Even if you believe there are groups sufficiently powerful to purposely induce collective hysteria (it’s actually mathematically impossible), those that fell into it are themselves culpable for having done so. ~ The evidence was available if they had looked.
The Academic and Medical 'professionals' acquitted themselves disgracefully, for the most part. You'd maybe expect all that education to inoculate a mind against the allure of Totalitarianism. Apparently, it doesn't. I might even speculate the reverse, that the educated mind provides the richest soil.
Why? Is there a video on that? Seems to me that money can buy near-unlimited outreach. If Pfizer, Gates, whoever; drop big bags of money off at all of major media, media will say just about anything. Then there's at LEAST 10% of the population stupid enough to digest and regurgitate almost literally anything and another ~70% of the population is willing to farm out all their critical thinking skills to their favorite "expert".
When the media drums beat loud enough on an issue, ~80% of the population keeps their mouths shut and they fall in line; their understanding of their cultural zeitgeist is formed by media and the 10% of idiots . If all of media and 10% of the population is going nuts, and dissent is quashed, then it's just a downward spiral from there and I think the criteria for "hysteria" has been met. And all it took to get going was big bags of money, and a morally aimless society.
I'm not sold on Gates and WEF's influence, but I don't understand your confidence that you can objectively demonstrate they were not able to puppeteer civilization into hysteria.
"Even if you believe there are groups sufficiently powerful to purposely induce collective hysteria (it’s actually mathematically impossible), those that fell into it are themselves culpable for having done so."
How many do you actually believe are in the collective hysteria? It's not the majority or you'd see a lot more solo masked drivers. I'd estimate 70-80% are in the go along to get along crowd. There are some hysterics but they are led by others. A good example would be the events that occurred at Oberlin a couple of years back. A few of the administrators and maybe professors and activist students helped drive hysteria in a small minority of the student population - probably 5% but those were vocal. The rest mostly kept their heads down for fear of them being put on the chopping block. Sure there were no masks etc but this bit is reminiscent of covid:
So to reframe the question: How does an institution take kids like that, and, by precept and example, teach them to rush to judgment, ignore evidence, disdain the legal system, and demonize neighbors who are different?
To say this is mathematically impossible is quite a stretch as we see this type of hysteria repeatedly (Evergreen may be another example) though not on such a large scale as covid. There are often a few in the driver's wheel, whether they are caught up in the hysteria themselves or actually have an agenda.
The Academic and Medical 'professionals' acquitted themselves disgracefully, for the most part. You'd maybe expect all that education to inoculate a mind against the allure of Totalitarianism. Apparently, it doesn't. I might even speculate the reverse, that the educated mind provides the richest soil.
Re: "it’s actually mathematically impossible"
Why? Is there a video on that? Seems to me that money can buy near-unlimited outreach. If Pfizer, Gates, whoever; drop big bags of money off at all of major media, media will say just about anything. Then there's at LEAST 10% of the population stupid enough to digest and regurgitate almost literally anything and another ~70% of the population is willing to farm out all their critical thinking skills to their favorite "expert".
When the media drums beat loud enough on an issue, ~80% of the population keeps their mouths shut and they fall in line; their understanding of their cultural zeitgeist is formed by media and the 10% of idiots . If all of media and 10% of the population is going nuts, and dissent is quashed, then it's just a downward spiral from there and I think the criteria for "hysteria" has been met. And all it took to get going was big bags of money, and a morally aimless society.
I'm not sold on Gates and WEF's influence, but I don't understand your confidence that you can objectively demonstrate they were not able to puppeteer civilization into hysteria.
"Even if you believe there are groups sufficiently powerful to purposely induce collective hysteria (it’s actually mathematically impossible), those that fell into it are themselves culpable for having done so."
How many do you actually believe are in the collective hysteria? It's not the majority or you'd see a lot more solo masked drivers. I'd estimate 70-80% are in the go along to get along crowd. There are some hysterics but they are led by others. A good example would be the events that occurred at Oberlin a couple of years back. A few of the administrators and maybe professors and activist students helped drive hysteria in a small minority of the student population - probably 5% but those were vocal. The rest mostly kept their heads down for fear of them being put on the chopping block. Sure there were no masks etc but this bit is reminiscent of covid:
So to reframe the question: How does an institution take kids like that, and, by precept and example, teach them to rush to judgment, ignore evidence, disdain the legal system, and demonize neighbors who are different?
https://www.commentary.org/articles/abraham-socher/o-oberlin-my-oberlin/
To say this is mathematically impossible is quite a stretch as we see this type of hysteria repeatedly (Evergreen may be another example) though not on such a large scale as covid. There are often a few in the driver's wheel, whether they are caught up in the hysteria themselves or actually have an agenda.