In an interview with TV3's morning program "900 sekundes", Prime Minister Krišjānis Kariņš made some debatable statements and was basically inciting people.
Unfortunately, scaring and subsequently inciting have become the official doctrine of Kariņš's government in communication with the public. First, horrible scenes of the future are drawn and then, as if in passing, the culprits are pointed out. Kariņš predicted that due to Covid patients, "...hospitals will be filled and will not be able to provide other services to patients... if this continues [vaccination rates remain low], sooner or later even vaccinated people will not be able to access hospital services".
Even if the unvaccinated, rather than the chronically starved medicine sector and the current clumsy health care administration, were to blame for the possible failure of the system, even then Kariņš, as head of government, should not contrast different groups of the country's population in this way. It should be noted that incitement, that is, blaming a section of the population for the misfortune of others, is a recent vicious trend in social networks, where malicious posts are increasingly appearing against those whom these writers consider unwelcome.
Here is one such post: “Oh, it will soon be two fuckin' TWO years since we live in such a world and I am absolutely tired of coddling these antivaxxers, antimaskers, etc. Either get vaccinated or voluntarily free the world from your malicious stupidity, because why should ALL the burden be borne by those who have even half a brain?” Very concise: either get vaccinated or voluntarily free the world. Such misanthropic posts, which call for freeing the world from some unpleasant elements, have always been posted on social networks and on various topics. They are not uncommon, and many people quietly agree with them. However, the fact that this particular post has almost half a thousand likes shows quite clearly the true moral level of society.
If you don't have even half a brain, then free the world from yourself. If you have a D in algebra, then free the world. Why should all the weight be placed on the shoulders of those who are able to get a normal education and know not to throw their garbage on the ground? May those who do not vaccinate free the world first; then those who swear loudly on the streets, ride loudly on a motorcycle and in general, all those I - the only correct one in the world - don't like. This easily can lead you to the place where, as they say, the road is paved with good intentions. It is very unfortunate that among the 400+ who, by liking this post, are so happy to march towards this world of "dreams", there are people who seem to be respected in society, opinion leaders.
In the above-mentioned interview, Kariņš continues to talk nonsense and pretend that all this racket about and around vaccination is a discussion about a medical issue. Only about that. He completely ignores the psychological, principled, even quasi-religious aspect of this problem. In my childhood, a popular atheist argument for the absence of God was primitive: Gagarin flew into space and saw no God there! Checkmate on any ignorant people who dare to celebrate Christmas and, oh, the horror, even go to church at times. It is in this tone that Kariņš talks: "Time will pass and the majority of the society will understand that it is necessary to get vaccinated."
I have a counter-question: Will Kariņš ever understand that the question is not about understanding, but other, much deeper aspects of human psychology? It just seems that Kariņš has never spoken to any Covid skeptics and thinks that these people simply have not read the latest recommendations of the World Health Organization. As soon as they get to know them, enlightenment will take over them, as believers in Soviet-era cartoons - an astronaut in the sky, searching for God behind the clouds, but sees nothing but the stars and the Moon there. So religion is pure nonsense. Everything is so simple! Kariņš and those who call for even more severe repression against Covid skeptics have about such a line of thought.
Special mention should be made of Covid hysterics, who regularly and daily publish on social networks a variety of horrific Covid-related information, supplemented by a mocking: tHeRe Is nO PaNdEmIc! There are probably people who really believe that SARS-CoV-2 virus does not exist and that Covid-19 has been invented, but that is an absolute minority. But the Covid hysterics focus their attention on them and try to prove something to them. Seemingly, trying to convince themselves.
But it is a completely different matter - too much focus on one particular disease. It is clear that the virus exists, it is quite dangerous and it threatens many. Especially older people. The question is different: is this pandemic so dangerous that it has to fundamentally reorganize people's lives, disrupt the normal rhythm of life and, above all, unleash in people this bestial, subconscious hatred?
Is subordinating all public life to the fight against Covid the optimal solution? Perhaps the Swedish approach of accepting and coexisting with Covid (as with all other diseases) would be a more socially acceptable and less traumatic option for society? I am not saying that it really would be, but I would like the dialogue in society to be dignified, not "either get vaccinated or voluntarily free the world from your malicious stupidity."
The answers to these questions are not simple and unambiguous, as evidenced by the daily Covid hysterics' posts on social networks. But they, including Kariņš, are running away from these questions like the devil from a cross. They understand that if you don’t blow on the Covid coals every day and keep them red-hot, they will soon fade. For the vast majority of people, the topic of Covid is not in the first place on the agenda. People want to return to the old, usual rhythm as soon as possible, but this is obviously not wanted by those who wish to maintain the "state of emergency" for as long as possible, which Kariņš himself once accurately described as "having more money than ever before."
Of course, there is no shortage of those for whom the topic of Covid has become a quasi-religious, ideological, sporting battlefield, and they are ready to debate this topic from morning to evening, completely without any material incentives. Here comes to mind a fashion reviewer's statement - if you wear a dress with a huge company logo and no one pays you for this ad, then think about why you are doing it.