HOW WE CAN BEAT HIDDEN ATTACKS

Let's be calm and clever in the face of abuse

By Jasmine Birtles  

THE News Uncut article by Mark Sharman on Wednesday elaborated on a worrying trend some of us have noticed of the vax-injured being abused and misunderstood by both sides of the Covid debate. And, right on cue, some of the comments in his article illustrated exactly what he was pointing to: Vile abuse.

How disappointing to see again, in black and white, the heartless and often illogical responses to the sufferings of others.

What good does it do to anyone to rejoice in the suffering of those who have been taken in by a sustained, well-funded and psychologically targeted government and media campaign on all citizens?

Certainly there are a number of us who were clear-thinking enough and strong-minded enough to resist this campaign but that does not mean that we have any reason to rejoice in the sufferings of those who gave in, for whatever reason.

The argument that they might have abused the unvaccinated is ridiculous as a) we don’t know if they did and b) even if they did, have they not now suffered enough to evoke our understanding and sympathy?

It is the same with those who criticise people such as Aseem Malhotra [above] for having originally encouraged the vaccine (because he believed in it), but later changing his mind when his father died after taking the injection and new data convinced him to change his views.

Why criticise someone who has honestly changed his mind? What more can he do? From some comments about him you would think that he needs to spend all day every day in sackcloth and ashes for the rest of his life.

What would people prefer, that Aseem stays silent now that he has seen the evidence?

Here at News Uncut we have discussed the astonishing phenomenon of abuse on social media of those who have suffered from the jab or changed their minds about it.

The abuse is coming from people apparently on both sides of the Covid argument, but it is particularly upsetting when it seems to come from those who could be described as being against the ‘narrative’. Those who have been the subject of bullying and abuse from pro-vaxxers themselves should be particularly empathetic towards those who are now suffering from the jab.

As one News Uncut writer put it, “at this stage in this tortuous game, we need to be joining forces, not maintaining existing divisions and creating new ones. We can all play the ‘I’ve lost my livelihood/home/relationship(s) and was massively abused for refusing to engage’ card, but what does that gain any of us?”

Of course, there is always the possibility that the most vicious comments are not from ‘real’ people but from bad actors posing as anti-establishment citizens making comments aimed at making our ‘side’ look bad.

Another News Uncut writer said: “Online comments are notoriously awful but I do wonder about the source of some of them. Some will be genuine but certain organisations within the security services are very active on social media and they can use sophisticated tactics as well as straightforward abuse. The real aim might be to portray the unvaxxed in a negative way.”

The writer was referencing the 77th Brigade, which exists to ‘influence’. Make of that what you will.

As you know, the PR firm Bell Pottinger used these (and many other) tactics to fan the flames of social tension in South Africa: New York Times. 

Many have learnt from their actions and are using them in all kinds of situations around the world in these times. Justin Trudeau [below] appears to have done it over the truckers convoy. Both the Nazi flag and the Confederate flag stunts have allegedly been linked back to a Liberal Party crisis management firm in legal proceedings happening this week.

We are wading in murky waters and will continue so to do for some years. So what do we do in the face of these overt and hidden attacks?

For a start, I’m challenging myself to be as temperate and forgiving of everyone, whatever their views and however vicious their words, as I can manage. It is not easy, but it is essential for all of us to do this if we are going to build a better world. Our individual actions form the building blocks of society, so each time we replace bitter reproach with something better (silence if we can’t say anything positive) it helps to create that better state.

The struggle we are engaged in is not between different political parties or people or even ideologies. As I see it, it is the fight to defend good in all its forms including freedom, humanity, morality, health and harmony. The only way we can do this is to express these qualities ourselves to the best of our ability and attack the actions, not the personalities, of those who seem to want to destroy them.

It demands a lot of us but we can all rise to the challenge.