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How I Came to Need Imaginary Friends After Two Long Years of This Dystopian Nightmare of Masks, Tests and Distancing

by Jill Evans
19 February 2022 2:11 PM

It has been such a long two years. I have been swimming against the tide for most of that time, searching for alternatives to the oppression I have felt and witnessed, raging and grieving over the damage done to so many lives, especially the young. I rage against being part of a huge worldwide experiment. I rage against the crazy rules, the propaganda, and most of all the masks. 

We are now perhaps emerging blinking into a life without Covid rules and yet the masks and their wearers are still everywhere. The natural world is unchanged, but the human world is still dystopian. An invitation to a singing workshop involves a lateral flow test before you go, social distancing of one metre, and masks when not singing. Two friends required a lateral flow test before a visit.

I no longer support any political party, any campaign group, newspaper or magazine. The Left has left me. I am appalled by the role trade unions have played. My principles have not altered, but I have lost my place in the wider world.  

My small world has changed too. Around me are my partner, my sister and her partner and four friends who have rejected some or all of the orthodoxy of Covid in our lives. And there is another close friend who doesn’t know what she thinks. These people have been warm support and good company.

The rest of my friends and family have been ‘conformist’ and one has rejected me altogether. These relationships have lost in trust and intimacy. My disappointment runs deep. Talking about what we have lived through seems very hard to do and nothing feels as it used to because I am so changed and we are all changed. I cannot see how we heal ourselves and relationships unless there is dialogue. There is an elephant in the room.

There are people out there that I feel in some way connected to: scientists like Carl Heneghan, the Great Barrington authors Sunetra Gupta, Jay Bhattacharya and Martin Kulldorff, psychologist Gary Sidley, writers and philosophers like Charles Eisenstein, Paul Kingsnorth and Lionel Shriver, A State of Fear author Laura Dodsworth, and many more. These are my imaginary friends who are out there questioning and campaigning. Their writing helps me at least feel not entirely mad. I can’t find a way at the moment to be part of anything I really believe in except for helping the Smile Free campaign from my computer.

Tags: Face MasksLateral Flow TestsLockdown harmsPandemicPropagandaSocial distancing

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162 Comments
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ImpObs
ImpObs
2 years ago

promoting “respect for democracy, the rule of law and good governance”

critique the government and get cancelled, this is respecting democracy how?

49
0
Ron Smith
Ron Smith
2 years ago
Reply to  ImpObs

Yup it is open for a wide range of interpretation. Just like the (abuse of) Public Health Act 1984.

22
-1
huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
2 years ago

Those reasons include: “the interests of national security”, furthering the “foreign policy objectives of the Government”, promoting “compliance with international humanitarian law”, promoting “respect for democracy, the rule of law and good governance” and “for the purposes of compliance with a UN obligation”.

Just which of the above have the British government complied with these last two and half years?

Ok, perhaps “compliance with a UN obligation” – no surprise there.

As I keep repeating, switch any government pronouncements completely and you will be closer to the truth.

“respect for democracy and the rule of law?” – oh do ferk off you lying barstewards.

36
0
Alter Ego
Alter Ego
2 years ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

Tyrants throughout the ages use essentially the same language, and they share the same hypocrisy: “national security” means their security; “humanitarian” means anything they like.

But the outright and unabashed lying comes out with “respect for democracy, the rule of law and good governance”. Who, in their right mind, believes this? Are they laughing at us?

27
0
huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
2 years ago
Reply to  Alter Ego

Sadly AE I believe the wannabee powers that be are now emboldened by the ease with which they have beaten down and infantilised the Western populations. So yes, they are laughing at us.

26
0
Alter Ego
Alter Ego
2 years ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

Yes – I think that’s the great danger we face.

People were beaten down and infantilised with an ease I think most of us here found shocking, but that tyrants (big and small) found enthralling.

We saw an explosion of self-righteous bullying. There are people who love their new normal, and they serve as the troops on the ground and the thought police.

The tyrants they serve will now push until we resist. We have to have our red line, and fight this – or abandon lives worth living.

21
0
Grumman
Grumman
2 years ago
Reply to  Alter Ego

Who will ever forget MattHancock laughing at us along with Piers Morgan? The problem with these people is they never learned or understood history.

1
0
Matt Dalby
Matt Dalby
2 years ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

“compliance with a UN obligation” is perhaps the most disturbing.
If the Paris Climate Accord is a UN obligation is the government now calling for any website that contains anything that could be classed as promoting a climate sceptic view to be blocked?

4
0
Backlash
Backlash
2 years ago

Somebody should invent and launch “Internet v2”, a place where none of this bollocks ever applies

26
0
RedhotScot
RedhotScot
2 years ago
Reply to  Backlash

It’s being done right now.

11
0
civilliberties
civilliberties
2 years ago

the Russia situation is being used in the UK as the patriot act is being used in the US, the patriot act was sold as a temp measure in 2001 after 9/11, its still on the books 21 yrs later. Same here, use the current situation to force through vague laws and regulations and then use them however you like.

“And who is a “designated person”? It is simply somebody designated by the Secretary of State as being on the Russia sanctions list”.

imagine how that will work in say “election time” “oh look, this info that we don’t like is coming from erm, russia, better block it”

20
0
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
2 years ago
Reply to  civilliberties

Russia interfered in the elections, look 49 people from the CIA said Biden’s laptop is Russian misinformation…

6
0
Lockdown Sceptic
Lockdown Sceptic
2 years ago

Tell me, Boris, is the pandemic treaty a step towards World Government?
https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/tell-me-boris-is-the-pandemic-treaty-a-step-towards-world-government/
Dr Deborah Ancell

Stand for freedom with our Yellow Boards By The Road next events 

Saturday 28th May 3pm to 5pm  
Yellow Boards LONDON
Junction Buckingham Palace Road/Victoria St, 
London SW1E 5LB

Stand in the Park Sundays from 10am – make friends & keep sane 

Wokingham 
Howard Palmer Gardens 
Sturges Rd RG40 2HD   

Bracknell  
South Hill Park, Rear Lawn, RG12 7PA

Telegram http://t.me/astandintheparkbracknell

15
-3
NeilofWatford
NeilofWatford
2 years ago

I’m certainly noticing ‘access denied’ on an increasing number of sites.
TCW Conservative Woman is still being blocked by Three 4G, after 2 weeks.
I hope LS stays with this, just at GB News is also exposing this silent insurrection.

24
0
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
2 years ago

Perhaps DS.org could earn money suggesting a VPN supplier to work around state censorship?

10
0
Aleajactaest
Aleajactaest
2 years ago
Reply to  TheyLiveAndWeLockdown

just use the Opera browser – it has a built in, free VPN

7
0
RedhotScot
RedhotScot
2 years ago
Reply to  Aleajactaest

It’s not a full VPN and records your activity.

I use Private Internet Access (PIA) https://tinyurl.com/y357tyr6

Importantly, it does not hold records of your internet activity as many do, so it can never be compelled to hand them over.

It’s also dead easy to use and almost invisible.

Last edited 2 years ago by RedhotScot
10
0
Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
2 years ago
Reply to  RedhotScot

Snap. And I use for the same reasons.

All I’d add is PIA makes it easy to switch locales. If for some reason you need pretend to be in Luxembourg you can do so. Or Ukraine, lol.

5
0
Dodgy Geezer
Dodgy Geezer
2 years ago
Reply to  RedhotScot

Another advantage of Opera is that it was designed with security in mind – so all the defaults are set high…

0
0
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
2 years ago

Surprised GBNews hasn’t got Ofcomcensored for this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iExn7ogxWrs

Research suggests mRNA all-cause mortality rate is higher: Professor Christine Stabell Benn explains

17
0
Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
2 years ago

The same government banning websites on the grounds of national security are welcoming in hoards of foreign nationals whom we know nothing about. Except the origins of those immigrants and the volumes means few will integrate in any meaningful way. A significant threat to national cohesion never mind national security.

Our world is a farce.

Twat-1642289656.145.png
40
0
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
2 years ago
Reply to  Vaxtastic

we know most of them are lying!

8
0
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
2 years ago
Reply to  TheyLiveAndWeLockdown

mangled after speelcheque

“Except the origins of those immigrants”
Most migrants are lying about origin, age and status. As soon as they get the paperwork, they often return home. Often the place they claimed they were at risk if they had not left.

5
0
Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
2 years ago
Reply to  TheyLiveAndWeLockdown

I meant in the broader, cultural sense. As in, not like us. There is no greater longterm threat to our ability to hold the nation together.

And not enough return home.

8
0
Ron Smith
Ron Smith
2 years ago
Reply to  Vaxtastic

I think some lads should Get together and descend on that Yorkshire village. Democracy is dead. I saw the GB News interview. If the villagers just get ignored in Parliament, well, there needs to be ‘other’ methods.

Last edited 2 years ago by Ron Smith
3
0
Dodgy Geezer
Dodgy Geezer
2 years ago
Reply to  Ron Smith

If you ‘get together’ the military will be called in to suppress a ‘right-wing terrorist plot’,,,,

0
0
Sforzesca
Sforzesca
2 years ago

If there is anyone out there who resents HM “government” censorship.

Yandex. Good luck censoring that.

I’d never heard of it before the delightful Liz Truss caused me to look.

12
0
RedhotScot
RedhotScot
2 years ago

“compliance with international humanitarian law”,

We can expect to see the WWF (World Wildlife Fund) added to this list for torture, murder and gun running can we?

6
0
Mark
Mark
2 years ago

Translation note for Brits: when Tucker talks about “liberals” he means leftists, not anti-authoritarians, and NPR is a bit like the BBC. When he talks about “the American middle class” he’s talking about what we would probably term working and lower middle classes.

Tucker: This should make you nervous

10
0
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
TheyLiveAndWeLockdown
2 years ago
Reply to  Mark

watch Mary Poppins.
The middle classes could afford to employ full time servants…
Using this “formula” How many people are middle class nowadays?

very few.

9
0
stewart
stewart
2 years ago

While the everyone is distracted by daily life, our governments grab power that allows it to act arbitrarily against us.

It’s been happening for a long time. Now it’s just getting very creepy, because there is barely any self restraint any more.

15
0
Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

In that sense the government reflects the people. Very little restraint there either.

People are voluntarily distracted. I’ve tried to discuss the basics of covid responses and vaccines with people around me. Total indifference.

Most people hate thinking. They’ll happily outsource it.

10
0
Ron Smith
Ron Smith
2 years ago
Reply to  Vaxtastic

Maajid Nawas…Permium meat is Wagyu. The cow is pampered until it is slaughtered. If you see but cannot perceive, step aside so that those that are awake may fight this enemy for you.

1
0
Ron Smith
Ron Smith
2 years ago
Reply to  stewart

That is why right now in the US, despite that horrible shooting, they need to defend their 2nd amendment. Biden would be only too happy to part people with Arms. Then, Canada or Shanghai here we come.

3
0
civilliberties
civilliberties
2 years ago
Reply to  Ron Smith

US citizens do need to defend the 2nd amendment, otherwise, if that can be altered then so can the rest of the constitution. You can imagine the politicians like biden going, “well you don’t need the first amendment, whats that? yes I would be quite happy to get rid of the 4th amendment” etc etc.

0
0
Dave
Dave
2 years ago

“…promoting “respect for democracy, the rule of law and good governance”
By that token, the websites and social media of virtually every politician in the country would be blocked

8
0
HicManemus
HicManemus
2 years ago

Unlike in WW2, when the British government decided NOT to ban Lord Haw-Haw because doing so would make a mockery of Britain’s commitment to democratic principles. The Nazis, on the other hand, banned Germans from listening to BBC & US broadcasts and penalties were severe. My parents told me the family would just laugh when they tuned into Lord Haw-Haw before retuning to the BBC.

And what about the BBC? This quote from an article in The Conversation (written by the excellent Tim Luckhurst from Durham University): “The solution was not censorship but a determined effort to raise the entertainment value of BBC radio. Lord Haw-Haw played a part in shifting the BBC away from its policy of ignoring popular preferences to an understanding that “the barometer of listeners’ preferences” should help to define its output.”

I fell about laughing. The BBC in its current awful form could learn a lot from history!

Last edited 2 years ago by HicManemus
11
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Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
2 years ago
Reply to  HicManemus

Like the main political parties, the BBC has long since been hijacked. They still have to maintain appearances and pretend these institutions are fans of democracy and balance. But not for much longer.

The same kinds of people run the schools and the kids are being conditioned to reject democratic norms like free speech.

Look at the universities for what our future will look like. Fewer statues, less free speech, the condemnation of anyone who challenges orthodoxy. There is an authoritarian generation coming who will embrace slavery for themselves and us all.

14
0
Sontol
Sontol
2 years ago

I agree that these regulations are excessively censoring and restrictive. On the other hand they are being imposed extremely laxly, it is very easy to stream RT in the UK.

Most importantly they bear no relationship whatsoever to the level of extreme state-enforced silencing which takes place in e.g. Russia itself, including imprisonment for up to fifteen years for even questioning the invasion of Ukraine; and a long and extensive history of both internment and assassinations of any major dissenting political or journalistic figures.

It is vitally important to recognise the benefits of liberal democracy (which includes the right to challenge and ultimately overthrow these current restrictions) rather than let them fall by default.

Last edited 2 years ago by Sontol
2
-1
huxleypiggles
huxleypiggles
2 years ago
Reply to  Sontol

Well I suppose that’s a “liberal” interpretation of the onslaught of tyranny.

1
0
Sontol
Sontol
2 years ago
Reply to  huxleypiggles

One of the main propagandist tools that genuinely tyrannical ideologies and agendas use to undermine then overthrow multi-party liberal democracy is to claim that the proclaimed benefits are a sham, that there is no genuine freedom, voting is pointless due to actual control by unelected ‘elites’ etc.

So do you believe that there is more or less freedom of speech, democratic control, freedom from oppression (including threat of imprisonment or worse for expressing political views) in the UK or Russia?

If the latter please point me to the equivalent of this site based in the Russian Federation (just by way of example).

Last edited 2 years ago by Sontol
2
-1
tom171uk
tom171uk
2 years ago

They’ll get their comeuppance when we get a Labour government and they block the Tory party for being “far right”.

4
0
Vaxtastic
Vaxtastic
2 years ago
Reply to  tom171uk

🤠

FJkrYC5XsAALg3I-768x740.jpg
7
0
DomH75
DomH75
2 years ago

‘UN Obligation…’
This would be the same UN that has China and Russia as permanent members of the Security Council and threw out founding member Taiwan?

2
0
Squire Western
Squire Western
2 years ago

And exactly how are they going to prevent me from logging into my vpn, typing ‘rt.com’ and reading Russia Today? I did just that a few seconds ago and there was no problem at all. Incidentally, I didn’t spend much time on the site but whilst I was there saw nothing that was blatant propaganda or any ‘anti Ukrainian rants’.

3
0
MikeHaseler
MikeHaseler
2 years ago
Reply to  Squire Western

it’s a bit annoying that RT aren’t obviously biased … when the Biased Brainwashing Cult is.

Basically my whole conceptual model of a biased USSR media and “impartial honest” BBC, has now been totally turned on its head.

3
0
MrTea
MrTea
2 years ago

Give it a couple of months and the only thing available online will be the BBC showing Boris’ latest pandemic declaration on loop and youtube kitten videos.

1
0
MikeHaseler
MikeHaseler
2 years ago

RT is available through Rumble:
https://rumble.com/user/RTnews
However, it’s not exactly the most thrilling read and I am hoping the UK government stop behaving like spoilt children and grow up, so I don’t have to keep watching it … although to be truthful there’s the odd article on some obscure subject that usually grabs my attention.

0
0
Woodburner
Woodburner
2 years ago

Quis custodiet diet ipsos custodes?

3
0
FrankFisher
FrankFisher
2 years ago

Stop pussy footing around: our goverment and opposition, entire political/media/ngo/quango class are fascists. This has been evolving since 1997. Go read my old stuff about internet censorship on commentisfree.

1
-1
Sontol
Sontol
2 years ago
Reply to  FrankFisher

So fascistic that you can freely publish unlimited amounts of material calling them fascists…

Have you ever tried doing the same thing in Russia or China?

Last edited 2 years ago by Sontol
0
0
SomersetHoops
SomersetHoops
2 years ago

We should hear the Russian view of what is happening in Ukraine and Russia. We should be making more effort to make our view of those things heard in Russia. The Russian people are not in favour of Putin’s despotic behavior but they only hear about it from his side, so how can we blame them for supporting the way he is indescriminatedly killing people, because they don’t believe it is happening. We should not discriminate against people just because they are Russian. If Russians come here or other western countries, they will have the opportunity to hear both sides of the situation and balance both sides propaganda output.

Last edited 2 years ago by SomersetHoops
0
0
Simon MacPhisto
Simon MacPhisto
2 years ago

This is truly shocking. Thanks goodness for VPN connections. Most don’t have them though and will just assume the sites are dead. This is really, really bad.

0
0

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