No, it's not a joke! We are now officially being told to always wear TWO face coverings. Here's my response, in pictorial form:
We know that one mask is like trying to stop mosquitoes with a chain link fence. Two chain link fences have as much chance at stopping mosquitoes as two cloth masks have at stopping viruses. Almost none.
Let's make it 3!
Yes, again, I have to remind you that I'm not kidding. This is not satire. CNBC is now telling the masses to consider TRIPLE masking!
Even if that's really stopping 90% of the viruses, you're letting 10% of them - billions - right on through. How many does it take to cause infection?
Better ideas?
Don't cover your face at all. Don't affix warm moist cloth against your oral and nasal openings - that's inviting bacterial respiratory infections (which are currently on the rise). Don't obstruct your vision. Improve your immune system with fresh air, sunlight, and vitamins C, D, and Zinc. Don't block communication with others. Use facial expressions. Don't scare babies. Get enough oxygen to your brain. Reduce stress. Get enough sleep. And stop submitting to authorities that don't care about you.
What is Gaslighting?
To help understand what's going on here, I want to provide a quick review on what gaslighting is and how we might protect ourselves against it.
Gaslighting is a type of manipulation (psychological and social influence) which causes the victims to doubt their perceptions, memory, judgment, and/or sanity. Over time this leads to breakdown of self-esteem, performance, and health, making the victim more vulnerable on the attacker. Denial, shaming, disparaging the victim in front of others, contradictory statements, and misinformation are some methods use to destabilize the target and discredit their beliefs. The abuser often denies past abuse has occurred, confusing and demoralizing the victim. Other blatant lies, repeated often, break down the victim's defenses, strip their confidence, and even push them into a state of trauma or psychosis.
It is a tactic used by sociopaths on their individual victims, and by states on their citizens. The more tyrannical the state, the more likely they are to employ gaslighting against its people.
We are being gaslit, my friends.
How to respond to gaslighters is a long discussion which I'll fully cover in a future article. In short:
- Recognize that it's happening. This disables at least half the attacker's power.
- Don't let on immediately that you've noticed. This is an ace up your sleeve. Watch the attacker's tactics.
- Each time such an attack happens, decide if it merits response or not. If you're not sure, wait.
- Eventually the attacker will do something which clearly has gone over a line, done something illegal or dangerous, said something extreme to try to provoke a reaction from you, etc. Call them out and expose them.
Not reacting (until the time is right) takes away the brunt of their power, and if you can get them to over-extend their strategy, and you're ready to spot it and take action at just the right moment, you can take them out for good.
How does that apply to being told to wear multiple masks?
- Recognize we're being gaslit. They lose half their power.
- Don't react, don't comply, but don't freak out. Continue to watch the state's tactics.
- It's not time to react. Do your best not to let it get to you. You're not alone.
- They will eventually overplay their gaslighting hand.
There are billions of us, so coordinating some kind of response would be impossible. But if individuals know this is happening, they can at least begin to develop a personal strategy and defense.
Do what you can to smile! Fake it till you make it, if you have to. Depression and anxiety are killers FAR more insidious than any virus.
DRutter
