I share a lot of data and charts with you, but data and charts can convey only so much about the inhuman regime of the past year -- and the zombies who think living this way is not only acceptable, but even morally superior.
So I want to share a portion of a Tweet thread I just came across from a woman named Emily Burns, who just visited Florida from Massachusetts:
Last weekend I escaped to Florida from Massachusetts, the fascist hellhole I am cursed to call home. Everything you have heard is true. They have real people there, not the zombies that people the blue wastelands. People smile, they laugh, they acknowledge you. Join me.
I was in Miami, where there is a mask mandate which is mercifully unenforceable. On the boardwalk, 75% of people were unmasked. In town 50% of people on the sidewalks were unmasked. Miami has lower activity than much of the state, at 60% of normal.
It was enough for a humanity-starved soul like me.
The restaurants were packed, no plexiglass in sight, and only those catering to the most affluent (and hence “liberal”) appeared to have any reduced capacity at all.
But the bars. Inside, outside, it didn’t matter. People were alive. COVID-“courtesy” was forgotten. People forgot your potential contagion and pushed past you to order a drink. Random strangers butted into your conversations. It was…normal.
I found myself excited by the smallest things: water fountains that worked, people who stopped to help me up without a moment's pause when I tripped on my 5” heels.
One of the things that struck me more than anything was resident Miamians’ ability to do something as normal as being catty. I was so bemused talking to a woman who was complaining about how fake people there were.…
It made me realize the social riches we used to enjoy, and that they still enjoy. The ability not just to be around people, but to be exposed to such a surfeit of humanity that you might have the luxury of choosing with whom you wanted to associate, or not.
She talked about how nice it was to be around someone “normal.” I told her I felt the same way…and didn’t mention that now I was just happy to be around anyone at all.
It’s probably worth noting that the world is truly a bizarre place when you go to Miami in search of “normal,” or take comfort in being called “normal” by someone from Miami. But this is where we are, a world where Florida is a shining ray of hope for humanity.
I know that sounds snarky, but it’s not meant to. What most people don’t know was that one of the chief goals of the Enlightenment was to move people away from the bloody “higher” pursuits of glory (war) and “improvement of humanity” (evangelism, usually coupled with war).
And towards the more pedestrian (and much less bloody) focus of their selves, and simply tending to their own garden (re: Candide), their own happiness and family -- their own "petty" concerns. Those Enlightenment peeps, they were on to something. And Florida is a perfect example.
All right, enough with Voltaire et al.; back to the topic. Our new friends, she from Romania, he from Argentina, invited us to an Asado the next time we came down. Naturally, our flights are already booked, and I am looking forward to the chimichurri.
Some people will now be spluttering, “That’s why things are so bad in Florida!!” The data tell a different story. With our universal outdoor mask mandate (in Massachusetts) enforced by the social distance Stasi and mask mafia, we perform WORSE on every single metric.
And then she moves into the data, of the kind I review here on a daily basis.
Yes, the data is important. But mainly because it shows us, as she notes in her thread, that we have given up precious and nonnegotiable things...for nothing.
Now to be sure, writing to you every day is the right thing to do.
But when I held a supporters' event at my house last year, that was worth all the emails in the world to the people who attended. The sign that greeted people on my name tag table read, "Welcome to the Old Normal."
Today I am heading to Orlando to visit a possible location for the Tom Woods Show 2000th episode event, coming October 16. I'm virtually certain I'll be booking this particular one.
That's going to be an amazing time for all of us. Some of your favorites will be there, along with a surprise or two, and I have some fun and entertaining things planned.
But it'll just be nice to be normal again, won't it?
Even before that event, I'll be holding another private supporters' event near Orlando in May. Doesn't cost my supporters anything. I cover the food and the entertainment out of my own pocket. It's another unannounced bonus of my Supporting Listeners program.
I hope to see you at one or both of these.
(I will have a signup page for the 2000th episode event soon. I'm footing the bill for that, too, so tickets are free, but I'd like to get a sense of the numbers so I'm asking people to sign up if they plan to attend.)
One last thing: if you've ever considered starting a website or blog, remember my publicity offer: get your hosting through my link and you'll not only get a good price, but I'll also publicize your site to get you some initial traffic. Not to mention membership in my mutual-help bloggers' group, free tutorials to help you get started, and more. I've helped thousands of my readers do this, and none of these bonuses cost you a cent. Get the details:http://www.tomwoods.com/publicity