A student that I used to teach made a Facebook post in which she had drawn a fine sketch of Amanda Gorman with the comment: Just cause she's amazing ❤. I'd never heard of this person so I went to the fount of all wisdom, Wikipedia, to find out more about her.
Amanda S. C. Gorman (born 1998) is an American poet and activist. Her work focuses on issues of oppression, feminism, race, and marginalisation, as well as the African diaspora. Gorman was the first person to be named National Youth Poet Laureate. She published the poetry book The One for Whom Food Is Not Enough in 2015. In 2021, she delivered her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of U.S. President Joe Biden. Her poem threw her in to the national spotlight and got her praise from celebrities like Oprah Winfrey, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Lady Gaga.
Oh dear. But wait it gets worse:
In 2020, Gorman presented "Earthrise", a poem focused on the climate crisis. Gorman read her poem "The Hill We Climb" at the inauguration of Joe Biden on January 20, 2021, and is the youngest poet to read at a presidential inauguration in United States history. Jill Biden recommended her for the inauguration. After January 6, 2021, Gorman amended her poem's wording to address the storming of the United States Capitol. During the week before the inauguration, she told Washington Post book critic Ron Charles, "My hope is that my poem will represent a moment of unity for our country" and "with my words, I'll be able to speak to a new chapter and era for our nation." Soon after Gorman's performance at the inauguration, her two upcoming books, the poetry collection "The Hill We Climb" and a project for youth, "Change Sings: A Children's Anthem", were at the top of Amazon's bestseller list. Both are scheduled to be released in September 2021. A book version of the poem "The Hill We Climb" is scheduled to be released on March 16, 2021, with a foreword by Oprah Winfrey, and each of Gorman's three upcoming books will have first printings of one million copies. IMG Models and its parent company WME signed Gorman for representation in fashion, beauty, and talent endorsements.
Clearly Amanda is doing well for herself but she is clearly being marketed as the acceptable face of black activism. Here is snap from The Guardian just adding emphasis to the fact that she is a media darling. I must confess that I couldn't bring myself to read the article nor even seek out her poem. Suffice to know that she "stole the inauguration show".
This same ex-student of mine has done a more recent portrait of Greta Thunberg with the comment:
Young people like Amanda Gorman and Greta Thunberg are media manufactured to represent the acceptable face of youth activism. The marketing campaign has been successful in capturing the admiration of the youth cohort who really believe these cartoon characters offer hope for the future. For septuagenarians like myself to criticise them on Facebook would provoke a furious backlash I'm sure. I've no doubt that many would defriend me or at least write me off as a deluded curmudgeon.
It's only other young people who might persuade them to see beyond the marketing and propaganda. Yet, I don't hold out much hope of this happening. Another of my ex-students, living in Melbourne, was unquestioning in her support of the lockdowns there and the mainstream Covid-19 narrative. One can only read with dismay articles like the Covid Vaccine Arm from a relatively young doctor writing in Psychology Today.
When I woke up on day eight after that first vaccine shot, my right upper arm was very itchy, and a red, round lesion about two inches in diameter was at the place where I had the shot. As my underarm felt swollen, I put my left hand under my armpit and felt an enlarged lymph node. I had no fever, muscle ache, no other systemic symptom or rash in any other part of my body. I was puzzled.
Linda had contacted the CDC describing her symptoms. The CDC told her that her symptoms “were unlikely to represent a long-term safety concern” and were “not considered a precaution or contraindication to vaccination with the second dose.” The CDC recommended having the second injection in the other arm. This was very reassuring.
Repression or the Zeigarnik Effect?My vaccination against COVID-19 released energy trapped by repressed anxiety.
This week my husband and I rejoiced after our first injection of a COVID-19 vaccine. The Governor of New York had just expanded eligibility to include Group 1b. David had secured next-day hospital appointments for both of us. Less than 36 hours later, we were inoculated. I had not expected the intensity of my relief as we drove home.
I thought about the psychology that might explain both my joy and my surprise. What accounted for the emotional intensity following the sudden reality of getting vaccinated? With my background in public health and epidemiology as well as psychology, I had known a vaccine was coming and had become comfortable with the decision to get in line as soon as it was available. Nonetheless, warned of supply shortages and complications in delivery, I had expected at least three months of delay. We got lucky.
It's not worth even mentioning the Zeigarnik Effect that she references as the woman is clearly insane. The Governor of New York that she is referring to is none other than prime scumbag Andrew Cuomo. On paper, the woman who wrote this article is no fool:
Roni Beth Tower, Ph.D., is a retired clinical, research and academic psychologist. Tower earned her B.A. in religion at Barnard, Ph.D. from Yale, and did postdoctoral work in epidemiology and public health at Yale Medical School. She taught at Yale and Columbia University (Teachers College). She authored many journal articles and chapters and the memoir Miracle at Midlife: A Transatlantic Romance. She also writes regularly for BonjourParis.com. Link.
The mass media is awash with pro-vaccination articles like these and Psychology Today seems especially egregious. The magazine also features an article from a mathematician titled Why So Many Are Gambling with Contracting Covid-19 who writes:
All I ever do say is forget the mathematics and do as the nineteenth century naïve gambler did when the stakes were high: Use your instincts. Do you seriously believe the FDA would approve a vaccine for millions of Americans without overwhelming scientific evidence of safety?
As it turns out he has little to say mathematically and his essential message is to trust the FDA, an organisation that is as corrupt as the CDC. It's apparent that most people believe unquestioningly in the efficacy of vaccines and in the integrity of organisations overseeing public health like the FDA, CDC and WHO. That's to be expected of course given the control over mainstream media.
However, these people do not want alternative views to be voiced at all. Consider this petition initiated by a nurse in Melbourne:
This representation of an atom with electrons whizzing around a nucleus as little balls like planets around a sun is quite inaccurate. It is not possible to determine the exact positions of the electrons due to the Heisenberg Uncertainty Principle and to try to do so in a T-shirt logo is simply promoting bad science. I'd be embarrassed to wear this T-shirt because I'd be advertising my inability to grasp science.
No comments:
Post a Comment