“Men.. go mad in herds, while they only recover their senses slowly, and one by one.”
- Charles Mackay (Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds)
Waking up from the fever dream that was the spring of 2020, I recall a distinct confusion: rather than the world celebrating the turnaround of the pandemic, many jurisdictions doubled down on restrictions. In my hometown of Toronto, the city enacted a mandatory mask bylaw in July. This was my first clue that lockdowns and associated restrictions were about something else.
Moral panics are not new to humanity, though their emergence as documented social phenomena only goes back five decades to Stanley Cohen’s 1972 PhD dissertation, Folk Devils and Moral Panics, in which he studied societal response to contemporary British subcultures. Cohen defined a moral panic by its evolution in stages, the first being the emergence of a threat to values, traditions or interests. One could argue that the covid-19 crisis has threatened all three. Moral panics are abetted by several agents, including the media, which exaggerate but also simplify messages; agents of social control (including politicians, the courts and the police); and public opinion, which is a function of the others.
By summer 2020, it was clear that beyond a physical threat to society, the virus presented an existential and moral one. How else to explain the appearance of “authorities”, firmly barricaded against questioning or criticism? Evidence-free policy and endless hand wringing over vice? A full blown moral panic had been set in motion, all over the world, but centred largely around wealthy, liberal democracies (more on this in a later post).
Overnight, we went from a world of “fact-checking” to blind submission. Censorship. Seizures of civil liberties that bore no apparent proportion to the risk presented—with governments feeling no need to explain themselves. The UK gave itself powers to demolish buildings deemed “infected” with the virus. In Germany, public health has had the authority to seize children from their parents under certain conditions.
A recurring question in my mind has been where society’s boundary condition will be found. It was not when the right to protest was attacked. It was not when curfews were installed. It was not when deaths of despair and lockdown deaths began to eclipse covid-19 deaths. Will it be when playgrounds are closed for a second time? When police are granted the authority to stop people for explanations as to why they are not at home? (Mercifully, at the time of this writing, 42 of the 45 police jurisdictions recently granted this power in Ontario have expressed no intention of exercising it.)
Cohen wrote that moral panics subside when the threat diminishes, leaving behind a diffuse or potential threat—this being his “folk devil”. One day, the “how” and “why” of all of this will emerge when the inevitable public inquiries take place. Between now and the folk devils, the unraveling of this pandemic moral panic will be observed with interest.
Yes when cases dropped and so did deaths in LTC instead of opening up they continued with park closures business closures for another 2 months which indictated to me it wasn't about health. Then when mask mandates came in when Theresa Tam Faucis Dr Williams and the WHO all had stated masks ineffective and could cause more harm then good in healthy population which is exactly what the boxes of masks stated and we know ourselves then it was definitely not about a virus. I can't believe how unintelligent our police really are. We already know they do nothing about police corruption government corruption and elite corruption but you would think they could see how we were being lied to. They can research.
Very happy to see Police on Guard for Thee. Lots of respect to all those police both retired and active.
Even sillier was the BLM protests. Ok to protest just don't shout but children couldnt use playgrounds. But it's not ok to protest lock downs that include playgrounds small businesses and mental abuse of citizens including our children. What retards. The End
The OPP blocked Ezra Levant after he spoke of the 12 year old boy accosted by OPP for not wearing a mask. So for the OPP may I remind you all of the flip flopping on masks and the outright lies that were told by Canada Public Health and Ontario Public Health.. If you lied to citizens about masks not working (even though there are many studies before covid indicating there wasnt evidence they worked and in fact can cause health risks by constant touching the face etc. ) in order to protect the healthcare supply then in fact if masks were to actually work you were then hurting the population and putting them in danger of a deadly pathogen. by your lies and lack of emergency pandemic supplies of PPE . Isn't that correct OPP ?
Then since the lies and lack of preparedness by Public Health actually endangered Canadians then they are subject to criminal negligence causing bodily harm or death.
Can't have it both ways. Which way is it. Your continual aiding and abetting the lying public health and politicians have put you in a precarious situation OPP.