Thread by @drjmetz

THREAD. This is truly getting scary. We’ve moved beyond creating policies in order to address the pandemic. We're creating policies to address *adhering* to policies. IOW, we're in a phase of the Corona Virus pandemic that's more frightening than the actual virus itself. (1/long)

You've seen stories of police overreach that go beyond sane precautions all over the world. People are getting arrested/fined not for harming others, but for simply *existing* outside of State-approved functions. Take this guy, e.g.: (2/long)

pjmedia.com/lifestyle/peak…

Fortunately, some people can run faster than the cops (the music makes this great) (3/long):

https://twitter.com/VinceVicious1/status/1248801161576173568?s=20

Not so funny, though, are the outright threats by government officials that they will search you to make sure that you are adhering to ambiguous “essential” activities. Next stop: quartering soldiers in your home with red coats. (4/long)

https://twitter.com/amyalkon/status/1248337613011877888?s=20

He has since tried to walk back the statement, but his retreat doesn’t fix the underlying problem. Determining whether the “journey was necessary” is no less invasive. It’s the same. damn. thing. (5/long)

https://twitter.com/NorthantsChief/status/1248230120789282818?s=20

Worse, there are attempts to silence dissent (always a mark of bad policy). As David Allen Green points out, the laws are being written so that you cannot comment or criticize on the laws because, well, “emergency.” (6/n)

davidallengreen.com/2020/04/ultra-…

What is “essential” is more slippery than wearing greased slippers on ice. Vermont’s rules for what is or is not “essential” has some extremely questionable unintended consequences. (7/n)

https://twitter.com/JasonBermas/status/1245718086415720449?s=20

See for yourself what Vermont has ordered businesses to do. And the corresponding FAQ makes it clear as mud. (8/n)

accd.vermont.gov/press-releases…

Michigan’s governor has gone full-on control freak. She, and other governors like her, know that by the time someone gets around to challenging the constitutionality, she’ll be laughing all the way to the police state (9/n):

fox2detroit.com/news/new-michi…

Kentucky has simply said, “You know what? that whole “prohibiting the free exercise [of religion]?” part of the 1st Amendment? Psyche! (10/n)

foxnews.com/politics/kentu…

We are now entering the “Good Citizen” phase of crisis control. Expect to hear this phrase more and more in the upcoming weeks. In fact, several of my friends have already posted virtue-signaling tweets about adhering to citizenship. (11/n)

How do you know if someone is being a “good citizen?” Look no further than the visible demands from people who are adamant that you are *not* doing “something.” Even "Duck and Cover" qualifies. (12/n)

thesun.co.uk/tvandshowbiz/1…

I mentioned “Duck and Cover” earlier, but then realized that many people don’t know the reference. In the 1950s the threat of nuclear war gripped the entire world. A campaign was made to help children learn how to behave in the event of an attack (13/n)

Duck and Cover was a way to help people come to grips with fear and anxiety; gave them something to do. Sadly, it was about as useful as hiding in a lead-lined refrigerator (*cough*Indiana Jones*cough*) (14/n)

history.com/news/duck-cove…

What kind of “duck and cover” policies am I referring to now in regards to Corona Virus? There are a number of them, but one of the biggest ones has to do with requiring masks. (15/n)

washingtonpost.com/local/the-cdc-…

I’ve seen many people panic because they can’t get masks, and are afraid they’re going to catch COVID as a result. Stories like this engender sympathy for those on the “front lines,” and perpetuate the biggest myth about masks (16/n)

freep.com/story/news/hea…

Masks and bandanas do *not* protect YOU from getting sick. They protect other people *FROM* you (17/n)

nationalpost.com/news/canada/wu…

That’s the reason why articles about nurses complaining about not getting masks is misleading: they wear masks to prevent *themselves* from spreading illnesses to patients. After all, they come into contact with so many different ones that *they* are more likely to spread. (18/n)

And it's why stories like these are so infuriating. It assumes that people *are* sick and need to be stopped, and that you are not being a "good citizen" by not following the rules. (19/n)

philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2020/04/10/cor…

But here we get into the crux of the issue - the issue of legislating compliance. We have moved beyond precautionary measures into flat out State domination of the individual. My previous thread was all about how this was based upon suspect data. (20/n)

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1246824…

Sadly, we have stopped questioning that data - which remains suspect to the degree of over-inflating risk. This is all based upon a misperception of what we’re dealing with. Yes, it’s bad, but we have lost all sense of perspective. (21/n)

visualcapitalist.com/history-of-pan…

Conforming is a known herd-like behavior, the desire to fit in. This is a humorous example but it explains a lot about the reason why people are behaving the way they are about masks and wondering why others are not conforming. (22/n)

There is a third phase here once the social pressures are in place. It’s the one that Gates has been talking about, that China has started implementing, that the EU is saying is inevitable. (23/n)

theguardian.com/politics/2020/…

It’s not just the EU. American boogeyman Henry Kissinger steps up to the plate as well. “A global retreat from balancing power with legitimacy will cause the social contract to disintegrate both domestically and internationally.” (24/n)

theguardian.com/politics/2020/…

We've gotten to where you need to actively prove you are behaving properly. The ACLU refuses to protect individual liberties any longer. We need to call on each other to avoid pushing the needle further and slow Phase 3 of this. Otherwise, this: (25/end)

finance.yahoo.com/news/people-ch…

Copy and paste error. Here's the correct link:

henryakissinger.com/articles/the-c…