I honestly believe that if the media and ‘experts’ said that blue masks don’t work, but yellow masks do, then a significant % of the population would switch colours tomorrow… And proceed to call anyone who questions it a ‘science denier’ or ‘conspiracy theorist’.
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Samizdata quote of the dayFebruary 25th, 2021 |
 11 comments to Samizdata quote of the day |
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We already know that if the PC say that social gatherings are incredibly dangerous and wicked to participate in, then say that gathering for the right (i.e. left) causes are dangerous and wicked not to participate in, then many will not even fear whiplash as they spin to the new party line.
Doublethink refreshes the left, naturally…..
There’s actually evidence that the OP is correct.
When Scothbrite scouring pads were first invented, 3M’s marketing people sent out samples, all identical but of different colours, and asked the recipients about their effectiveness. By a considerable margin, the green ones were reported as being the best – even though in fact they were all identical apart from the colour. And that’s why the first ones marketed were all green.
The first country to mandate masks was the Czech Republic (it locked down a few days before we did in March 2020) – it now has an even higher rate of Covid deaths than the United Kingdom does. Almost needles to say the United Kingdom has a higher (much higher) death rate than any nation that did NOT lockdown. Anyone who claims “the lockdown saved lives” speaks with forked tongue.
Belarus ignored Covid for most of 2020 (first case there back in February 2020) and had very low death figures – now it is mandating masks and AFTER that is having a bit of surge. Although deaths from flu may well be being called Covid deaths now.
As for the claims the post makes – it depends who you are talking about.
The establishment elite would indeed say that yellow masks worked and blue masks were evil – and would denounce anyone who disagreed as a “science denier” and “conspiracy theorist”, but I do NOT believe that ordinary people.
I am a gloomy person – but even I do not believe the opinion polls that claim to show the public believing every piece of propaganda from the television.
Most ordinary people wear masks to go into a shop because WE ARE PUNISHEED IF WE DO NOT, and if we were told to chant “Yellow Masks Work, Blue Masks Are Evil!” we would do that is well – because we would be punished if we did not chant this.
That does NOT mean we actually believe this stuff.
A judge in Hong Kong banned two lawyers from his courtroom because they were wearing yellow masks – yellow being the adopted colour of the protest movement. Who says judges are all unbiased and politically neutral?
Peter –
I’m thinking that your example is illustrative in perhaps a different way than you think? – The consumer pads in the trial were identical regardless of color, but there was already a body of experts who were not aware of that detail and knew that Green industrial ScotchBrite pads were the most effective for kitchen use
My introduction to ScotchBrite pads was as the abrasive or polishing media for industrial floor maintenance machines, where the color is a very intentional indication of how abrasive the pad is. My family was decades behind and still using bronze-wool for scouring kitchenware, until I started bringing home the unworn sections of the floor-pads.
So in reading your story, I wonder if there were enough people seeded with the knowledge that for industrial scotchbrite, green is the best compromise for general-purpose — the most aggressive for scouring without creating risk of scratching steel, glass, or ceramics.
Here’s a link with a table of abrasiveness by color:
https://www.powellcompanyltd.com/media/83899/3m-floor-pad-p3.jpg
Here’s a history that indicates industry release of multiple grades before consumer release; 1950 vs 1958:
https://www.scotch-brite.com.au/3M/en_AU/scotch-brite-au/brite-ideas/our-story/
When I first got really involved in politics, back in 1979, one of the leading leftists was Daniel Ortega in Nicaragua – he is still dictator there now (although he was pushed out for a time – he came back to power some years ago), he ignored the Covid stuff till quite recently (although Covid 19 has been in Nicaragua since at least this time last year), but now he is playing the Russian tune on Covid vaccines.
This is a bit irritating – as Nicaragua did not lockdown, and over the last year everyone must have been exposed to the virus. Or, if not everyone, at least enough people to give herd immunity – there is no need for Sputnik V vaccine in Nicaragua. But there you go – bandwagonism.
Sputnik V was approved in Russia in August 2020 – so all this Western media stuff about this or that vaccine being “the first” (with photographs of two Turkish immigrant in Germany, wonderful people no doubt – do-not-get-me-wrong, to win “Diversity” Brownie points) is no accurate.
It is a bit late for vaccines now – the virus has already been around the populations of most countries, but it is a political thing so we have to obey.
I fear the next thing may be “new variants” of Covid 19 which “make the vaccines less effective” meaning that the various controls and restrictions on the public “have to be kept”, and we all have to have jabs every year (or every six months).
“And you believe all this stuff!” – no we do not not, all we (the public) believe is that we will be PUNISHED IF WE DO NOT OBEY – and we are quite correct to believe that.
We are not stupid and we are not gullible – we just know that governments and international corporations have the power, and we do not have power. So the rational thing to do is obey – rather than get fined or imprisoned.
It is like assuming I think the American election was straight (it was a straight as a corkscrew) – of course the American election was RIGGED, everyone knows that. But there is nothing we can do about it – nothing at all.
Because I am not out fighting in the streets against XYZ policy does not mean that I, or anyone else, believes the propaganda on the television screen.
Niall – on all the race stuff (“Black Lives Matter” and the other Marxist groups) – and the sexual hate stuff to….
Tucker Carlson pointed out (only a couple of days ago) that this really started to get pushed just after “Occupy Wall Street” became popular – Tim Pool (who was there – in the events of Occupy Wall Street) has made the same point.
As soon as a lot of people started asking questions about the Wall Street crooks (their endless funny money from the Federal Reserve – Cantillon Effect of a few people getting rich at the expense of everyone else) suddenly RACISM, SEXISM, HOMOPHOBIA and TRANSPOBIA stated to get pushed much more.
The Frankfurt School Marxists had long existed – but suddenly Wall Street (and the Corporate Media – such as CNN) started to push these themes and back the people who pushed them.
It was essentially – “do not look at our wealth and ask questions about where all this money came from – FIGHT AMONGST YOURSEVES about race, gender, sexual orientation…..)”.
Tin Pool was there – and gradually people turned up and started spreading “intersectionalism” (Frankfurt School Marxism) in order to turn people against each other.
The alliance between Big Business and the Frankfurt School Marxists, an alliance that has baffled me for years, is now starting to make sense.
Just one element of the story (I know that) – but an important element.
Dear Samizdata Illuminatus (Arkham, Massachusetts)
Yellow masks will also cost more, which means they will be better.
DP
You jest, but they WILL be better at accomplishing their true purpose, which is to signal to everyone that “I am better than you, because I more concerned about my fellow man than you are and am thus willing to buy the expensive masks!”
Dear Mr b @ February 26, 2021 at 1:09 am
“You jest, “
I don’t, because that is the way the governmental mind works: if it costs twice as much, it is twice as good.
The “holier than thou” response from the public is also very much a consequence of our beloved governments’™ psy-ops against the common man. Our own dear government has a sage group, affectionately known as spi-b, specially devoted to stuffing the Great British Public using ‘behavioural science’.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/scientific-advisory-group-for-emergencies-sage-coronavirus-covid-19-response-membership/list-of-participants-of-sage-and-related-sub-groups
DP