Rant #2,775: I Believe

I have learned the hard way that you cannot be in the middle on this entire pandemic and shots thing.
 
Since Day One, I have been smack dab in the middle of the various debates that have ensued since “coronavirus” and “COVID-19” have become part of our daily vocabulary.
 
I have said, flat out, that I believe that this pandemic is being used as a political tool by those in power, and while I have said that yes, I do believe that it exists—unlike others who believe it is a made-up illness—I think that we have been put under too many controls related to its existence, and it has disrupted our lives inappropriately, beyond anything we could have ever imagined.
 
I have said that I took the shots for a variety of reasons—one being that my 90-year-old mother got them, and the other being that I want to be able to do things that those without shots cannot do, like attend sporting events and travel—but I have also said that if you do not want to get the shots, then do what is right for you.
 
I have also said that the lies that we have been fed—about the shots being a “vaccine” and the booster shot being a real booster—is total malarkey, and I have also said that I believe wholeheartedly that if the politicians and supposed experts continue to lie about what the virus is and what the shots actually are, we will never be on the same page related to this scourge and how to combat it.
 
I have also taken to task those that have made this virus a political football related to supposed racial disparities, which have been created by some to further divide this country beyond a level that I thought was possible.
 
And I have also taken to task those that speak out of both sides of their mouths, telling us about how terrible the virus is, yet at the same time, opening up everything so we can party like it’s 1999.
 
I have also said that the bottom line of all of this is that you should do what is right for yourself. You want the shots, fine, you don’t want them, that is fine too.
 
And I have blamed the politicians for the lies they have fed us, which has divided us even more.
 
Getting she shots is not a political move, nor is wearing a mask. Do what you need to do for yourself.
 
And yes, I have also said that those who reject the mandates—rulings which I also have said I don’t believe are necessary—and are ready, willing and able to give up their livelihoods, their homes, their health insurance and foul up their retirement, are fools.  Fight the mandates by getting the shots—at least you will have a leg to stand on when you go into the voting booth and vote out those that think mandates are the way go to, even wearing jewelry stating “VAXED” as if it were a religious experience to get the shots.
 
But I guess for some that simply isn’t enough; you have to be either pro-shot or anti-shot, and there simply isn’t anything in the middle of that for some people.
 
I have been taken to task verbally and on social media for taking a middle ground, the latest being today, when I clearly stated that the booster shots are here, and to get them or not to get them Is the question.
 
At the time, while New York City vowed that anybody of an adult age could get the shots, they had not yet announced that they meant ANYBODY, even those without New York City residence.
 
So I put up a link to this very blog site where I spoke about this subject, and I got a mixed bag of views on the boosters, which is all fine and good.
 
But the one of the latest posts really irked me, and once again, it brought out the fact that I am someone in the middle of all of this—not quite entrenched in the virus as some are but still wary of it—and well, the feeling is that you can’t be in the middle, you have to be on one side or another.
 
One respondent stated that related to the booster shots, “why would you take a third does of something that didn’t work the first two times?"
 
The respondent stated that any immunity from the fist two shots is lost after six or seven months, so was I prepared for a never-ending booster campaign?
 
Here was my reply, and again, it is what I firmly believe:
 
“And how do I know it didn't [work]? All of my close family members got COVID to varying degrees. My family and my mother did not--my mother has the booster, which really isn't one, it is a third shot. But the fact of the matter is that you, and I, don't know if the first two shots worked or didn't work. But I do know that I won't be rushing out for the booster just yet, Maybe next year, but certainly not now. And we do take boosters for measles and mumps and illnesses like that, so do those shots not now work because we take a booster for them? Yes, it is a very slippery slope we are on with all of this, but no, I certainly won't be taking the 12th booster shot of this if it goes that far down the road. As I have repeatedly said, do what is right for you related to this situation. I have followed my own advice from the get go. If you don't want the shots, don't get them. But in my situation, I do believe I have made the right decision ... for myself.”
 
Can I be more plain, and direct, about this?
 
Do what you feel is right for YOU.

And at least the respondent and I came to a middle ground on this with that comment, so maybe there is some hope for all of us.
 
There is nothing more to say on this matter, but not taking sides on this whole situation, I do believe, shows my independent nature.
 
I do not follow what anyone says, I follow what I believe is right for ME.
 
I might follow the beat of a different drummer related to this situation I am in, but I will not go out on a limb for either side, because those on the extreme of either side I do believe are strange bedfellows, because I do believe that they are both nuts.
 
I have an early appointment tomorrow, so I will have to skip the blog tomorrow.
 
Sp have a great weekend, and I will be back in the saddle on Monday.