Jul 1

Jul 1 The Herd

by Sally Marshall

This term, “herd immunity”, doesn’t set well with me. I keep imagining a herd of caribou being chased by a pack of wolves. In nature, culling of a herd is accomplished by removing the weak and old by predators who chase the herd, thereby revealing the vulnerable ones that can easily be brought down to feed the pack. I think it bothers me because we have a pandemic that has done the same thing, especially to seniors, exploited minorities and the poor only, instead of being lunch for a pack of wolves, we have been eliminated by a microscopic enemy that is very cunning and resourceful. I have to remind myself that we are humanity, not animals, and have incredibly heroic teams of medical practitioners: doctors, nurses, lab technicians, all working overtime, all exhausted and stressed out, who have remained on the job during the height of infections, dedicated to healing and comforting the weak, the old, the frightened; and, teams of scientific experts working around the clock to successfully produce a vaccine against this incredibly tenacious adversary. Then, there are the essential workers: people armed with masks and vinyl gloves, staying on the job to keep critical supplies and services accessible in our communities. These essential employees were at constant risk, and many continue to work under adverse conditions. We have done this because we are of a higher order than the animals (well, most of us, anyway) so, we have been given a much better prognosis than a caribou.

Ok. Maybe I’m being a bit too optimistic here. Sometimes I have to remind myself that, when the Covid 19 pandemic hit the United States in 2020 (alerts began in January), the first thing that went off retailers’ shelves were semi-automatic weapons, scores of ammunition and toilet paper. That makes sense. If you are going to stalk some nebulous adversary with your assault rifle, you will want to make sure your butt is wiped properly first. Which brings us to the question: Who exactly is this enemy? Who are the “they” that activated an odd group of militant reactionaries who felt the need to arm themselves with assault weapons and loads of ammo? In reality, the only “they” most of the herd would fear would be those reactionaries carrying around semi-automatic assault rifles in plain sight.

So, if you are planning to include an assault weapon with your ensemble while out in public, you will need to figure out how to do this without alerting law enforcement. One suggestion would be to wear camouflage clothing so people can’t see you (I’ve been told that doesn’t really work). Then, you’ll need a special vehicle in which to cruise the streets – one suitable for stealth and surveillance. We have those already and, last year every sports ATV retailer in our area had trouble keeping them on their lots, as people were buying them steadily all summer. They’re supposedly built for off-road recreational use, as they do not have much carrying capacity, so they aren’t very practical for doing some fencing work around the farm or any other purpose that requires hauling equipment (or a kayak). They are a type of ATV designated as a “side-by-side” (?) with a set of roll bars over the top, sometimes including a canopy roof (kind of like a golf cart on steroids). What makes them suitable for stalking “nebulous adversaries” is the removable side doors. This is handy if you are going to aim your automatic weapon at innocent citizens holding protest signs, as you don’t have to roll a window down first.

What perplexes me the most is the advertising for these vehicles, which is obviously aimed at people with some serious self-esteem issues. “Are you tired of not being noticed?” asks one sports ATV manufacturer. There must be a lot of people with this problem, especially those who need to identify with some popular trend of the moment. Last year these side-by-sides where all over town, cruising main street and annoying people at the parks. Some sported little American flags or ones naming their favorite political figure (guess who?). The fact that it looked somewhat comical and ridiculous was over-shadowed by an ominous undercurrent that revealed an unusual, predatory mindset in our population. This trend has been exacerbated by a continual barrage of bizarre social media posts: conspiratorial rantings that are connected to algorithms that feed on extremism and hate. These “algorithmic amplifications” are covertly planted by the Silicon Valley robotic tech world into social media platforms. The idea that social media is being manipulated by artificial intelligence in an extremely efficient, toxic feedback loop brings us to the question: Do the people who are influenced by this realize they are being compelled to purchase automatic weapons on the advice of a robot? If so, what exactly are you planning to do with this type of weapon in your community? If you use it to blow away some little old lady holding a protest sign, just because she called you an idiot, you are going to be charged with first degree murder and put away for life, as well as smearing your family name with a crime. You have become a predator in possession of a lethal weapon that kills people.

The other thing that bothers me about these weapons is how easy it is to acquire one. An assault- style rifle with a large-capacity magazine, along with ammo and accessories, can be purchased at your local sporting goods or fire arms retailer, right along with PFD’s, sun hats, candy bars and fishing poles for the kids. You are now equipped, along with camouflage attire, for an impressive assault on a gathering of protesters, environmental activists (remember climate change?), or people marching for justice, equality, or the right to exist. So, just about any “nut-case” can obtain an AK-47 style combat weapon (note the persistent, grim news of mass shootings). How did we ever get to this point?

Let’s get back to the herd. The herd consists of most of us, who are peace-loving, trusting and vulnerable, sometimes clumsy and sometimes heroic citizens who care about one another. We are not always right, not always smart and not always healthy; we don’t always agree with one another but, most of the time, we can settle our differences because we know how important it is to work together. We arm ourselves with face masks and sanitizers because we feel responsible for protecting one another while the pandemic develops new ways to try to kill us. We have more courage than we will ever be given credit for and, we all come in beautiful, different colors. As we stumble through life, working too hard, and trying to do some good in our communities, we are pretty much overlooked in the news media by a population more interested in what’s happening with the Royal Family, Tom Cruise, or the antics of a former president (what’s his name?). We are tired of hypocrisy invading our Facebook page by wealthy mad men, we are tired of scammers, identity thieves and everyone else who lies to us; and, we would like to be able to answer the phone without the caller being another deceiving, robotic voice. We are the herd – exploited, manipulated, exhausted and the perfect prey for the “wolves”.

The “wolves” of humanity are the bullies; the predators with assault-style weapons. The white male supremacists who are toxic with hate become the perfect target for those algorithms created by young, ambitious Silicon Valley techies whose job is mainly to increase corporate profits using the efficiency of artificial intelligence to flood social platforms with inflammatory content such as conspiracy theories and militant extremism (while climate change keeps the planet burning and the waters rising). The “wolf” could be your neighbor, someone you work with, or a member of the church you attend. If you’ve been in his house, he has probably showed off his impressive collection of weapons that set off alarm bells in your psyche. But, he’s ready for “them”, whoever “they” may be. So, in the eloquent words of Walt Kelly’s comic strip character “Pogo”: “We have met the enemy and he is us.”