How can any sensible person be against lockdowns?
What is a lockdown?
‘Lockdown’ is a prison term. When the inmates get unruly and there’s the threat of an insurrection, they “lock down” the facility, restricting movement and preventing collective violence against their benevolent jailers.
So, we are being told we have an “insurrection” being mounted against an orderly life and the greater good of the people of the world, by an invisible enemy — aka the coronavirus — which despite having a curious resemblance to the invisible terrorists which were lurking behind every tree after 9/11, now is the only matter worth being mentioned or discussed by our spectacle-friendly, melodrama-driven media and health-conscious government.
Well, I agree in part with that assessment. We are under violent attack by an invisible enemy — one which in fact is hiding in plain sight — and certainly does present an existential threat to the entire human race. In fact, this invisible threat is the one which spawned the coronavirus itself, the response to the coronavirus, the justifications for panic and fear of everything related to the coronavirus, is pushing a balls-to-the-wall vaccination campaign, and originally initiated and now enforces all of the lockdowns across the globe.
And I agree. Absolutely! The only way to deal with the dysfunction and chaos of our present circumstance is A THOROUGH, MASSIVE LOCKDOWN!
But here’s the problem. And it’s a VERY BIG PROBLEM!
Right now, the wrong people are being locked down. Innocent people who are not the problem, not even partially responsible for the problem, people who if anything would LOVE TO FIX THE PROBLEM, are being locked down. And the malicious, manipulative control freaks of the world who created the conditions for the outlandish, misdirected, cruel, oppressive lockdowns are not.
THAT’S what’s wrong with these current lockdowns.
We saw the evidence of this con from the start.
For the first time in history, instead of isolating the sick to protect the healthy, they LOCKED DOWN EVERYBODY. Statistically, nothing about this coronavirus business passes the smell test. As fudged and manipulated as the numbers are, we are not facing an epic world health crisis. Even so, typically when large numbers of individuals become sick, it’s the healthy people who keep things going, who keep society functioning, so that resources can be focused on keeping the sick alive and making them well again. This time, everything was shut down. Everyone was forced to stay home. Not only did this make normal functioning impossible, it compromised the health of the healthy, making them more vulnerable to possible illness, not just from the coronavirus but from other medical challenges. Moreover, heart patients, diabetics, people with high blood pressure, cancer, obesity, psychological issues, NO ONE COULD GET PROPER TREATMENT. Thousands have died. The horror and disgrace of this willful negligence gets little to no attention.
The whole approach to the “pandemic” has been so irrational, counterproductive, so opposite of established protocols and responses, there is only one conclusion. It was intentional, callous, arguably punitive and malicious. Those driving the response to the crisis — whatever it really is — had either lost their minds, or had and continue to have some extremely disruptive, oppressive plan. I personally think it’s entirely about money: short-range profits for pharmaceutical companies, long-range profits for those who now have everyone under their boot heels and can extract the last few drops of blood from us.
There’s no other conclusion that holds up to rational analysis. Those at the helm of this monstrous assault on the established structures of society and the just, orderly conduct of everyday life know exactly what toll this is taking. This is going as planned. The monopoly capitalists, the puppet masters of technological tyranny, the insatiable, arguably insane ruling elite are jumping for joy in their gated communities and virtual star chambers.
The inescapable conclusion is . . .
The people who should be locked down — and locked up — are the predatory capitalists, the greed-driven monomaniacal profit seekers who put their own enrichment and that of their elite class ahead of everyone else.
Those who would despoil the planet, pollute the air and water, drive species extinction, multiply wealth inequality, use racism as a weapon of social and political control, THEY should be locked down. They should be quarantined and not allowed to circulate among us, spreading the filth of their self-promoting, self-enriching, self-aggrandizing, amoral, predatory pathology.
Those who are restricting and eliminating what few freedoms we now have, who violate our privacy, who insinuate themselves into our homes and the sanctity of our marriages and family relationships, should be LOCKED DOWN. Those who would further isolate and marginalize good, decent people, should be isolated and immobilized before they entirely destroy the fabric of a functioning society.
Those who see everything as a commodity, who see human beings as only producers and consumers, who view every moment and opportunity in life as just another chance to extract more wealth and achieve more power, then use it to exploit and abuse the rest of us, THEY SHOULD BE LOCKED DOWN.
Make no mistake about it. We have a horrific disease spreading across the planet, a plague of unparalleled dimensions, a killer of unprecedented destructive power and lethality. It is a disease so dangerous to humans, so toxic to our families and communities, so in total opposition to the nurturing and growth of healthy individuals, so foul as to kill the human spirit and vanquish the spiritual and emotional lives of all sentient beings, we need to immediately take drastic and decisive action.
No energy should be spared. No action is too extreme. Hesitation when dealing with such a grisly threat is not an option. It may be too late already.
The lethal virus we are now facing is called GLOBAL NEOLIBERAL CAPITALISM!
We have no choice. There’s no longer a margin for error. Its viral super-spreaders MUST BE IDENTIFIED AND LOCKED DOWN. These psychopathic criminals are so aggressive, so relentless, so obsessed and possessed, so convinced of their right to inflict themselves on others, we have little choice in the matter. They must be rounded up and sequestered.
It will not do to “send them to their rooms”. They must be locked down in tomb-like, hermetically-sealed chambers, cut off from all communication with the world — their breath, their words, their world view, their fanatic sense of entitlement are all equally pathogenic — left alone with their mountains of accumulated wealth: stocks and bonds, spread sheets, jewelry, derivatives, diamonds, gold and other precious metals. They must be locked down in cocoons of lavish isolation to hoard and treasure all their worldly booty, to reflect and gloat on their affluence and importance, to relish how exhilarating it feels to deprive other less fortunate people — that would be “we the peons” — of even an hint of their splendid opulence.
Yes, lock them down, put and keep them and all their glitter out of sight. We don’t need to be reminded of their avarice, gluttony, selfishness, pride, arrogance, contempt. Bye-bye to all of it! Lock these predators down — DISAPPEAR them — so we can get on with our lives. So we can hug each other again and enjoy sunsets and watch our children grow and delight in a simple meal at a restaurant and visit our friends and listen to music together and gather to worship and dance and play tennis or join a book club. Put the monsters out of sight and out of memory so we can live our lives without having to endure such loathsome miscreants, or fear they are watching us with their condescension and contempt, sneering at us through the mirrored windows of their skyscrapers or from behind the tinted glass of their stretch limos.
LOCK THEM DOWN! . . . NOW!
LOCK DOWN those who prey on others for profit.
LOCK DOWN those who promote endless wars for profit.
LOCK DOWN those who promote endless lies and false narratives for profit.
LOCK DOWN those who make us sick, keep us sick, then exploit our incapacitation for profit.
LOCK DOWN those who incarcerate people of color for profit.
LOCK DOWN those who promote debt slavery for profit.
LOCK DOWN those who promote privatization of the public commons for profit.
LOCK DOWN those now accelerating wealth inequality to destroy the lives of middle and working class people.
LOCK DOWN those who use everyday people as cannon fodder to protect their portfolios, property, and privilege.
LOCK DOWN those who have silenced the voice of the people and destroyed democracy in America.
LOCK THEM DOWN, because at least for now, the alternative is too distasteful.
The alternative is termination.
There are sites in Nevada devoted to storing the toxic byproducts of nuclear fission. For example, Yucca Mountain was being prepared as a massive depository for life-threatening waste. It’s time to reinstate funding for this project and get it ready for a new form of toxic sludge. It’s huge, far from anything or anyone else, just waiting to be put to good use.
Perfect, I say!
The perpetrators of our oppression deserve their own truly “private space”.
We deserve to be free from their pathological obsessions and devious manipulations.
It’s practically the definition of a win-win proposition!
We should spare no expense nor any speed. Lock them down now! Let them take it all with them. Ship their yachts and private jets, their stores of wealth in every transportable form, send it all packing, dump it all in those spacious Yucca Mountain caves. After all, if this wonderful stuff is so important to the wealthy, who are we to deprive them of the pleasure of wandering through their piles of caviar, vintage wines, mounted animal heads, fine art treasures, tuxedos, evening gowns, pheasant-under-glass, diamond belt buckles, polo horses, and gold-plated sex toys?
LOCKDOWNS . . . YES!
But this time let’s get it right.
Quarantine the truly diseased and dangerous, those who are the real plague upon us.
Life In Japan: Tondo Matsuri
Tondo Matsuri festivals are held all over Japan, the second weekend of the new year, at all levels. There are major festivals with thousands of people, as well as more modest local celebrations. The central feature of the Tondo Matsuri is a bonfire, much appreciated since it tends to be cold in January, thanks mostly to the sub-zero winds that blow our way from Siberia.
This year Tondo Matsuri was held on the same day as Coming of Age, a national holiday celebrating every person turning 20, a welcome to full adulthood. Thus most people had the day off from work, making attendance convenient. Of course, the coronavirus “crisis” is cautioning people across the globe against large gatherings, sneezing on one another, licking door handles and one another’s eating utensils, and the most notorious disease spreader of them all, French kissing.
My village of Noma here in Tambasasayama wasn’t daunted by the threat of viruses. We got together, and granted, our bonfire didn’t leap 20-30 meters into the sky, as is common practice the major festival sites, but we still managed some truly heartfelt camaraderie and warmed ourselves against the winter chill in splendid fashion. Our bonfire was next to Benten Shrine where many similar get-togethers take place.
Once the Tondo bonfire is going, there are two key rituals.
One is burning the decorations, talismans, rakes, arrows, amulets, wreaths, blessings, and other votive goods, from the previous year, to be replaced over the new year with new ones. Many of these are items bought from local shrines and temples to bring good fortune and health. They are tossed onto the fire. After they are incinerated, each family collects some of the ashes, which are then taken back home. These ashes are called shimenawa — しめ縄 — and are considered sources of good luck and positive developments for the coming year.
Very light paper banners, with sayings and wishes written in beautiful calligraphy, are thrown onto the fire as well. They instantly burst into flames, then are caught in the updraft of the bonfire, soaring heavenward as they turn to ash. This takes the messages they contain up up up, and makes them part of the invisible energy of the universe. While this probably is more just silly superstition than a serious spiritual exercise, it reminds me of the prayer wheels of Tibetan Buddhism, which in a parallel fashion send into the divine ether the thousands of prayers the wheels contain on scrolls hand-written by the monks, usually pleas for peace and harmony in the world.
The second ritual is cooking mochi — 餅 — by placing it near the fire. Mochi are rice cakes and there’s absolutely no equivalent to them in the West. When grilled, they are thick and gooey with a crispy exterior, and incredibly delicious, especially with sweet red bean soup or soy sauce.
Yes, the food is very unique here, for sure.
So . . . that was our Tondo Matsuri. There were no fireworks, parades, or 21-gun salutes. The Blue Angels aerial acrobatic team didn’t fly over. No sign of a marching band or baton twirling cheerleaders.
But we still had an outstanding time!
Did I mention? . . . I love Japan!