Has His Excellency been Silenced?
I live in Alberta, Canada where the vaccine passport is required for travel, employment, to eat in a restaurant, enter an entertainment venue, go to a gym or any other so-called ‘non-essential’ activity. So, for all intents and purposes, vaccination is mandatory here in Canada so I am fully vaccinated with three shots. Now that is out of the way, I would like to address the letter to the editor dated 7th October by Kenneth D Richards, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Kingston which basically says, ‘the Government must be decisive in acting for the common good’. This is code for mandating vaccination. I wish the archbishop would just come out and say so.
Would I
have been fully vaccinated if it was not mandated? I am not sure. The first
shot I took in a panic. While I am leaning towards the position that older
people and those with comorbidities should be vaccinated, I am not sure that
everyone, even little children must have it. I would probably have waited a
little longer until ‘the science’ was settled on the topic. I would definitely
have waited on the third shot especially after enduring adverse reactions from
the second.
Very
respected Dr. Jay Bhattacharya and many other doctors signed ‘the Barrington
Declaration’. Dr. Jay, and other epidemiologists at Stanford, Harvard, Oxford
and other prestigious institutions signed the declaration at great risk to
their professional careers. These signers, say that we should focus on
protecting the vulnerable - seniors and those with comorbidities. Which brings
me to the issue of ‘science’. With the greatest of respect to the archbishop,
the narrative from the proponents of mandatory vaccination such as the archbishop
implies that the science on the matter of the Covid vaccines is settled. First
of all, many ‘scientists’ still claim everything from the Covid vaccines are
dangerous to the vaccines are part of a plot by certain elements. I will not go
into those arguments except to say that some scientists differ from the
mainstream narrative that the Covid vaccines should be mandated. Some
scientists go as far as to say that the Covid vaccines are not a vaccine at
all! Here in Alberta, the government has had to delay the implementation of a
mandate in the health sector as some medical professionals, including some
doctors have refused to take the vaccine and as the health sector has collapsed
due to Covid, those medical professionals are badly needed. The same thing has
also happened in Quebec. These medical professionals have launched a lawsuit
against the government which joins the growing line up of lawsuits that the
provincial and federal governments face over mandating the Covid vaccines.
These medical professionals were on the front line caring for Covid patients,
now they are to be dismissed for refusing the vaccine. That is crazy and
cruel.
I am old
enough to remember the days when ‘scientists’ claimed that cigarettes were good
for you and that cigarette smoking was a harmless pleasure. Free cigarettes
were even issued to soldiers during the second world war. Now we
know that smoking is not only dangerous to the smoker, it is even more
dangerous to those around a smoker. ‘Studies’ and ‘clinical trials’ (financed by
the tobacco companies) fooled us into believing that smoking was beneficial or
at least all right. Initially, it was a tiny minority of scientists and other
medical professionals who broke from the mainstream and fought for the truth
about cigarettes to come out. Because of them, we now know better… I also
remember when Thalidomide was passed by ‘scientists’ as a good medication for
the morning sickness that women are plagued with during pregnancy. The result?
Thousands of babies were born dead or horribly deformed before Thalidomide was
eventually withdrawn. Another instance of ‘the science’ was about cholesterol
in butter being bad for you. ‘Studies’ (financed by the butter substitute
industry such as margarine) urged people to switch from butter to margarine and
many including myself followed that ‘science’ for a while. A similar thing
happened with eggs and milk financed by the egg and milk substitute industries
respectively
‘Science’
is not static. Science evolves. Science can also be biased depending on who is
financing it. The debate about whether the vaccines are the solution to the
pandemic and whether it should be made mandatory, is still raging. IT IS NOT
SETTLED. Even though the mandatory vaccination fanatics would like you to think
so, there are some respected scientists and medical professionals who do not
agree with making vaccination mandatory for everybody especially when it
includes young children. I know of some medical professionals who quietly and
privately are advising their patients not to take the Covid vaccines. These are
people who seem genuinely concerned about the welfare of their patients. I know
some of them personally. They may be wrong of course and I am not a medical
professional so who am I to judge them? However, when we create an atmosphere
where doctors cannot freely advise their patients about a medical treatment
because they fear ostracization and/or dismissal, something is wrong.
The
archbishop goes on to say: ‘Having made provisions for vaccines and guidelines
for social order under the circumstance of the pandemic, our government must
now be more decisive (my emphasis) in restoring socio-economic
normalcy and safeguarding the citizens of our land.’ This is more code for ‘the
greater good’ or ‘the common good’ arguments. The Archbishop actually comes out
and says it in the last sentence of his letter.
I would be
more likely to support ‘the greater good’ argument for mandating Covid vaccines
if the Covid vaccines prevented transmission. However, even the most rabid, frothing
at the mouth, making vaccination mandatory supporters agree that the vaccines
only temporarily reduce the chances of serious illness or death from Covid. We
can safely assume that the science is at least settled on that - for now. There
is no more danger to anyone, vaccinated or unvaccinated, from people who are
not vaccinated simply because the vaccines do not prevent infection or
transmission. In fact, the vaccinated may be even more dangerous
to others because due to the ramped up immune system caused by the vaccines,
the vaccinated may be more likely to be asymptomatic. Blissfully unaware that
they are carrying the virus, inadvertently and unknowingly, the asymptomatic
vaccinated person could be infecting others as they go their merry way. I repeat,
the unvaccinated person is no more dangerous to any other person, vaccinated or
unvaccinated than a vaccinated person and the vaccinated could be more
dangerous because they may be asymptomatic. Therefore, workplaces, transport,
restaurants, etc. are no safer by the exclusion of the unvaccinated.
I have
always been leery when I hear the phrase ‘the common good’ because it implies
that governments know what is best for us. I beg to differ. I know what is best
for me and you know what is best for you. On several occasions, I have refused
or questioned suggested medical procedures and it turns out that either I was
right or the delay caused by my initial refusal caused no harm when I changed
my mind after doing my own due diligence. For example, when I had cancer, ganja
was illegal. Unknown to my oncologist, I tried it anyway and it really helped
me get through my cancer treatments. Now it is legal and some docs prescribe it
for cancer symptoms or relief from the side effects of chemo. The 'science' has
evolved and caught up with what Rasta has been saying all along. I subscribe to
the principles of ‘my body, my choice’ and ‘informed consent’ for any medical
procedure on my body. This is so enshrined in Canadian law that I know of
people who have died rather than accept a certain medical procedure. As a
person living with cancer, I have made up my mind that I will not go through
chemo again - even though it saved my life previously. I would rather die than
go through chemo again. It is ok. I am 70 years old and I have lived a good,
long life. The doctors respect my choice and so does the law. Why can’t we give
the same respect to those who choose not to get vaccinated when the vaccines
only benefit the person vaccinated but does not protect others? When a vaccine
is developed that protects others from infection, then maybe we can consider
making it compulsory.
Christians
are supposed to love others - even those who are against us. There are some
church leaders such as His Excellency Bishop Dr. Kevin Smith who say mandatory
vaccination is ‘the mark of the beast’. We may dismiss His Excellency as crazy
but many others in the religious community share his belief. Where is the
freedom of religious thought we usually allow especially when those beliefs are
harmless to others? His Excellency has come to a bad end and while the details
of that end are still sketchy at the time of writing, some are already saying
that he has been silenced. Other leaders in other countries who have come out
against vaccination have also died under mysterious circumstances. The
assassinated leader of Haiti comes to mind and one leader in an African
country. The bizarre end of His Excellency is already providing fodder for
the 'conspiracy theorists'.
You should
have the right to worship a tree if you want or believe anything you want - as
long as that belief has no effect on me. You can drink the orange or green
Kool-Aid and believe that the PNP or the JLP can save Jamaica. That is your
belief and I respect it even though, to me, the evidence indicates otherwise.
Those who believe mandatory vaccination is wrong, whatever is the reason for
that belief, religious or otherwise, are no danger to me. What can be dangerous
is to blindly follow church leaders such as His Excellency or the Archbishop without
doing your own due diligence. To blindly follow any religious leader, any
doctor, any Prime Minister without doing your own due diligence especially when
that involves a medical procedure injecting something into your body is crazy.
It is your body and you have the right to informed consent. No government,
Canadian, Jamaican or otherwise should have the right to impose a medical
procedure on me when not submitting to that medical procedure may or may not be
detrimental to my personal health but does not endanger the health of
others.
Let us stop
the panic. Let us stop the lockdowns and the prevention of movement. Let us
stop the madness. Let us resume our lives being careful to consider your own
medical advice, wash your hands frequently, eat healthy, avoid stress, exercise
regularly and find love and laughter in your life. Those who love and are loved
live longer. The occasional spliff doesn't hurt either.
One
Love.
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