On Being Sane In Insane Places

In 2021, I made 38 posts to this blog and that translates to slightly more than 3 posts per month. So far, as the middle of February 2022 approaches, I've made only a single post: BISHOP RICHARD WILLIAMSON. Why so?

First up, you have to be careful what you say. The following February 9th 2022 article reporting on a DHS (Department of Homeland Security) announcement presages clearly what's coming:

DHS warns against mistrust of US government in latest terror bulletin

​The Department of Homeland Security’s latest terrorism threat bulletin includes a warning against “the proliferation of false or misleading narratives, which sow discord or undermine public trust in U.S. government institutions.”

The bulletin, issued Monday and in effect until at least June 7, blamed an “online environment filled with false or misleading narratives and conspiracy theories, and other forms of mis-, dis- and mal-information introduced and/or amplified by foreign and domestic threat actors.

“These threat actors seek to exacerbate societal friction to sow discord and undermine public trust in government institutions to encourage unrest, which could potentially inspire acts of violence,” DHS went on. “Mass casualty attacks and other acts of targeted violence conducted by lone offenders and small groups acting in furtherance of ideological beliefs and/or personal grievances pose an ongoing threat to the nation.”

Before too long, simply questioning the official narrative may flag you as a terrorist in most countries of the world. Once social credit scores are in place, even seemingly mild criticisms of governments will cause you to lose points and just following certain people, groups or causes will negatively impact your score, even if you say nothing yourself. Right now, even quoting Government issued facts and figures, can lead to censorship on social media platforms (because it has not emanated from the government itself).

In such a climate, as already exists in China at the moment, criticism of the government cannot be explicit or else there will be consequences. Resourceful citizens have created workarounds. For example, using images or references to Winnie the Pooh in place of Xi Jinping worked for a while until the CCP clamped down. See Figure 1.

Figure 1: source

So, to connect to the title of this post, it is humour (or humor as the Americans say) that can help one to remain sane in insane places (and the whole world is an insane place today). Cartoons have always been a popular means of lampooning politicians. While composing this post, I suddenly thought of a clever modification of the well-known triple j logo in Australia. Figure 2 shows what I came up with:

Figure 2

I posted this to Facebook with the comment:

I couldn't resist creating this. Non-Australians may not have heard of triple j but most Aussies have. Should my modification of triple j's logo be interpreted as promoting public health or as taking the piss out of government directives?

PS: it's telling that 17 hours later the post has a mere 4 likes with no comments whatsoever. So much for stimulating debate.

An important aspect of humour is that it's not too in your face. The graphic in Figure 2 can be taken at face value or it can be seen as sarcasm. It's in the eye (or the mind) of the beholder. In the future, if criticism of government is to survive, it will need to be nuanced and double-edged.

A second reason for my paucity of posts is simply a sense of defeatism. Why bother? When you realise you are sane in an insane place, it is tempting to just give up and keep quiet. Creating a disturbance in the insane asylum will not make your stay any more pleasant.

Whether this blog will survive or not is questionable. It began on November 20th 2015 with a post about The Corbett Report that I'd only just discovered. In 2016 I made four posts:

• New Polio Vaccine in April
• The Hidden Agenda Behind Free Trade Agreements in May
• Steemit and Beyond the Zika Freakout in September

After that the blog gathered momentum with an average of 32 posts per year over the next five years (2017 to 2021). Maybe I should read back over these past posts in order to remind myself where I've come from and thus help me get some idea of where I might be headed.

Looking back to the middle of 2015 when I retired and before I started this blog, my only contact with alternative media had been via discursive viewing of YouTube videos on various topics such as 9/11, the death of Diana etc. I had this to say about James Corbett in my very first post:

In my quest for alternative media sources, I recently stumbled upon The Corbett Report's YouTube channel and watched several of the videos there. I was impressed. He expresses himself very clearly and logically with supporting documentation taken largely from publicly accessible, verifiable sources.

It's only since becoming acquainted with Brendon O'Connell that I've had to admit my naiveté concerning James Corbett. He has been dubbed "Tokyo Rose" by Brendon who regards him as controlled opposition. Banished from YouTube, James has become a dominant and widely respected figure in alternative media circles. While he has an annoyingly didactic and condescending style of speaking, I still enjoy watching his content. 

The powers-that-be recognise the need to create spaces where those who are disaffected with and disbelieving of the mainstream narrative can gather and vent their spleen. These places become echo chambers where nothing much happens and the discontent is contained, not disrupting the roll out of Agenda 2030. 

It's not that James has signed a contract to become a member of the controlled opposition. Instead, he operates within certain boundaries. There are lines that he dare not cross. His reward is that he lives a comfortable lifestyle in the "sunny climes of Western Japan". Were he to bring up topics like Israel's control of cybersecurity or the secret deal between Iran and Israel or the real implications of the belt and road initiative, he would find that the flow of funds would quickly dry up and somebody else, more compliant, would be promoted to take his place.

David Icke, Alex Jones and others are also controlled opposition, attracting a certain demographic and creating their own echo chambers where there's a lot of froth and fury but little action that would disrupt the "Agenda". While I can still watch James Corbett, I can't stomach watching Icke or Jones or most of the other controlled opposition personalities. I enjoy "New World Next Week" in which he teams up with James Evan Pilato. The latter is more inclined to cross boundaries but has learned to keep his tongue in check most of the time, although he clearly has lapses and even mentions "Israel" from time to time!

Tank Man

The iconic figure of tank man has gotten Michael Leunig fired from his long time position of cartoonist at The Age because of a recent cartoon that he has now posted to his Instagram account.

Here is the story as reported by RECLAIM THE NET:

A Melbourne-based newspaper, The Age, fired a political cartoonist after he compared COVID-19 vaccine mandates to the Tiananmen Square tanks threatening “Tank Man.”

Michael Leunig, a cartoonist referred to as a “living national treasure,” lost his role after he posted the cartoon. He included a drawing of a man staring at a large injection (vaccine) alongside a widely used photo from the Tiananmen pro-democracy protests of 1989 where a man is staring at a tanker.

The newspaper rejected the cartoon. Leunig proceeded to post the cartoon on his Instagram, drawing a lot of criticism from those who support vaccine mandates.

Amid the controversy, Leunig was fired by the newspaper’s political section, where he had worked for more than two decades.

The Age’s editor, Gay Alcorn, allegedly described Leunig as “brilliant.” He confirmed that Leunig’s talent would no longer be featured in the paper’s editorial page.

Leunig accused The Age of “wokeism and humorlessness.” He insisted that the cartoon was an accurate representation of the situation in Melbourne.

“The Tiananmen Square image is often used in cartoons around the world as a Charlie Chaplin-like metaphor for overwhelming force meeting the innocent powerless individual. In my view, it is a fair enough issue to raise in the most locked-down city in the world,” the cartoonist said.

Melbourne has had the longest cumulative lockdown of 262 days.

Yet another indicator of how bad the situation in Australia has become and, judging by the negative comments to his Instagram post, it's sad to see how many are simply accepting it. Here are some examples:

• Embarrassed to have ever been a fan
• This is grossly offensive to the memory of those killed at Tiananmen Square. Sincerely, a former fan.
• It is so sad when your heroes fall. This post is shameful
• You’ve lost the plot mate. This makes me so sad
• Get the needle, get on with your life and focus your attention on the many more pressing issues this world has to offer.
• Ugh. I used to idolise you.
• This is the dumbest thing I’ve seen for a while

There are many more comments in support of course but it's interesting to note how divisive the reaction to the post has been. Michael Leunig was born on June 2nd 1945 and is now 76 years old and at least one candle confronting the darkness that has settled upon us.

The vaccine mandates remind me of the conscription in Australia back in the 60s and early 70s. Michael Leunig posted this about twelve weeks ago:

ON THIS DAY IN 1965...

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A young Australian male protests in public about being conscripted into a disastrous war he cannot believe in.

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He is abused by passers-by. He is called a selfish coward, a shameful traitor and a threat to the common good.

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Politicians and the media defame and insult him. He is ridiculed, threatened and spat on. He feels the shock of a police baton.

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Eventually the atrocious war becomes a debacle and a tragedy. Millions are killed. In Australia anti-war protests fill the streets in the big cities.

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The young man takes part but is solemn. "Where were you all seven years ago" he says to himself. Australia retreats from the conflict.

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To this day he is skeptical about those who seek political power. He has more respect for the instincts of protest than the edicts of government.

Back when I was conscripted in 1970, support for the war was widespread and any opposition was ridiculed. I spoke more about this in an earlier post on another blog titled Everything Old Is New Again.

Here is another of his posts with comments following:

1. Join the tourist hordes swarming over the cities of Europe where the citizens will hate them for destroying local culture.

2. Go to football stadiums and watch young athletes inflicting concussion injuries upon each other.

3. Go to art galleries and take selfies while jostling for position in front of Van Gogh and Monet paintings.

4. Go to night clubs, drink bad alcohol, suffer hearing damage and risk a coward punch while leaving the premises.

5. Go to the theatre and see Phantom of the Opera or Cats as often as you like.

6. Look down upon the unvaccinated and call them idiots, morons and nut-jobs.