Here’s a pro-conspiracy blurb by “JP” that someone sent me. The sarcasm and strawman rant really demonstrates fear, and shuts down conversation. I am grateful for @Christy’s and @pevaquark’s posts with the calm, reasoned approaches above.
Yeah, I think this is a good video to share. Dr. Mike has a loyal following and comes across really well on camera.
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A family member just casually put it on when I was around them, and my response wasn’t quite as calm as any above. I wondered how many viruses that he has eliminated from the face of the planet as he repeatedly mocked the WHO or other scientific experts. all I got in return was how do you know that all of these scientists aren’t part of the conspiracy? I tried to explain the peer-review process and how you could possibly test these claims but sadly I wasn’t so christ-like and it was all lost. Praying for you and your peace/sanity that surpasses all understanding.
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That’s an odd one. JP often mocks the “alternative” health fads so I’m not always sure how to take him. But maybe he’s more like the Jon Crist type of humor, like “I’m one of you, but I’ll still make fun of our stereotypes.”
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Literal and/or conservative and/or fundamentalist religion is conspiracist and that can’t be debunked. Contained at best. Marginalized. Hopefully the R number average is 1.
To toss this into the conversation: Beyond ‘Plandemic’: A Christian Response to Conspiracies - BioLogos
and discussion space:
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I think he just satirizes anything liberal California culture is on board with. So, since they are mostly “stay home, stay safe, of course the government has your best interests in mind” that is what he is going to mock.
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Aprapos:
Hi Randy,
It IS hard to know where to draw the line. In my own personal opinion, Youtube and Facebook certainly have a right to pull down whatever video they wish. I just think it may do more harm than good to do so.
I actually found a lot of reasons to hope as I saw people to responding to it. I saw a lot of people pushing back against it, unlike with other conspiracy videos I have seen circulating, which I thought was interesting. A lot of the Gates conspiracy theory stuff has gone unliked and uncommented on different friend’s pages. I have been curiously following all of this. But this time, I saw a lot of people commenting on it and saying they didn’t think it was right. Even my mom, who tends to fall for this kind of thing, accepted different links I sent her refuting the video. But of course, these examples are just from my small corner of the world.
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It looks like the Lancet came out firing in support of the CDC-
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Good! CDC is extremely important to the US and globally, as the author says. I am also very troubled about the WHO. They have been defunded by the US, yet they do a tremendous job helping the poor globally. Has there been any news on refunding them?
I haven’t heard anything, but I think we were just looking for someone to blame and they seemed like a good choice so they became public enemy #1. Plus the WHO sounds too globalist conspiracy for most people despite the role it plays in global health.
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If we want a potentially real conspiracy, we have Dr. Bright saying:
BRIGHT: They indicated if we notice there is a shortage, that we will simply change the CDC guidelines to better inform people who should not be wearing those masks so that would save those masks for our health care workers. My response was, I cannot believe you can sit and say that with a straight face. It was absurd
In other words, the CDC was told to lie to people so we would have enough masks for health care workers? Am I understanding that right?
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A friend of mine posted this.
This was my response, but I probably should have asked here first before responding.
I read the first four studies. In the article, he states that “we have established there is no scientific evidence” to support mask wearing. But the first two studies talk about the effectiveness of mask wearing. In the third study on headaches, they were most likely linked to the straps. I can see where doctors and nurses who wear these all day long might have headaches because of that. However, this study also admits it’s limitations in the very small sample of people that participated. In the fourth study, the conclusions states that the decrease in oxygenation could be due to masks OR operational stress. In other words, the link to masks was inconclusive. He repeats the statement that wearing masks causes you to “rebreathe” the virus but does not cite a study on that. That is as far as I got. For now, I’m following the studies that show they are effective. The only thing these studies show me is that there might be cause for concern for doctors and nurses who wear them a ton. I agree with the general consensus at the end of the article that we should help the vulnerable with “social distancing” and by encouraging people to become healthy.
Anyway, are you guys familiar with any of these studies, especially about reduced oxygen levels, etc???
From Russell Blaylock?
That’s as far as I would have gotten before starting the eye rolling.
You are a far greater person than I here! I have started asking people how they evaluate sources and claims as reliable. And so instead of just trying to debunk all the points, it helps them walk through critical thinking conflicting claims. I also think there’s some underlying psychological factor that caused your friend to like this article and maybe trying to explore some of his heart concerns or what he thought it captured accurately could be helpful.
I don’t think I can post something against him as that would basically be an ad hominem attack, no? I kind of think this is where a lot of responses to the Pandemic video went wrong. They didn’t actually engage with the ideas…
Thanks, but I am not a man.
This friend is one of the ones who posted Plandemic. I think a lot of people have latched onto this “masks are bad for you” idea from that video and are posting these kinds of articles pushing those ideas. The studies sited here seem legit, but I don’t really know how to assess them either. Either way, I do like your suggestion here about asking more questions because reading all of these studies and stuff is exhausting and feels like a waste of time.
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It is concerning to me if someone has a track record of promoting unreliable or anti-scientific material, but you’re right, most people don’t seem to care if their sources are very unreliable.
Fixed, sorry about that.
Probably. At the end of the day, we can just take it easy and let the scientific community hash it out.
This was a fun read for me:
A good discussion of the science:
I used to live in Taiwan and Indonesia and have traveled pretty extensively throughout Asia so I suppose that is why I don’t have a problem with masks. I agree with the article. But my friend’s article has caused me to wonder if masks do reduce oxygen. Also, I see people running outside wearing masks even if they are by themselves. Is this necessary?
Masks have a long history of being worn in ORs for hours on end with no real problems. There is a little increase in dead space with means you rebreath a little more air than you normally do, but would be significant only if you had severe COPD or pulmonary diseasewith CO2 retention. If that sick, you probably already are using an oxygen supplement. You have much more rebreathing while snorkeling and such. Wonder if There are any studies of ladies wearing burkas.
As for rebreathing viruses, that is silly, as they would be your own viruses.
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Not to mention labs and microbiology classes. And even to protect against fumes and dust.
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