Labelled conspiracy theorist

[Whatdidyoucallme]

Why am I labelled a conspiracy theorist as soon as I question something or oppose a decision made by the government? It's almost as if we are not allowed to use critical thinking anymore. I really find the word conspiracy theorist an insult as it discredits you immediately and puts you in a drawer. So annoying

@VulvaPerson

Questioning any aspect of this gets you written off as a conspiracy theorist or 'covid denier' really. Its a little silly, and quite sad.

Yes, covid deniers exist (and are annoying as fuck to deal with, the outright deniers/5g people), but someone questioning the effectiveness of a mask, or pointing out the dodgy timing of Boris' 'new strain' thing..are not covid deniers in my view, not at all.

Questioning is fine and in fact is very healthy: its how you question and what you posit as the alternative, which is what matters.

You see people taking the approach that goes like this: the government is not competent and has lied before -- ergo anything they say must be lies and the logical explanation is a conspiracy theory.

There's a line of thought that says that the way to solve distrust in the government and anxiety about its policies is to swing to the conclusion that they must be engaged in a giant cover-up of something far more sinister.

You see quite a lot of people who stop short of being full on conspiracy theorists but who always assume that everything the government or SAGE says is an out and out lie. This is actually just as dangerous and unhelpful as assuming that everything they say is true.

This is where the point about critical thinking comes in. People who either just accept everything the government says at face value and people who assume its all dangerous lies which are to be ignored are both lacking in the ability to weigh up the credibility of various sources of information.

The solution to that isn't blind faith in the government but nor is it blind cynicism which assumes that they are deliberately trying to mislead us.

If you assume that everything Boris tells us is a lie and everything SAGE predicts is wrong you are likely to be exposing yourself and those around you to unnecessary risk. Government guidance may not be infallible but its been through many many layers of review by highly qualified people. So on balance, government guidance is likely to be the safest approach. So by all mean question it but if you write it off immediately as unworthy of consideration you are not taking sensible steps to protect yourself and others. And that is irresponsible.

The Danish mask study proved no protective effect for the mask wearer

Good job that that's nit the reason why masks are recommended.

They are to protect everyone else, not the wearer, and there is very respectable evidence to show benefit.

Question is whether you want to act altruistically or not.

In a group chat with friends I said I was shocked to find out that protesting is now illegal

Yes, that is shocking, as it is untrue.

Yes, you have to meet covid security standards, but if you do then demonstrations remain legal.

I would agree that there are public health limits on certain forms of protest, but do not think that is even close for being a synonym for 'now illegal'

"The only time Masks truly work"

The word "Truly" is doing a lot of heavy lifting in that phrase.

I'll stop there. Astonishes me that OP can't find an online community that shares these opinions, though. You "truly" need to take a tutorial in google skills.

The PRO range from cambridgemask.com is the one I've been using since Jan this year (I made it my New Years resolution to not get sick for a year - of all things to decide for 2020!! 😅) they treat it with silver, so you don't have to worry about anything festering in the mask 😷

Thanks! @Maria1990

Questioning is fine and in fact is very healthy: its how you question and what you posit as the alternative, which is what matters.

With reasonable people, yes I agree (with the whole post too tbh). However, it doesn't tend to be like that, or from what I have seen. Anything at all differing from 'the official line' is lumped in with covid deniers and whatever. Regardless of how the question is put across, or context or anything like that.

This is where the point about critical thinking comes in. People who either just accept everything the government says at face value and people who assume its all dangerous lies which are to be ignored are both lacking in the ability to weigh up the credibility of various sources of information.

Also I tend to fall somewhere inbetween these two, as I suspect most people do. I don't think 'middle ground' type people are likely to scream 'conspiracy theorist!' at anyone going against the 'party line' so to speak. Same as middle grounders would not go around calling people sheep for wearing masks tbh. As usual, its the more..extreme ends of the spectrum that are causing issues. But 'normal' people are being caught in the crossfire between the two extreme views, so you find yourself being lectured about being covd denier for speaking about masks, or you find yourself being lectured about 'never believe the goverment, sheeple!' and such. Bloody annoying. Especially when you are stuck arguing with people from BOTH ends of it as you get called both a sheep AND a consiracy theorist!

Research has shown the mask wearing protects others if you have the virus.
The CO2 argument has no basis in fact whatsoever.
The fact that the OP has used the second point in her argument someone undermined her credibility.

You’ll be very interested in this
www.aier.org/article/asymptomatic-spread-revisited/

From another ‘conspiracy theorist’

@RoseAndRose Please could you send me the link to the scientific paper where they have proved that masks stop onward transmission of any virus? Actually measured whether people in rooms with unmasked infected people are more likely to become infected with the virus than a similar cohort in rooms with a masked "infector". I have looked and looked and all I can find is claims about masks stopping the droplets from a sneeze travelling across a room, er, well, so does a tissue! Oh and some nonsense based on phoning people up after they've had the virus and asking them whether they wore masks in their flats or not and whether members of their family showed symptoms
That huge Chinese study referenced above found no asymptomatic spread at all, so once again, why are healthy people being forced to wear masks when there is no proper scientific evidence to underpin the law?

This is interesting. I myself question the benefit of mass testing of asymptotic people (and I am currently testing twice weekly with lateral flow tests as part of my NHS role).
But, re wearing masks, as it seems people are most contagious 24-48hrs before they develop symptoms, wearing as mask can help mitigate that.

It would be fantastic to have comprehensive data on whether asymptotic cases are then spreading and causing others to be symptomatic. And, how many of the asymptomatic cases found during mass testing programs go on to develop symptoms.

www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4851

The real point of masks is to be a visual to remind people to be cautious because of the pandemic!

@RoseParade I just found this

https://files.fast.ai/papers/maskslitt_review.pdf

Silver is mentioned a few times on here.
We’ve been brewing our own colloidal silver since April
I drink about three litres a week.
It’s said to split pathogens wide open.
You can spray it on a mask
You can nebulise it, so the vapour goes down into your airwaves
You can put it in a spray bottle. I spray up my nose and into eyes
You can use it to spray surfaces

Once you have your brewer set up you can make it so much more cheaply than buying it, especially if you use large quantities like we do.

Haven’t had a cough, cold or sniffly nose in all this time.
( I do take supplements as well and I use homeopathy..you know that stuff doesn’t work 😂)
I managed to get rid of severe toothache when dentists were closed way back in may/ June that was so painful it kept waking me up at night.
Last week , I used my healing methods to rid myself of a cold sore that just never developed.)

We aren’t afraid of the virus but very afraid of the incompetency of the government and their scare mongering.

@Redbrickwall only started reading the first few lines and it already resonates with me haha hello fellow conspiracy theorist 🤣thanks for sharing

@dowser I would love to know how you got rid of the toothache I’m currently suffering and can’t get into the dentist til end of Jan!

I think the thing will following the rules is a lot of people need to feel like they have some level of control over what is essentially something completely out of their control. Wearing a mask gives that impression - you’re protecting others , you’re minimising the spread, in doing so you can believe things might get back to normal quicker. I don’t think it’s always blind trust in the rules I think it’s a desperate need for hope that something, anything is going to get us out of this situation

@Dowser

Silver is mentioned a few times on here. We’ve been brewing our own colloidal silver since April I drink about three litres a week. It’s said to split pathogens wide open. You can spray it on a mask You can nebulise it, so the vapour goes down into your airwaves You can put it in a spray bottle. I spray up my nose and into eyes You can use it to spray surfaces

Once you have your brewer set up you can make it so much more cheaply than buying it, especially if you use large quantities like we do.

Haven’t had a cough, cold or sniffly nose in all this time.
( I do take supplements as well and I use homeopathy..you know that stuff doesn’t work 😂)
I managed to get rid of severe toothache when dentists were closed way back in may/ June that was so painful it kept waking me up at night.
Last week , I used my healing methods to rid myself of a cold sore that just never developed.)

We aren’t afraid of the virus but very afraid of the incompetency of the government and their scare mongering.

You may want to reconsider your silver consumption. There is no evidence that it is beneficial yet quite a lot pointing towards it being hazardous for you health.

www.insider.com/is-colloidal-silver-safe