There are definitely bits of this I like, and the conclusion about how housebroken US so-called anarchists are does ring true, but "those who would have a mask mandate in a pandemic are just as bad as those who would have a mask ban is just
Not a huge fan of everything it says (I didn’t write this or anything), but I think what it’s saying is that they used it as an excuse to exercise more control rather than actually save people from COVID. It says later that the state “is completely unable to actually enforce any mandates” so it “put the entire responsibility of ending the pandemic on the individual” and “literally left everyone to die of COVID”. They don’t believe a mask mandate or ban will be effective at getting people to actually do those things, but it will shift the blame onto individuals rather than systemic failures.
I still dont think theyre equally or comparably bad things to do but I appreciate the clarification, you’re probably right
Yeah, the author isn’t exactly in the right here, but I wanted to stick up for them a little.
that they used it as an excuse to exercise more control rather than actually save people from COVID.
But what are this person’s (or group’s) concrete ideas for responding to Covid? There’s a lot of vague talk about “we keep us dangerous” and “security and safety have always been lies sold by the State and ruling class for the expense of freedom” and plenty of criticism for the state response, but almost nothing on what should have been done, or should be done. A particularly bad-faith reading takes something like
there is more to life than the mere fact of biological survival
as some reactionary “let me spread a deadly virus so I can get a haircut,” except with an anarchist aesthetic rather than a chud one. A more charitable reading might assume they want pandemics to be dealt with through community, mutual aid. I’m unsure though how that would differ from
many leftists and radicals…shaming people…for diverging from these rules
since it would just be leftists and radicals asking people to wear masks again. Maybe they’re mad the leftists and radicals asked so uncivilly?
I agree with the topic itself, the liberal creep in left-wing spaces is a real issue. I’m unsure how to deal with it myself since the left in the US is so small, most people are learning, and to learn you necessarily must go through a radlib phase as you seek to excise your brain worms.
But this person has no concrete ideas themself for how to do this either, how to respond to the liberal creep. Only vague statements. And furthermore, instead of tackling the issues of
calling for US imperial intervention in Syria to voting for Bernie
or trying to explain and define this issue of liberal creep, giving examples of where it shows up, most of the essay is just complaining about Covid in an extremely chud-adjacent manner. I mean
even when [those rules] blatantly made no “sense” even by epidemiological principles
I’m trying to read this in good faith, but I’d love to know what the rules were that they feel made no sense
But what are this person’s (or group’s) concrete ideas for responding to Covid
It’s the only post on a free wordpress account, from 2022, so I don’t think we’ll every know.
most of the essay is just complaining about Covid in an extremely chud-adjacent manner
Yeah, I’m sorta regretting posting it
I’m trying to read this in good faith, but I’d love to know what the rules were that they feel made no sense
No idea what they mean specifically, but “outdoor mask wearing — something that many experts have said is unlikely to help since the virus is extremely unlikely to be transmitted over distances outside”[1] might be it.
outdoor mask wearing
yeah, I mean that’s fair. I’m not saying there weren’t rules that didn’t make sense, I just wish they expounded on some of these statements a bit, to give more clarity as to where this person/group is really coming from.
Anarchy has never promised the delusion of safety, it is the beautiful idea of freedom and self-determination.
how can one be free and self-determine if one is not safe?
I definitely agree with you, but author is trying to emphasize that it’s a “delusion”. They state “there is not a possibility of a perfect “safe place.””.
How do you measure safety? At what threshold of safety are freedom and self-determination made possible, or to invert it, at what threshold of safety are those things impossible? Most people feel quite safe while they commute to work even though a split second lapse of judgment by any of hundreds or thousands of people could instantly end their life. Most children feel quite safe in American schools even though we all know how common school shootings are.
You can strip away the delusion of safety without making anything any more dangerous than it is right now.
“Liberals: do us a favor and shoot yourself.”
Let 'er rip Covid policy packaged with an anarchist veneer. Just another part of the liberal creep they’re trying to complain about
Only if you look ignore the last few paragraphs. They literally criticize the “hands off approach to dealing with the pandemic” and the “liberal strategy to get us back to work”. The state “is completely unable to actually enforce any mandates” and "All the while, the ruling class and technocrats continue to reap the benefits of the death while having a facade of a moral high ground. ". “Nor, to us, does “freedom” mean re-opening the economy”. Their main criticism is of the “faith in the social contract”. The American State is only pretending to keep you safe, to better assert control, rather than actually protecting you.
