COVID-19 Conspiracists Are Sheep, Too
And they’re more “sheep” than us…
Hands up if you were called a sheep for wearing a mask or getting vaccinated during this pandemic? Excuse me while I put both of mine up. Serves me right for arguing with COVID-19 nonbelievers on Facebook.
But here’s the irony in their calling us sheep: they, too, are sheep. While we follow science and actual epidemiologists, they follow non-medical quacks on social media. Or their friend of a friend. Whatever side of the fence you’re on, you’re following someone.
We are all sheep in some standard or another. The only difference between us supposed “sheeple” and them is that we are better at choosing who we follow. We are skeptical enough discern truth, knowing that certain people will have better access to truth than others.
As I’ve said before: if we can’t trust scientists with sciency stuff, how can we trust an influencer who’s clearly in it for money and with no credentials or credible sources to back themselves up?
But more than that, we, the sheeple, are open to changing our minds. And that’s because science is always reconfirming its mind. We allow ourselves the opportunity to understand new ideas, to decide if we should reconsider our points of view. So it’s kind of a stretch to call us sheep. At least, of the domesticated kind…
We’re more like wild sheep
Some may find this surprising, but many sheep are wild and undomesticated. You can find them from the Middle East to North America. Which kind of defeats the purpose behind the insult “sheep”.
In any case, it’s a good analogy for my argument here: COVID-19 conspiracists are more like domesticated sheep, and the rest of us are wild.
Conspiracists are domesticated because they allow themselves to be homed in particular paddocks. They are too afraid to leave their field, lest they be ostracized from their fellow conspiracists. Or do they fear the unknown?
In the same land, us sheeple are free to roam between paddocks. We don’t follow one farmer, we follow many. And we ask for farmers credentials to know if they are worth following.
Of course, while it seems like a concrete decision, it doesn’t have to be. We the wild sheeple have the ability to help our conspiracist friends and family. And all we have to do is open the gate.
You cannot force them to come out of their comfort zone, but giving them the option is a start.
Let me touch on freedoms
If there’s one thing that irks me about COVID-19 conspiracists, it’s their gloating about loss of freedoms. And it seems that’s why they call us sheeple, because we are wearing masks and getting vaccinated. As if either stops us from doing what we want.
If you put a mask on a sheep, what changes? Apart from the obvious fact that they cannot eat grass, they are still free to roam. And if you jab them with an vaccine, well… they might bleat loudly, but they’ll get over it.
But, we have to remember that actual sheep don’t even have a choice on getting vaccinated or having some arsehole place a mask on them. Not like us humans. Even with vaccine mandates at workplaces or for dining at restaurants, we still get to choose being vaccinated.
Nobody is pointing a gun at your head and forcing you to get the jab. But, whichever way we choose, we have to deal with the consequences — like every other decision we make.
Getting a vaccine can cause fevers and back aches. On absolutely rare cases, you have a bad reaction.
On the other hand, not getting a vaccine may lead to hospitalization and possible death from COVID-19. And this is much more likely to happen than having a bad reaction to a vaccine.
You will always have the freedom to choose, but you’ll never be free from the consequences. So choose wisely.
And, please, if you’re a COVID-19 conspiracist, don’t call me a sheep. It’s technically wrong and extremely ironic.
