You might try shutting them down with "No religion, politics or bloody Covid at parties!" The person I used to be would definitely have tried that.
I've already had to ask close family not to bring up Covid, lockdowns or vaccines in calls with them as previously it has led to arguments as we are very far apart in our opinions on this and I am tired of trying to bring them around to seeing that all these measures may not be for anyone's benefit except the rich elite.
I have particularly lost a lot of respect for my parents who have stated that, even if what I have told them is true, what could they do about it and as they are near the end of their time why they should care? I reprimanded them in saying that they brought children (and by design grandchildren) into this world so they be concerned about their freedoms being less than those they enjoyed. This was met by silence.
I feel very isolated from my family at present and this is even worse than our disagreement on Brexit which they voted for and I didn't. I love them but don't like them right now.
Pretty much 99% of my friends seems to be Covid Cultists and object to any anti-lockdown points I raise on social media. Most of my posts on the Covid bullshit are met with silence yet if I post a funny picture or status not connected to Covid the likes and comments flood in. 🙁
I'm lucky in that I have a close friend who feels as I do about this and our long telephone conversations have been a sanity saver for me. Reading this site has also been good to see there are others out there that are at least asking questions about this situation.
I think for many of us sceptics this is a very serious question. There will always be thick skinned people who will say it needn't be a problem but they speak for themselves. I've even found my resolve around even mask wearing wavering because I find the unspoken hostility of many people so unpleasant.
I think there's some comparison with the Brexit vote ( though please if you're a Remainer don't take this personally: we don't want to waste time fighting old battles). But many of us Brexiteers were shocked at the hostility and sheer nastiness of many Remainers who just assumed you were a thick headed xenophobe if you'd dared to vote Leave. The funny thing was that against all odds our side won and it became obvious that much of the scaremongering was OTT. But still I find I tend to avoid the subject and, to be honest, quite a few people on the opposite side who don't seem to be able to drop the subject.
In this case us sceptics have clearly not got a majority on our side. One makes allowances but at the end of the day I won't go out of my way to hang out with some people who I just can't respect as they've shown themselves to be so averse to reason and consumed by fear. I wish them well but it's not going to be much fun to be with them, especially as I'm expecting restrictions in some form to be here to stay thanks to their compliance.
I've often pondered that our situation is similar to that of, say, Jews in prewar Germany or dissidents under Soviet communism. Some radical survival strategies might be needed. I've been making an effort to link up with sceptics, even where we don't necessarily have a lot in common. It's definitely working. I'm finding new friends and we will need to form our own support networks to keep our spirits up.
Great post - thank you. I feel the same way. I can't describe (but I know many here will recognise this feeling) how happy and relieved I am to come across anyone who feels the same about lockdowns etc. I met one at the butcher recently, it didn't just make my day, it made my week.
To think, we have come to this..
A really good thread. I never had a large number of friends. And like Illimitible, I don’t have many of those friends left. The Government's restrictions have had the interesting effect of filtering out those who were never able to think for themselves. And I have 'met' some really great people who clearly still do - not least on this forum. Friends ? well chats with erstwhile strangers that go on for several hours and stray well beyond the covid nonsense - I consider them friends.
People from the former Soviet Union told me they thought at the people of the democratic West were strange - "....you have to make an arrangement to meet with friends ? Here we would go to someones house and if there was some food in the kitchen and vodka left in a bottle we might talk to the early hours." In the increasingly polarised society I can see the same happening here, now.
I'm kind of assuming my previous contacts - haven't lived hereabouts long enough to call them friends - will be giving me a wide berth once they raise the vaccine question.
I can't see the 2 choirs I belonged to being able to reform any time soon and given the hazardous nature of choral singing (who knew?) I doubt I'd be welcomed back unjabbed.
My oldest friend sticks to the rules and I think she'd squirm at the thought of having me back in the house; I can see ours being a fair-weather friendship sitting chatting in our gardens.
