Dear Cam
I recently read your article The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. This article was such a breath of fresh air from the relentless fear-inducing propaganda that I am constantly exposed to on the mainstream media. It said exactly what I have always instinctively felt about Jacinda Ardern but was unable to articulate not having any skill as a writer myself.
My husband, who was raised in East Germany, tells me that “supposed” news stories now being written in New Zealand rival, in their use of fear and shaming of those who don’t comply, with those of East Germany. Unfortunately, the majority of Kiwis who never grew up exposed to such nonsense don’t recognise it.
I joined the Voices for Freedom movement because I was alone. I knew not another soul who was unvaccinated. I was tired of being alone in a circle of people who think Arden was a queen who kept us all safe from the plague itself. I sat in church while my priest told us that it is our duty to get vaccinated and only the selfish would refuse.
I am not under the false illusion I can change the evil system we now live under but, together with others, I am learning to adapt to it, and we help each other through a very demoralising time within this movement. When I immigrated to New Zealand I did not anticipate I would have to sit in a storage closet during church service in order to be kept away from the vaccinated (my regular church will not allow me to attend at all), not be allowed in a swimming pool, library, restaurant, coffee shop, cinema or sign in to do my grocery shopping. I have been told that I can’t wait in the waiting room for the doctor because “My dear, it is simply too dangerous and there are children in there you understand.”
One day during a silent demonstration for VFF in downtown Dunedin holding up our signs during a weekday at 11 am, I looked around at our small group. We were mainly middle-aged and elderly women. And I thought how odd it is that so few people realise the impact of the loss of our freedoms and that it was us older ladies alone taking a stand for what all of us should hold so dear.
During this time a large group of teenage girls passed us. They all wore masks and looked at us rather strangely, and you saw in their expressions they regarded us as crazy old grannies. Keep in mind in Dunedin there is at this point in time no Covid, these girls are young and healthy, and we are outdoors.
Fear is a powerful motivator; it keeps the masses in line and drives them to allow discrimination otherwise unthinkable.
As in East Germany, it is not enough to promote propaganda, but it must be accompanied by the assertion that those who oppose are evil (modern times “potential terrorist”) and need to be re-educated or punished until they agree. Now we see the media promoting this theme.
Like you I am enraged at the waste of money that could have been spent improving the deplorable health care system. As an unvaccinated person I now run the risk of not receiving medical treatment, particularly from private specialists. I lived in South Korea for many years, raised my children there and let me tell you the health care system there is among the world’s best. No wait times, affordable high-quality care; it was like a dream compared to New Zealand. If I could retire in South Korea I would. Why can’t we do the same here?
Thank you for your courage to speak out and most of all for making it personal. You may not be part of the team of 5 million, but you are most definitely not alone and you are most certainly in my prayers.