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Influencers

 Since when did we start taking to heart and branding as gospel everything the following people say: comedians, talk show hosts, podcasters, sports stars, and -generally speaking- people who are famous for being famous. These are NOT the people we should be paying attention to when it comes to important information. Let's use COVID as an example. The ONLY people we should be listening to are infectious disease experts, doctors, and WHO experts involved with tracking and tracing this virus. Add to that list anyone who is faithfully and accurately quoting these experts and using that information to try to mitigate the spread and severity of this virus. That's it. Anyone else who is NOT an expert on diseases or treating diseases can continue to say whatever the hell they want. Really. Keep spouting your bullshit about how the virus is a big hoax and how the stringently tested vaccines are dangerous and deadly and how masks are useless and how Ivermectin can cure COVID. Scream it from the rooftops, put it on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and extend a giant banner spanning Mount Rushmore with all this bullshit clearly listed. 

You see, at some point, we have to stop trying to idiot-proof the United States and the world. Sadly, there are just too many idiots and gullible people and us trying to protect them by censoring out and removing all this bullshit floating around on the Internet is only having the complete opposite effect of making it look like a giant government cover-up/conspiracy. You're either getting your information from reputable, science-based sources or you're not. Any human with even average intelligence should be able to discern fact from opinion. If you can't, even after being presented with the facts and logical reasoning, you are on your own. It's a free country. The only time the government or any type of censoring should be involved is when folks are using the Internet or social media platforms to plan hate or terrorist-type gatherings similar to what happened on January 6th. 

Why the fuck is anything that Joe Rogan says of ANY concern to anyone. He's a fucking comedian podcaster. He simply talks about what his opinions are and then brings in a host of guests who have far-ranging ideas and opinions on a host of subjects. His podcast is ENTERTAINING. It's not for educational purposes. How this attracts millions of followers, I'll never know. The only thing I can come up with is there are millions of people out there in the world who just don't have enough meaningful things to do during the day. The Joe Rogan experience fills that void for these people. They find him entertaining. Good for them. Good for Joe. Here's a guy with no real-world essential-worker type skills who has found a way to make millions of dollars by simply talking about what he believes and talking with others about what they believe. I'm kinda jealous. I know two languages and I've been a senior technical writer for 25 years. I have certifications in computer-related disciplines. I've held a Top Secret security clearance for the past 30 years. I can write catchy songs and play guitar and sing. Yet NONE of these things has made me anywhere close to the money Joe Rogan is making for simply chatting with people on a podcast. Good for him. If you're one of the millions of people who enjoy Joe Rogan, good for you too! That's OK. If that's what entertains you, it doesn't bother me in the least. My son sits around and watches videos of other kids playing video games while they giggle and curse and make crude jokes. Some of these YouTubers are pulling in serious coin for that kind of stuff too.  It boggles my mind and it irritates me that I wasn't able to make a bunch of stupid videos like that and rake in hundreds of thousands of dollars. Again, there seem to be millions of people out there who are very easily entertained and have nothing better to do than watch this kind of nonsense. It ain't my cup of tea, but it doesn't really directly affect me or the way I live my life. Neither does Joe Rogan. "Joe Rogan said this, Joe Rogan said that! Blah, blah, blah." I don't listen to Joe Rogan so I don't give a flying fuck what he said. If he's spouting false information about COVID, that's too bad. But we (the ones who follow science and are able to apply logic and fact-checking to information) already know the stuff he's saying is wrong so why is it bothering us? Because some of his followers are BELIEVING what he's saying? That's on THEM. The facts are readily available to everyone. If you're stupid or gullible enough to believe what some podcast comedian is saying over what scientists and doctors have been saying, I don't know how I can help you. Two years we've been dealing with this virus. Two years of repeated and continual scientific data readily available to anyone that wants to read it and use it. If you still think COVID is a hoax or that Ivermectin is going to cure you, I feel sorry for you. I do. But there's nothing more that I can do for you. I'm sorry. If your main source of information and news comes from comedian podcasts or whack-job conspiracy theorists, good luck with that. You're on your own. Meanwhile, stop beating up Joe Rogan for doing what he does best: ENTERTAIN people. 

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