Conspiracy rantings from friends?

[julieca]

I am not interested in hearing conspiracy views around coronavirus on this thread.
Does anyone else have friends who believe in some of the conspiracy theories around coronavirus? I have one friend who is lovely, and this has taken me by total surprise. She is generally liberal, a bit left-wing and as a brown woman a bit suspicious of government. But I have never heard any conspiracy theory stuff from her before.
Now she rants on social media about vaccines and what they might be injecting us with, the nefarious reasons they are trying to make us have a vaccine, and how it is all about controlling us to introduce a fascist state.
I just find it really difficult. I suspect she is very anxious and this is a way to deal with it. But any gentle enquiries about her mental health just lead into a rant about how I am living in fear and she is shocked that I would fall for this hysteria and submit to authority.
Is anyone else dealing with this? How do you respond or deal with it? I feel in a way like I have lost a friend. Its such a weird situation I would never have predicted could happen.

[quote bumbleymummy]@50ShadesOfCatholic are you seriously trying to argue against my point because I said ‘a few’ rather than ‘a couple’ I stand by my point. The things that have happened and that are being accepted were called conspiracy theories not too long ago.[/quote]
Oh I'm not "trying to argue", I'm pointing out there is no validity to your claims. They are ridiculous and I'm embarrassed for the ignorance you are revealing.

I’m quite alternative, and have had to cull quite a few hippy Facebook friends who subscribe to this kind of stuff. One thing, though- we all come from various clubbing/ free party scenes, and most of us have been into drugs at some point in the past- some still are. I’ll never forget a MN thread I read about drugs a while back- the amount of posters popping up to say “NO DRUGS NO NO NO THEY ARE ALL BAD AND WILL KILL!!!” And this of course is- and has been- the Government line for decades. Is it any surprise that people from within a fairly insular culture that tends to have a healthy distrust of the Establishment anyway, having seen the Government be less than truthful on one big public health issue in the past, are less inclined to trust them now?

(I still think they’re mad mind you)

@50ShadesOfCatholic oh dear So you didn’t see anyone being called a conspiracy theorist last year when they talked about vaccine passports being needed domestically and mandatory vaccines and quarantine camps? Interesting. I saw plenty of people being called conspiracy theorists for that. That may make you more ignorant than I am .

There is a very real difference between someone who decides that the COVID vaccine isn't right for me to someone constantly sharing shit about it trying to get others to change their minds.
Types of things one person I know has said
My kids will be orphans as we will all be dead within 2 years.
I won't ever be a grandparent if I let my dds have the vaccine
Any COVID desths must be some other reason like pneumonia from mask wearing or SIDS from vaccines.
COVID vaccines shed.
The latest OMICRON is an anagram of MORONIC and those who haven't seen the light are brainless morons.
Cheers

@ByeByeMissAmericanPie

One of my oldest friends is an anti vaxer; she’s trained in an alternative therapy and sent me all kinds of sh*t via FB in the beginning. I was just about to send her a ranty response, and then deleted it and wrote ‘Just don’t…’

Out of all of my friends, she has the least chance of surviving COVID due to long term respiratory issues she’s had.

It’s madness.

I’ve just had a catch up with my anti vaxxer friend.

Still not vaccinated. Still very asthmatic. She went to some ABBA revival gig in a nearby city recently. ‘It felt right’ she said. WTF. 😱

I said ‘Well, I hope you self tested before the event, and are testing regularly now’.

‘Oh no… I don’t really test myself. Don’t you know those LFTs have a carcinogenic substance on the end of the tips’ She then backtracked slightly and mumbled that she usually did one ‘once a week’

Our friendship isn’t QUITE toast… but it’s close.

[quote bumbleymummy]@50ShadesOfCatholic oh dear So you didn’t see anyone being called a conspiracy theorist last year when they talked about vaccine passports being needed domestically and mandatory vaccines and quarantine camps? Interesting. I saw plenty of people being called conspiracy theorists for that. That may make you more ignorant than I am .[/quote]
Do you even know what a conspiracy is? Your posts suggest not.

But any gentle enquiries about her mental health

How rude and unpleasant. This imaginary "friendship" would be over as far as I'm concerned however I suspect it's all manufactured for the motives in which you've started this thread

You had to shoehorn "brown person" into your OP and how convenient with your subsequent drip feed when you get pulled up on it.

My best friend became like this and at first I tried to reason with her but the she ghosted me. I posted on here at the time because I was getting married and she wasn't getting involved in anything. She ended up coming to my hen do and being bridesmaid but it hurt like hell that she wasn't bothered about it. We are kind of ok now but I'm scared to tell her I've had the booster.

My brother - who has a of health conditions and would be very unwell if he caught Covid.

We are LC but my mum is concerned about what she hears from him

quarantine camps

Howards Springs? Your language is offensive, and typically used by conspiracy-influenced types. It is a much nicer experience having access to a walk out doors, etc, than doing quarantine in a hotel room with windows that don't open, from what I have heard.

Quarantine was a thing in the 2018 flu pandemic, also. An effective measure.

[quote bumbleymummy]@50ShadesOfCatholic oh dear So you didn’t see anyone being called a conspiracy theorist last year when they talked about vaccine passports being needed domestically and mandatory vaccines and quarantine camps? Interesting. I saw plenty of people being called conspiracy theorists for that. That may make you more ignorant than I am .[/quote]
I’ve forgiven my conspiracy theory friend and apologised to her because all those things that I argued against with her for months have all happened now.
She also spoke about forced (coerced? Take your pick) vaccines for children that I’m hoping she’s totally wrong on.

This is my experience... whole thing is crap, obviously.

Does anyone else have friends who believe in intolerance and authoritarianism to control coronavirus? I have some friends and family who are generally lovely, and this has taken me by total surprise. They are generally liberal, a bit left-wing [and] a bit suspicious of government. But I have never heard such intolerance and contempt from them before.
Now they rant and sneer, in every conversation, sometimes on social media about the vaccine hesitant and how they are all either bad /contemptible / irresponsible people who must accept severe "consequences" in their personal liberties being severely restricted.
I just find it really difficult. I suspect they are very anxious and this is a way to deal with it. But any gentle enquiries about their mental health would just lead into a astonishment that I don't perfectly agree with them and find their principles faultless. Is anyone else dealing with this? How do you respond or deal with it? I feel in a way like I have lost something. Its such a weird situation I would never have predicted could happen.