europe have become regarding Covid. In my mind, it's only a matter of time before they try to implement the same policies or worse here. The only reason they haven't had Covid camps here like they have in Australia is because of a document called the Constitution- something politicians have continuously tried to erode over the years.

It goes without saying- big tech, big pharma, the banking industry, mainstream media and Hollywood are all extremely powerful groups. And they all, for the most part, have been in lock step with each other on so many political issues, especially Covid. They've been priming us for a world where everything is digital, everything is tracked, monitored and surveilled, and where information is carefully curated for us to consume. Many of the leaders in those industries are friends, coming from the same ivy league schools, rubbing shoulders in the same social circles, attending the same elitist social events and fundraisers. Most of this has been well-documented and verified, and you can easily find it if you didn't try so hard to reject the idea of it.

We all can acknowledge there is a massive amount of corruption in politics and in business. But for there to be corruption, corrupt people must first conspire, no?

We've been taught to read or hear the word conspiracy and immediately associate it with crazy talk. But conspiracy is a real word and a real thing, and it happens every day. The world has seen many dictators rise to power and attempt to take over entire nations and regions of the world. So why is it so impossible to think that over the course of many decades, a group of people with more money than God, access to the most advanced technology, and a similar lust for power and control, decided to band together to do it the smart way: slowly and covertly.

Can politicians not be bought off? Are people not religious by nature? Is there not such a thing as private clubs and secret societies? If you say no- you are verifiably wrong.

[robillionaire]

put all unvaccinated people in Florida and build a wall on the border until we can figure out what the hell is going on down there

I’m a member of some community forums in Florida as my parents live there, lots of complaining about NYers. Someone complained about noise from a church, “go back to NY.” Someone called police about gun use on nearby property “damn northerner”

Mind you they have no idea the identity of the person complaining.

I do wonder if more people moving to Florida will ever turn it back to a 50/50 red/blue state

That’s funny. I was born in Florida and my mom and grandparents and some other relatives still live there. Moved away when I was 7. But I also moved to New York for 6 years too. Now where I live in North Carolina people hate both NYers as well as Floridians because they’re both moving to this area and causing the prices to go up. When I bought my house the neighbors were relieved when I said I’m from Kentucky (where I lived for over 20 years) because they heard some New Yorkers bought it and were relieved to hear the hint of our southern drawl. People are getting weirdly territorial about their states I mean they really aren’t that different in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it’s because the confederacy is about to be reestablished in the next 5-10 yrs

[HarthorneWingo]

Like people not taking flu shots can adversely impact you. Especially with the new variants being less severe, people need to rely on their own actions and also the REASONABLE actions of others. It’s Reasonable for people to not want the vaccine. It’s not reasonable for them to cough in your face.

You’re making unreasonable demands of people, and yes forced vaccination is unreasonable.

LOL, if you don't get vaccinated, you have to get tested, boo hoo. Bunch of crybabies who are not forced to vaccinate still whining about getting tested. It's childish

Just tested? that’s certainly a reasonable request.

I thought it was locking people away

They're allowing people in pubic venues without testing or proof of vaccination. Fake COVID cards are now a multi-million dollar business. How the fck do you think we're going to get out of this mess if people keep refusing to get vaccinated? The unvaccinated are responsible for the continued variants! Now there are those who simply don't have access to them. That's another story. But if you have access to them and still refuse them, then, yeah, you're the problem.

[HarthorneWingo]

put all unvaccinated people in Florida and build a wall on the border until we can figure out what the hell is going on down there

I’m a member of some community forums in Florida as my parents live there, lots of complaining about NYers. Someone complained about noise from a church, “go back to NY.” Someone called police about gun use on nearby property “damn northerner”

Mind you they have no idea the identity of the person complaining.

I do wonder if more people moving to Florida will ever turn it back to a 50/50 red/blue state

That’s funny. I was born in Florida and my mom and grandparents and some other relatives still live there. Moved away when I was 7. But I also moved to New York for 6 years too. Now where I live in North Carolina people hate both NYers as well as Floridians because they’re both moving to this area and causing the prices to go up. When I bought my house the neighbors were relieved when I said I’m from Kentucky (where I lived for over 20 years) because they heard some New Yorkers bought it and were relieved to hear the hint of our southern drawl. People are getting weirdly territorial about their states I mean they really aren’t that different in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it’s because the confederacy is about to be reestablished in the next 5-10 yrs

Do NOT lose that drawl.

[Clyde_Style]

put all unvaccinated people in Florida and build a wall on the border until we can figure out what the hell is going on down there

I’m a member of some community forums in Florida as my parents live there, lots of complaining about NYers. Someone complained about noise from a church, “go back to NY.” Someone called police about gun use on nearby property “damn northerner”

Mind you they have no idea the identity of the person complaining.

I do wonder if more people moving to Florida will ever turn it back to a 50/50 red/blue state

That’s funny. I was born in Florida and my mom and grandparents and some other relatives still live there. Moved away when I was 7. But I also moved to New York for 6 years too. Now where I live in North Carolina people hate both NYers as well as Floridians because they’re both moving to this area and causing the prices to go up. When I bought my house the neighbors were relieved when I said I’m from Kentucky (where I lived for over 20 years) because they heard some New Yorkers bought it and were relieved to hear the hint of our southern drawl. People are getting weirdly territorial about their states I mean they really aren’t that different in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it’s because the confederacy is about to be reestablished in the next 5-10 yrs

The anti-deep state gobbleygook groupthink is probably everywhere you go now. I'm speaking specifically of people whose idea of a political conversation is to say:

1) They know something for a fact
2) Freeze up when you ask for it without the aid of the internet
3) When you offer up a fact or a counter-fact they say that is not true; or
4) They say your source is flawed
5) Then they ask what media you consume, because
6) CNN and WaPo are liars
7) Then they wash their hands of engagement, because they know what they know

I don't think Florida or any Red state has a monopoly on confederacy logic, because the general pop has been intellectually knee-capped by Fox and they can't think for themselves any longer

We are definitely a nation heading towards a separatist mindset, though it won't result in the fantasy of succession, because it has seeped in everywhere. I'll end up back North eventually and I'm sure I'll still encounter plenty of the same there, though I'll be surrounded by more like-minded folks in a big city.

I speak to Trump supporters every single day because I'm not afraid to engage and it always ends up the same. I'm not kidding, it is a giant loop. I calmly entertain their POV and offer a rebuttal, but I NEVER lose my cool. But boy howdy every single one of them melts down into a puddle of anger. The whole experience has made me much calmer in the face of adversity. Now it actually calms me down to be the only calm one in the midst of rage and incoherence

[Gorilla Monsoon]

LOL, if you don't get vaccinated, you have to get tested, boo hoo. Bunch of crybabies who are not forced to vaccinate still whining about getting tested. It's childish

Just tested? that’s certainly a reasonable request.

I thought it was locking people away

They're allowing people in pubic venues without testing or proof of vaccination. Fake COVID cards are now a multi-million dollar business. How the fck do you think we're going to get out of this mess if people keep refusing to get vaccinated? The unvaccinated are responsible for the continued variants! Now there are those who simply don't have access to them. That's another story. But if you have access to them and still refuse them, then, yeah, you're the problem.

We get it- you're terrified of Covid. I won't make fun of you for that. I'm not a Covid denier. I've had it twice and it isn't fun, and I understand that it can kill people who are very old or who have serious underlying health issues. But the same can be said about the flu and other diseases we all may be exposed to.

The fact remains, the death rate and hospitalization rate for Covid are extremely low. And scientists who are smarter than you or me say we cannot vaccinate our way out of this. Covid is an endemic and will be with us forever. So stop trying to force inoculate people. It was Trump's corrupt administration who rushed this thing to the market. We have no long-term studies on the effects of this vaccine. There have already been many cases of extreme adverse effects and even deaths. Big Pharma is notoriously corrupt and untrustworthy, as well as liability-free as of 1986.

I just don't understand this extreme stance by some that we should all blindly take the jab or face punitive measures. And then these same people will turn around and say any thought of there being a global authoritarian agenda is cockamamie lol.

[HarthorneWingo]

I really have to LOL at those here who think that their "freedoms" outweigh the government's interest in making you do certain things. And - oh yes - they can, they have, and they will again. Maybe a little history/civics lesson is in order.

The Draft. A draft is the mandatory enrollment of individuals into the armed forces. The United States military has been all-volunteer since 1973. But an act of Congress could still reinstate the draft in case of a national emergency.

https://www.usa.gov/selective-service

So if the government can make you join the armed services for particular period of time, make you go through a physical, make you take a vaccine or vaccines, send you to wherever the fck they want you go, and even supply the body bag for you when the take you carcass back to your family. Oh, and you'll get free medical care from the VA if you survive. I guess that's nice.

I really hope we bring back the draft. It would fix so many problems we have right now.

[robillionaire]

I’m a member of some community forums in Florida as my parents live there, lots of complaining about NYers. Someone complained about noise from a church, “go back to NY.” Someone called police about gun use on nearby property “damn northerner”

Mind you they have no idea the identity of the person complaining.

I do wonder if more people moving to Florida will ever turn it back to a 50/50 red/blue state

That’s funny. I was born in Florida and my mom and grandparents and some other relatives still live there. Moved away when I was 7. But I also moved to New York for 6 years too. Now where I live in North Carolina people hate both NYers as well as Floridians because they’re both moving to this area and causing the prices to go up. When I bought my house the neighbors were relieved when I said I’m from Kentucky (where I lived for over 20 years) because they heard some New Yorkers bought it and were relieved to hear the hint of our southern drawl. People are getting weirdly territorial about their states I mean they really aren’t that different in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it’s because the confederacy is about to be reestablished in the next 5-10 yrs

The anti-deep state gobbleygook groupthink is probably everywhere you go now. I'm speaking specifically of people whose idea of a political conversation is to say:

1) They know something for a fact
2) Freeze up when you ask for it without the aid of the internet
3) When you offer up a fact or a counter-fact they say that is not true; or
4) They say your source is flawed
5) Then they ask what media you consume, because
6) CNN and WaPo are liars
7) Then they wash their hands of engagement, because they know what they know

I don't think Florida or any Red state has a monopoly on confederacy logic, because the general pop has been intellectually knee-capped by Fox and they can't think for themselves any longer

We are definitely a nation heading towards a separatist mindset, though it won't result in the fantasy of succession, because it has seeped in everywhere. I'll end up back North eventually and I'm sure I'll still encounter plenty of the same there, though I'll be surrounded by more like-minded folks in a big city.

I speak to Trump supporters every single day because I'm not afraid to engage and it always ends up the same. I'm not kidding, it is a giant loop. I calmly entertain their POV and offer a rebuttal, but I NEVER lose my cool. But boy howdy every single one of them melts down into a puddle of anger. The whole experience has made me much calmer in the face of adversity. Now it actually calms me down to be the only calm one in the midst of rage and incoherence

as you are well aware the whole deep state reptilian Illuminati one world government globalist elites thing is coded language to refer to a certain ethnicity without saying it, whether the speaker is aware of that or not that is the darkness that lies underneath it all

[Gorilla Monsoon]

put all unvaccinated people in Florida and build a wall on the border until we can figure out what the hell is going on down there

I’m a member of some community forums in Florida as my parents live there, lots of complaining about NYers. Someone complained about noise from a church, “go back to NY.” Someone called police about gun use on nearby property “damn northerner”

Mind you they have no idea the identity of the person complaining.

I do wonder if more people moving to Florida will ever turn it back to a 50/50 red/blue state

That’s funny. I was born in Florida and my mom and grandparents and some other relatives still live there. Moved away when I was 7. But I also moved to New York for 6 years too. Now where I live in North Carolina people hate both NYers as well as Floridians because they’re both moving to this area and causing the prices to go up. When I bought my house the neighbors were relieved when I said I’m from Kentucky (where I lived for over 20 years) because they heard some New Yorkers bought it and were relieved to hear the hint of our southern drawl. People are getting weirdly territorial about their states I mean they really aren’t that different in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it’s because the confederacy is about to be reestablished in the next 5-10 yrs

Why is it weird? People are territorial by nature, and crave homogeny by nature. It's not about black vs. white either. It's more like- hey, we like to hunt, and we believe in our right to bear arms. We don't want to live on top of each other. We want to have our land, our peace and quiet, and we want to live and let live. If you think the same way, you're welcome here. If you prefer the hustle and bustle of the city life, if you want to be loud and in our face about your progressive political beliefs, and if you think people should be required to be vaccinated just to enter a restaurant or a basketball game.... then stay in the f*cking city and away from my children lol. No need to come to the country side. Pretty simple, no? Same reason Clyde just admitted he's going to move back North. You've been propagandized to think it's all about race and restoring the confederacy.

[Gorilla Monsoon]

I really have to LOL at those here who think that their "freedoms" outweigh the government's interest in making you do certain things. And - oh yes - they can, they have, and they will again. Maybe a little history/civics lesson is in order.

The Draft. A draft is the mandatory enrollment of individuals into the armed forces. The United States military has been all-volunteer since 1973. But an act of Congress could still reinstate the draft in case of a national emergency.

https://www.usa.gov/selective-service

So if the government can make you join the armed services for particular period of time, make you go through a physical, make you take a vaccine or vaccines, send you to wherever the fck they want you go, and even supply the body bag for you when the take you carcass back to your family. Oh, and you'll get free medical care from the VA if you survive. I guess that's nice.

I really hope we bring back the draft. It would fix so many problems we have right now.

You've been radicalized. Not me.

[Clyde_Style]

If you are looking at this as a free speech issue that has been booted around these boards multiple times. Social Media platforms may be where we spend our time, but they are NOT the "Commons" in political terms. This board we're posting on and all of the other platforms are PRIVATE enterprises and they can choose whom to allow to post or not. You can call it censorship, but it their prerogative to ban or allow certain posters.

Moreover, Spotify is free to take the financial hit and back Rogan, but they're really only going to protect their investment in him, not his right to say whatever he wants. If they were all about that then they wouldn't have removed numerous past Rogan shows. They picked and chose which of his episodes to make available to subscribers long before Neil and Joni made their stand.

And it goes both ways since Young and Mitchell are choosing to forego a major royalty stream so I'd say they are exercising their free speech by putting their money where their mouth is.

It is a MARKETPLACE OF IDEAS, not a public park with a soapbox where you are protected by first amendment. They voted, just like Spotify has voted.

If the market doesn't support Rogan, then he's out of a job. Not that that is going to happen, but that's the deal. Pretending he is owed some form of protection against backlash is frankly absurd and anti-thetical to actual freedom of speech. Let people vote with their pocketbooks without turning this into a false narrative about a disrespect for freedom of speech, because in America people vote with their pocketbooks. They always have and they probably always will

Saying bad ideas should be given a platform is just an opinion, not a fact. They can be shot down on those platforms or told to take it somewhere else to be shot down, but Twitter and Spotify don't owed anybody an explanation. If you don't like their stance, don't use them. Or stop listening to Neil Young and Joni Mitchell, because they really don't give a chit if you do or you don't so they don't need your protection and neither do loud mouths who get de-platformed.

I'm not looking at it as a free speech issue. I don't use twitter, facebook or amazon because I believe these monopolies are mostly doing harm. I vote with my wallet and realize that's all I can do. Unfortunately, these platforms have so much political power that an anti-trust suit is a pipe dream and people are getting more addicted to shouting into their echo chambers by the minute. The "marketplace of ideas" holds that the truth will emerge from the competition of ideas in free, transparent and public discourse. I'm not sure where that is happening but I'm not seeing it.

Well, you framed it as a cancel culture issue. I answered those concerns, because it actually does hinge on bad discourse over the concept of free speech. If you sling around cancellation as something that you oppose or that makes you angry because someone gets de-platformed then you invoking the free speech issue because that is EXACTLY what most people who try to make "Cancel Culture" a thing try to leverage and, sorry, it is just intellectually bankrupt.

Cancel culture is not a thing. There is no one "culture" that coalesces around cancellation methodologies, because just as there are people who get pegged as SJW or "woke" there are just as many alt-right, Trumpy types trying to manipulate social media to their own ends in order to put somebody they don't like out of business.

Social media and the internet in general is a jungle so when you want something to be done as you're suggesting you're actually the one opening Pandora's Box, because saying the platforms have too much power, but should be regulated will just kick the ball into the hands of government. And if our government goes rogue again and destabilizes democratic institutions you could easily end up with a rogue state that now has regulatory power to shut down their opposition on social media.

So if you want free speech think twice about whom you want to control social media. Believe or not, market forces will be a safer mechanism to ensure who gets heard and who does not. And, personally, I have a huge problem with that too, because there are latent fascists inside Facebook. It still is better than the alternative. Think it through and you'll see where I'm coming from, because I know it is very possible a good person could get shut down under current conditions. There is no ideal solution so I will come on the side of free speech which include permitting profit-driven platforms to make their own decisions

I do think the platforms should be investigated if they collude in anti-democratic activities, but that's another discussion and wormhole. The EUROs have regulated commercial predation by Google and Facebook and it was Apple's move to nuke cookie tracking on their operating systems that are forcing changes in advertising. There are so many ways that regulation can be done without screwing up the first amendment. Trying to intercede on behalf of someone who got kicked off Twitter is not one of them

[Gorilla Monsoon]

That’s funny. I was born in Florida and my mom and grandparents and some other relatives still live there. Moved away when I was 7. But I also moved to New York for 6 years too. Now where I live in North Carolina people hate both NYers as well as Floridians because they’re both moving to this area and causing the prices to go up. When I bought my house the neighbors were relieved when I said I’m from Kentucky (where I lived for over 20 years) because they heard some New Yorkers bought it and were relieved to hear the hint of our southern drawl. People are getting weirdly territorial about their states I mean they really aren’t that different in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it’s because the confederacy is about to be reestablished in the next 5-10 yrs

The anti-deep state gobbleygook groupthink is probably everywhere you go now. I'm speaking specifically of people whose idea of a political conversation is to say:

1) They know something for a fact
2) Freeze up when you ask for it without the aid of the internet
3) When you offer up a fact or a counter-fact they say that is not true; or
4) They say your source is flawed
5) Then they ask what media you consume, because
6) CNN and WaPo are liars
7) Then they wash their hands of engagement, because they know what they know

I don't think Florida or any Red state has a monopoly on confederacy logic, because the general pop has been intellectually knee-capped by Fox and they can't think for themselves any longer

We are definitely a nation heading towards a separatist mindset, though it won't result in the fantasy of succession, because it has seeped in everywhere. I'll end up back North eventually and I'm sure I'll still encounter plenty of the same there, though I'll be surrounded by more like-minded folks in a big city.

I speak to Trump supporters every single day because I'm not afraid to engage and it always ends up the same. I'm not kidding, it is a giant loop. I calmly entertain their POV and offer a rebuttal, but I NEVER lose my cool. But boy howdy every single one of them melts down into a puddle of anger. The whole experience has made me much calmer in the face of adversity. Now it actually calms me down to be the only calm one in the midst of rage and incoherence

as you are well aware the whole deep state reptilian Illuminati one world government globalist elites thing is coded language to refer to a certain ethnicity without saying it, whether the speaker is aware of that or not that is the darkness that lies underneath it all

That's BS, and that's why I went from being a Trump guy to absolutely hating Trump's guts. He took what was once considered the "truther community", and turned them into racist republicans in the eyes of the left. It was a genius move.

[Clyde_Style]

I’m a member of some community forums in Florida as my parents live there, lots of complaining about NYers. Someone complained about noise from a church, “go back to NY.” Someone called police about gun use on nearby property “damn northerner”

Mind you they have no idea the identity of the person complaining.

I do wonder if more people moving to Florida will ever turn it back to a 50/50 red/blue state

That’s funny. I was born in Florida and my mom and grandparents and some other relatives still live there. Moved away when I was 7. But I also moved to New York for 6 years too. Now where I live in North Carolina people hate both NYers as well as Floridians because they’re both moving to this area and causing the prices to go up. When I bought my house the neighbors were relieved when I said I’m from Kentucky (where I lived for over 20 years) because they heard some New Yorkers bought it and were relieved to hear the hint of our southern drawl. People are getting weirdly territorial about their states I mean they really aren’t that different in the grand scheme of things. Maybe it’s because the confederacy is about to be reestablished in the next 5-10 yrs

Why is it weird? People are territorial by nature, and crave homogeny by nature. It's not about black vs. white either. It's more like- hey, we like to hunt, and we believe in our right to bear arms. We don't want to live on top of each other. We want to have our land, our peace and quiet, and we want to live and let live. If you think the same way, you're welcome here. If you prefer the hustle and bustle of the city life, if you want to be loud and in our face about your progressive political beliefs, and if you think people should be required to be vaccinated just to enter a restaurant or a basketball game.... then stay in the f*cking city and away from my children lol. No need to come to the country side. Pretty simple, no? Same reason Clyde just admitted he's going to move back North. You've been propagandized to think it's all about race and restoring the confederacy.

Florida is full of white people who are stone cold racists. Many of them still use the N word and when you tell them they're a racist for using it they say hey it's just a word, relax. In fact, it is a game some of them like to play to see what kind of white person you are. If you object, then you're just uptight and not one of them. They are everywhere here. You just don't seem to know it

[HarthorneWingo]

I really have to LOL at those here who think that their "freedoms" outweigh the government's interest in making you do certain things. And - oh yes - they can, they have, and they will again. Maybe a little history/civics lesson is in order.

The Draft. A draft is the mandatory enrollment of individuals into the armed forces. The United States military has been all-volunteer since 1973. But an act of Congress could still reinstate the draft in case of a national emergency.

https://www.usa.gov/selective-service

So if the government can make you join the armed services for particular period of time, make you go through a physical, make you take a vaccine or vaccines, send you to wherever the fck they want you go, and even supply the body bag for you when the take you carcass back to your family. Oh, and you'll get free medical care from the VA if you survive. I guess that's nice.

I really hope we bring back the draft. It would fix so many problems we have right now.

You've been radicalized. Not me.

Not a patriot, Bill?

So, I assume that you just want the poor and uneducated to serve in our armed services. That's nice of you. Maybe, just maybe, if the kids of the rich, affluent, and elite in the country, were compelled to serve, we wouldn't be so quick to war. Then maybe it would force the deciders here to ramp down as opposed to always ramping up. I'm playing chess here, Bill. You're still playing checkers.

[HarthorneWingo]

Just tested? that’s certainly a reasonable request.

I thought it was locking people away

They're allowing people in pubic venues without testing or proof of vaccination. Fake COVID cards are now a multi-million dollar business. How the fck do you think we're going to get out of this mess if people keep refusing to get vaccinated? The unvaccinated are responsible for the continued variants! Now there are those who simply don't have access to them. That's another story. But if you have access to them and still refuse them, then, yeah, you're the problem.

We get it- you're terrified of Covid. I won't make fun of you for that. I'm not a Covid denier. I've had it twice and it isn't fun, and I understand that it can kill people who are very old or who have serious underlying health issues. But the same can be said about the flu and other diseases we all may be exposed to.

The fact remains, the death rate and hospitalization rate for Covid are extremely low. And scientists who are smarter than you or me say we cannot vaccinate our way out of this. Covid is an endemic and will be with us forever. So stop trying to force inoculate people. It was Trump's corrupt administration who rushed this thing to the market. We have no long-term studies on the effects of this vaccine. There have already been many cases of extreme adverse effects and even deaths. Big Pharma is notoriously corrupt and untrustworthy, as well as liability-free as of 1986.

I just don't understand this extreme stance by some that we should all blindly take the jab or face punitive measures. And then these same people will turn around and say any thought of there being a global authoritarian agenda is cockamamie lol.

That's pretty funny ... I'm terrified of COVID. Hmmm. Well, I live with my immune-comprised mother. I'll be 64 in August. So, yeah, I have a keen interest in not dying like the other 800,000 Americans or suffering "long COVID" symptoms the rest of my life ... when all I have to do is get vaccinated.

You and your ilk, on the other, ARE afraid of the vaccine. I've heard all your arguments about your freedoms, you don't know what's in the vaccine, the government is going to microchip you, you'll be infertile ... yada, yada, yada.

We see you Bill.

[Gorilla Monsoon]

I really have to LOL at those here who think that their "freedoms" outweigh the government's interest in making you do certain things. And - oh yes - they can, they have, and they will again. Maybe a little history/civics lesson is in order.



https://www.usa.gov/selective-service

So if the government can make you join the armed services for particular period of time, make you go through a physical, make you take a vaccine or vaccines, send you to wherever the fck they want you go, and even supply the body bag for you when the take you carcass back to your family. Oh, and you'll get free medical care from the VA if you survive. I guess that's nice.

I really hope we bring back the draft. It would fix so many problems we have right now.

You've been radicalized. Not me.

Not a patriot, Bill?

So, I assume that you just want the poor and uneducated to serve in our armed services. That's nice of you. Maybe, just maybe, if the kids of the rich, affluent, and elite in the country, were compelled to serve, we wouldn't be so quick to war. Then maybe it would force the deciders here to ramp down as opposed to always ramping up. I'm playing chess here, Bill. You're still playing checkers.

Huh? Smh. If there's any label for me, it would be libertarian. I'm a non-interventionist. I don't want war anymore than you do, so we're on the same page there. But I also don't want to be forced into serving, and I don't want my future children or nephews to be either. Everything in this country and this world should be by choice, which I understand is an idealist point of view. But I have friends in the military who chose to be there. They are white and they aren't from poor families, which immediately shatters whatever mind-f*ckery you're trying to pull here. You continue to go down a slippery slope just to prove a point about vaccines.

Want to end wars? Let's surveil the government and surveil corporate America instead of letting them surveil us. Let's remove the corrupt pigs on both sides of the aisle. Let's beef up our defense systems to deter foreign governments from attacking our great nation, and let's bring our troops home to be with their families instead of being the world police and inspiring terrorism and anti-americanism. Just a few ideas that I hope you aren't repulsed by.

And yes, I am the artist formerly known as Bill Pidto. I know the mods know that, too. Stop trying to taunt me dude.

[Gorilla Monsoon]

They're allowing people in pubic venues without testing or proof of vaccination. Fake COVID cards are now a multi-million dollar business. How the fck do you think we're going to get out of this mess if people keep refusing to get vaccinated? The unvaccinated are responsible for the continued variants! Now there are those who simply don't have access to them. That's another story. But if you have access to them and still refuse them, then, yeah, you're the problem.

We get it- you're terrified of Covid. I won't make fun of you for that. I'm not a Covid denier. I've had it twice and it isn't fun, and I understand that it can kill people who are very old or who have serious underlying health issues. But the same can be said about the flu and other diseases we all may be exposed to.

The fact remains, the death rate and hospitalization rate for Covid are extremely low. And scientists who are smarter than you or me say we cannot vaccinate our way out of this. Covid is an endemic and will be with us forever. So stop trying to force inoculate people. It was Trump's corrupt administration who rushed this thing to the market. We have no long-term studies on the effects of this vaccine. There have already been many cases of extreme adverse effects and even deaths. Big Pharma is notoriously corrupt and untrustworthy, as well as liability-free as of 1986.

I just don't understand this extreme stance by some that we should all blindly take the jab or face punitive measures. And then these same people will turn around and say any thought of there being a global authoritarian agenda is cockamamie lol.

That's pretty funny ... I'm terrified of COVID. Hmmm. Well, I live with my immune-comprised mother. I'll be 64 in August. So, yeah, I have a keen interest in not dying like the other 800,000 Americans or suffering "long COVID" symptoms the rest of my life ... when all I have to do is get vaccinated.

You and your ilk, on the other, ARE afraid of the vaccine. I've heard all your arguments about your freedoms, you don't know what's in the vaccine, the government is going to microchip you, you'll be infertile ... yada, yada, yada.

We see you Bill.

Okay, so it sounds like we both found the perfect solution for our fears. You take the vaccine, and I don't. Done deal. Everyone wins. Right Wingo? (no pun intended)