Read their statement. It is telling that it is littered with signal phrases that indicate the writers have very little knowledge, and never bothered to study in depth (or perhaps even at all) before drafting it.
Example:
"vaccines...protect our most vulnerable, such as children"
This is one place where vaccine hesitancy (minimally!) is well justified; for the risk, it would be crazy to mass-vaccinate children. Total all-time covid deaths, ages 5-11: **94**. cdc.gov/vaccines/acip/…
Example:
"dispel mistrust and misunderstanding of vaccine science"
You do not have to investigate long before realizing that there is a great deal to mistrust in what we've been told about these vaccines, starting with the statements of leading politicians (e.g. Biden, "if you
take the vax, you won't get covid"), but hardly ending there.
You do not have to investigate long before realizing that "mistrust and misunderstanding" of science and public health policy has been sewn by the actions of scientists and public health policy-makers themselves.
The whole covid episode stinks to high heaven, on multiple levels, including but hardly limited to the vaccines, but the GP authors seem to be too careless and lazy to even try to produce a decent, well-informed critical statement about it.
Perhaps worst of all: the GP has missed a great opportunity to take a LEADERSHIP role in this crucial meta-issue, the fallout of which will run for decades. They've clearly planted themselves in the "irrelevant" (or worse) column, perhaps forever.
I fear that the rot began many moons ago, with Cobb in 2004. All downhill since.
Hunch: after Nader's unexpectedly strong showing in 2000, Green Party was ID-ed as potential trouble-maker (focus for radical democratic change), then targeted for CIA-mediated infiltration w/the likes of Cobb and acolytes, and many others, resulting in destruction.
Dear @ChrisLynnHedges:
Your famous remark - “We live in a nation where doctors destroy health, lawyers destroy justice, universities destroy knowledge, govs destroy freedom, media destroys information, religion destroys morals, and banks destroy the economy" - needs an update.
With the covid clusterfuck we have seen how:
-- Scientists destroy science
-- Pro-vaxxers foster anti-vax-ism
-- Public health authorities foster public ill-health
-- Human rights leaders deny human rights
-- Leftists enthusiastically advocate fascist policies
The covid clusterfuck has added new dimensions to your original remark, very very BIG ones, and has done so with incredible speed.
So it is all the more remarkable that you've chosen not to speak out about these things.
Really good interview. Paul Kingsnorth puts his finger on the deeper issues underlying the current covid wars. If you don't have time to listen to the whole thing, might I suggest listening to:
1: Kingsnorth's opening statement, 1:30-7:00
2: Key bottom lines, 27:30-30:30
... but if you listen to those two passages, you'll probably wind up listening to the whole thing, which is to the good. It is worth it.
Scrolling through the (twitter) responses to Kingsnorth's views, I note many violently rejecting him and denouncing him as "anti-vaxxer" and the like. Which is truly crazy. They are missing the point and demonstrating only that they are incapable of grasping what he is saying.