BC GOVERNMENT
Saved by @CodyyyGardner

I’m ready to name 2020 the Year of Hypocrisy.

The year where organizations, governments, and companies destroyed their institutional trust across the board.

A thread of some of the biggest dumpster fires from the last twelve months. 🧵

 Municipal leaders in NYC, who we trust to keep us safe, were far too concerned about their woke credentials than they were about public health. The result was the second-worst hit state in the country (after NJ)
Remember when the Surgeon General told Americans not to wear masks?

Then, a few weeks later reversed himself and taught us how to make them at home?

Wonder why so many people don’t trust government guidance on masks now? Maybe a reason there. https://t.co/cGkb0L328K
Remember when Dr. Fauci said not to wear masks in March on 60 minutes.

Then later said he knew masks were good but wanted to protect mask supplies for first responders?

Then he didn’t wear a mask at the ballgame?
Media - where do we even begin? Infinite examples to choose from on both sides of the partisan aisle.

For the vast majority of *national* media, their only consistency in 2020 was that they would take whatever position made Trump look good or bad.
Media companies like @voxdotcom covered themselves in glory with stories like “don’t worry about the Chinese flu but definitely mock people who think it's serious!”

They mocked @balajis and others trying to raise alarm bells about covid early on. https://t.co/NNzmnfBcod
If you casually pay attention to the news, you knew that coronavirus was NO BIG DEAL because your favorite media sources told you so throughout February and March 2020.
In 2020 Big tech made it clear they actively curate what's allowed based on their partisan bias.

The Hunter Biden story is a great example of how Facebook and Twitter moved, ideologically, to ban a negative Biden story from circulating prior to the election.
Educators - This one is personal for me.

In August, Teachers Unions began a shameful campaign to tell parents and taxpayers that in-person education wasn’t essential for children
When Georgia opened schools in early August, the nation mocked them

When that didn't lead to increased transmission for months, there were no apologies

Kids are missing school and the impacts on inequality will be felt for decades, and teachers unions are squarely to blame
Cuomo is the everything for 2020's failures of institutional trust: Government, media, entertainment all rolled together

-Cuomo said covid was no big deal
-He did horribly with covid
-His brother, a popular anchor, helped his image
-THEY GAVE HIM AN EMMY!
126 Republicans cosigned an amicus brief to overturn the results of the electoral college.

Destroying trust and predictability in our election process SHOULD be a third rail of American politics.
https://t.co/WytrFhatGR
Scientists said that outdoor church was unsafe, that anti-lockdown protests were unsafe, but that Black Lives Matter protests were safe

Anyone with a brain in their head trusts these people less going forward.
Even though it's a late entry, I think that the @NewYorker's attempt to resuscitate the public image of convicted child sex offender Anthony Weiner should rank here among one of the most heinous violations of public trust this year. https://t.co/e65gHSQnWZ
I could go on and if there are any good ones share I'll add them to the thread, but the overall takeaway from this is that institutions are losing trust one betrayal at a time.

Soon a time will come when they aren't able to influence behavior the way they once could.
So media won't be able to scare people or shape their ideas, government won't be able to enforce lockdowns, social media platforms won't be able to slow news, and Democrats and Republicans won't be able to control their constituents.

What happens then? Is it freedom or anarchy?
Most people are far too busy to constantly research what's happening in Wuhan to take precautions against faraway threats.

Overall it's probably a net negative that these institutions won't have credibility - but it's better than them having it and abusing it.
If 2021 crossed the rubicon in terms of erosion of institutional trust, it wasn't because of Q, Antifa, or Facebook.

It was because our organizations gave people good reason to stop trusting them.

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New from me and @MarkMorales51: Cuomo said 'he can destroy me': NY assemblyman alleges governor threatened him over nursing homes scandal

Democratic NY Assemblyman Ron Kim told CNN that Gov. Cuomo called last Thursday to “threaten my career if I did not cover up for Melissa [DeRosa] and what she said.” Cuomo also said “I hadn't seen his wrath and that he can destroy me,” according to Kim.

Kim's wife told CNN she overheard parts of the phone call and heard Cuomo say, "Who do you think you are?" as well as the words, "my wrath," and that immediately after the phone call, her husband told her: "The governor threatened to destroy my life."

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Here is the full document. I am going to go through it now.

Yep. This is also a point strongly made in @andrewdoyle_com's new book on Free Speech which I am halfway through and am pretty sure I will be recommending as a primer for the alarming number of people who seem confused about what free speech is & why it is good.


Well, good! Conservatives have not been great at this historically so I must give credit where it is due. I really wish this were a left-wing government taking this progressive stance.

(Areo has a piece forthcoming on why supporting FoS is inherently progressive, btw)


Yes, sadly this is true. I currently have half a dozen cases where people are being penalised for trying to express unorthodox views in the academy.


However, I should also say that one case in which I helped a student prepare for an ethical review when she had already been made aware her views were problematic (she wanted to treat people as individuals) was a resounding success & she passed it. So there is still hope.
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#SatiSavitri #RealLifeExperiences #BharatDarshana

Bharat Darshana publishes a small monthly magazine which has some very interesting puranic anecdotes and snippets.

When I picked up this month's magazine, I was intrigued by a story which I want to share as below

1/

This is a real-life incident as narrated by Prof. Krishna Bihari Pandey titled "Sati Savitri"

Sati Savitri is a well known puranic figure from Srimad DeviBhagwatham and Mahabharatha as one of those who fought with Yama to save her husband.

2/

This story is a modern real-life experience which mimics the puranic account in it's own unique way.

The story occurs in 1975 with Prof and his wife in Delhi with professor working as a researcher in university. Prof's family is in Allahabad in a large joint family

3/

Once Prof gets to know that his mother is not keeping well. He goes to his native and brings his mother. With dedicated care of his wife, his mother recovers quite remarkably and regains full stamina and strength

Mother-in-law & Daughter-in-law go out for shopping frequently

4/

Life's going smooth until one day when they receive a telegram that Prof's father is not keeping well.

His mother is distressed about the situation and requests her son to take her to the native. Prof is a little angry due to frequent travels and turns it down

5/
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दधीचि ऋषि को मनाही थी कि वह अश्विनी कुमारों को किसी भी अवस्था में ब्रह्मविद्या का उपदेश नहीं दें। ये आदेश देवराज इन्द्र का था।वह नहीं चाहते थे कि उनके सिंहासन को प्रत्यक्ष या परोक्ष रुप से कोई भी खतरा हो।मगर जब अश्विनी कुमारों ने सहृदय प्रार्थना की तो महर्षि सहर्ष मान गए।


और उन्होनें ब्रह्मविद्या का ज्ञान अश्विनि कुमारों को दे दिया। गुप्तचरों के माध्यम से जब खबर इन्द्रदेव तक पहुंची तो वे क्रोध में खड़ग ले कर गए और महर्षि दधीचि का सर धड़ से अलग कर दिया।मगर अश्विनी कुमार भी कहां चुप बैठने वाले थे।उन्होने तुरंत एक अश्व का सिर महर्षि के धड़ पे...


...प्रत्यारोपित कर उन्हें जीवित रख लिया।उस दिन के पश्चात महर्षि दधीचि अश्वशिरा भी कहलाए जाने लगे।अब आगे सुनिये की किस प्रकार महर्षि दधीचि का सर काटने वाले इन्द्र कैसे अपनी रक्षा हेतु उनके आगे गिड़गिड़ाए ।

एक बार देवराज इन्द्र अपनी सभा में बैठे थे, तो उन्हे खुद पर अभिमान हो आया।


वे सोचने लगे कि हम तीनों लोकों के स्वामी हैं। ब्राह्मण हमें यज्ञ में आहुति देते हैं और हमारी उपासना करते हैं। फिर हम सामान्य ब्राह्मण बृहस्पति से क्यों डरते हैं ?उनके आने पर क्यों खड़े हो जाते हैं?वे तो हमारी जीविका से पलते हैं। देवर्षि बृहस्पति देवताओं के गुरु थे।

अभिमान के कारण ऋषि बृहस्पति के पधारने पर न तो इन्द्र ही खड़े हुए और न ही अन्य देवों को खड़े होने दिया।देवगुरु बृहस्पति इन्द्र का ये कठोर दुर्व्यवहार देख कर चुप चाप वहां से लौट गए।कुछ देर पश्चात जब देवराज का मद उतरा तो उन्हे अपनी गलती का एहसास हुआ।
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