Introductory note: I saw the aphorism above spray-painted by some unknown person on one of the walls of my high-school. Of course, it was written in French (“l’éclat des certitudes m’amène à tuer“). Only years later did I understand that it refers to the dangers of certitudes which we often elevate into dogmas and into a valid cause for both physical and spiritual fratricide (this is the sin we commit every time we kill, either physically or spiritually a fellow human being). I think that aphorism is very fitting whenever discussing the issues below.
First, let me begin by an excerpt from the recent 4 hours long Q&A with Putin (emphasis added)
The Russian journalist, Nailya Asker-zade, mentions the topic of the the anti-vaxers.
Vladimir Putin: And not only anti-vax dissidents, there are enough of them both in this country and elsewhere.
What is happening in the world? What are specialists saying? When a sweeping vaccination campaign against the main infections is afoot, it seems that everything is fine and there is no need, as some people believe, to get vaccinated. “Why get a jab? Almost no one is sick.” But as soon as the vaccination level drops to a certain threshold – bang, all of a sudden there is an outbreak and everyone is scrambling to get vaccinated as soon as possible.
We should take our cue from the specialists, not people who do not know much about this matter and listen to rumours. After all, this is happening all around the world. You know, the things I heard: that there is nothing at all, that in reality there is no epidemic. Sometimes I listen to what some people are saying – they seem to be grown-up, educated people. I do not know where they are taking this from. When you tell them that this is happening all over the world, they reply: “Right, country leaders have come into collusion.” Do they have any idea of what is happening in the world, of the contradictions that are plaguing today’s world, where all leaders allegedly upped and conspired with each other? It is all absolute rubbish.
Now that I set the context, I have a simple question for all COVID-dissidents and anti-vaxxers (all restrictions on discussing the medical aspects of COVID (cf moderation rules numbers #19 and #20 are suspended, but ONLY for this comments section, under this post only!!!).
Xi Jinping, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Maduro, Arce (and Morales!) and new leader of Cuba, Díaz-Canel – all agree with Putin. Fully.
Six very different countries, six very different leaders, six very different political and social systems and six totally different economies. Yet they very much all agree with each other.
(Truth be told, all of Latin America – except maybe Bolsanaro – agrees with these six countries!)
So here is my question. There are four logical explanations of this for COVID-dissidents/anti-vaxxers:
- Putin, Xi, Khamenei, Maduro, Arce (and Morales!) and Diaz-Canel are all less well informed that we (COVID-dissidents/anti-vaxxers) are.
- Putin, Xi, Khamenei, Maduro, Arce (and Morales!) and Diaz-Canel all know the truth, but they are all lying.
- Putin, Xi, Khamenei, Maduro, Arce (and Morales!) and Diaz-Canel all working with the Great-Replacers and “chippers” from Davos, with the Bohemian grovers, with Bill Gates and CFR, etc. etc. etc. They all want to create a single world government, kill a few billion people and usher in the Times of the Antichrist.
- Don’t confuse me with facts, I got my opinion and, dammit, I am right!!!
Which one do *you* pick?
Personally, it is my choice to trust the best political leaders on the planet, especially when their conclusions are supported by the best (both in quality and honesty!) scientific community on the planet. That will remain my choice until somebody points out to me either evidence that all these leaders are “in cahoots with the Empire” or, alternatively, that the COVID-dissidents/anti-vaxxers know more about microbiology, virology or epidemiology than the very best Russian (and Chinese, and Iranian, and Cuban, and etc. etc. etc.) scientists.
Furthermore a truism, really, but this logical/common sense rule of thumb seems to be often forgotten today: as Carl Sagan correctly pointed out, “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence“. So before you post some absolute nonsense such as “Putin and Biden are in cahoots” (“Putin and Bennett are in cahoots” also qualifies!) or “I know so much more about this virus that the folks at the Gamaleia institute and Vektor virology centers!” I ask you to please keep Sagan’s truism in mind and stop the crazy nonsense! (unless you are a diagnosed narcissist and you absolutely and sincerely believe that you know more than everybody else, including Russian professors and academicians; for you I will make an exception and allow you to post such a claim).
Finally, please don’t waste your (and my) time by insulting me, calling me a “gatekeeper” or an “uncritical Putin fanboy” (oh, I am VERY MUCH a Putin-fanboy, that is true, but I am a very critical one, my articles prove this). Your fellow COVID-dissidents have already called me lots of names, many times, and I already heard it all. Of course, if you sincerely believe that your opinion if single most important thing in the universe (vide supra), by all means, insult me some more (this makes Pareto-optimal-sense I suppose).
However, please don’t send me what I call “divorce letters” à la “since you don’t agree with my views, I will stop reading your blog, posting on your blog or sending you donations“. Not that I mind them, I just find them a waste of everybody’s time. Why? Because this blog is about REAL diversity and REAL pluralism. This is not an “ideologically pure” blog which tries to raise advertisement revenue by catering to a specific population. First, I don’t have advertisements (I *entirely* depend on the kindness of others, all donations I get are 100% voluntary, there is not quid pro quo here!). And if you are such an intolerant bigot that you absolutely DEMAND that the entire human race agrees with you, then I really don’t want you anywhere near this blog.
Just leave quietly and lock yourself in your ideological prison: it may be small and ugly, but all your fellow inmates will be just as “pure” and “right” as you are (yeah!!!). As for donations, I noticed that for every “divorce letter” I get, I also get more people understanding what I am trying to do and offering me their support. And let me also add here that there is no sum of money out there which would convince me to lie or care more about how much money comes in than my personal integrity. Besides, my “trick” is simple: I simply count on God to provide the blog, my family and myself everything we need: my help shall come from the Lord, who made the heaven and the earth (Ps 121:2 LXX).
The Saker
PS: I will add one more thing: I have spoken, at length, to many COVID-dissidents/anti-vaxxers. I also read a lot of the stuff they sent me (and, believe me, nobody spams you like fanatics, because they really REALLY want/need to convert you to their beliefs!). And while I still am mostly agnostic about most COVID medical aspects (the only thing I am sure of is that it was not a leaked bio-weapon) I can say with absolute certainty: the level of ideological fantasization of COVID-dissidents/anti-vaxxers is at least as high as it must have been in the Soviet Komsomol or the Hitlerjugend. And yes, it is also at least as intolerant and bigoted as the Homopride/BLM/Antifa crowds. Far from being a triumph for critical thinking and free investigations, the mental world of these folks in straight out of Orwell’s 1984. It is a sad irony that these folks sincerely think of themselves as both “well informed” and “free thinkers”.
PPS: I fully expect this to turn into the usual hate-fest when dealing fanatics. I ask all of you, my friends, not to defend me in any way shape or form. I really don’t care anymore and I expect nothing less 
cheers
PPPS: I leave you all with a cute image I saw in some Russian outlet (forgot which one)
Translation: Kübler-Ross model five stages of grief for COVID-dissidents: 1. Denial 2. Anger 3. Bargainin 4. Depression 5. Certificate of vaccination
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