On censorship
If this isn’t peak COVID madness, I don’t know what is. Instagram has censored the hashtag relating to pictures of one of my cats, Captain Woodpile, for breaking COVID-19 community guidelines (Sweet Liam remains COVID-secure at the time of writing). You could not make this level of madness up. It is glorious. I thank you for reporting me, whoever you were, for highlighting the extreme level of bonkers the world has come to.
It is even more hilarious as I have a very, very small following on Instagram as I only allow people I actually know to follow me. So it’s not like I’m poisoning the minds of the masses with my shocking photos of Captain Woodpile doing cat-related things. The person/people who reported me could have just unfollowed me (and some have, so perhaps it was their final fuck you).
Of course, I doubt it was Captain Woodpile that they were actually reporting (although who knows at this juncture, such is the madness), but more likely me and my re-posting of these blog entries onto my IG feed. So, let’s do a recap of my position in respect of COVID-19.
- I’ve had COVID, it’s shit, but for me, nowhere near as shit as the flu and the pneumonia and/or serious chest infections I routinely get as a consequence of the flu.
- Due to having had COVID-19, I do not need or want to have the vaccine as I have natural immunity. Moreover, other than several long-term chronic illnesses, I am otherwise very healthy and therefore I am not at risk should I contract COVID a second time.
- I think bodily integrity is a human right and therefore, people that want the vaccine should have the vaccine, and people who do not want the vaccine should not be forced or coerced into having the vaccine.
- Given that the vaccines do not prevent transmission nor contraction of COVID, there is no reason to discriminate against those who do not take the vaccine: anyone could transmit it to you. Most recent anecdotal case in point: I am one of three support workers to a highly at risk disabled woman. Two support workers are vaccinated and one is not. In utterly unrelated incidents, two of her three support workers just came down with quite nasty bouts of COVID. Guess which two it was? (Clue, not me.)
- Given that the vaccine does seems to be protecting those who contract COVID from developing severe disease and/or dying, those who fear that eventuality should definitely take the vaccine.
- Given that most people who become seriously ill and/or die from COVID are either very old or already in poor health, I think that people who fall into those at risk categories would be wise to take the vaccine.
- Given that the main co-morbidities associated with severe outcomes from COVID are those which we do to ourselves through poor diet and lack of exercise, I think people who fear COVID should put more energy and effort into proactive health management by eating better and exercising more. This is because most of the modern diseases like excess weight and obesity, type II diabetes, high blood pressure, and their consequences, can actually be reversed if people could be bothered to stop poisoning themselves with awful processed food and refined carbohydrates.
And for these views, photos of one of my cats has been censored. You really couldn’t make this up.
