by James Corbett
corbettreport.com
March 14, 2020
Remember when we kicked off 2020 with that little WWIII scare in the Middle East? Oh how quaint all that seems now.
I was going to start off this week with a recap of the craziness that unfolded in recent days as full-on pandemic panic set in in the United States, but leave it to Twitter to come up with the pithiest summary: "What a year this last half hour has been."
That's one way of capturing the shock that many are experiencing right now. But more enlightening still are the responses to that tweet.
"Understatement of the year," one user replied, adding that "Every time you click [refresh], something unbelievable has happened. Literally every second."
Another user responded that "I have a friend who just shut everything off and went out into nature for a day because it was all going to be there when they came back."
Observed yet another: "So much has happened this evening, my mind is literally spinning....I can't keep it straight, and the market opening is 11 hours away..."
So what has got the Twitterati's heads spinning so furiously? A torrent of news about coronavirus that hit the American news media like a tsunami this past week, that's what.
Like the suspension of the NBA, NHL, NCAA Championships and just about every other major sporting event you can think of.
Or the shut down of numerous college campuses (including on-campus housing), which is already leading to riots.
Or the announcement that this or that celebrity has tested positive for the virus.
Or, oh yeah, the worst Wall Street crash since the Black Monday event that led to the creation of the Plunge Protection Team. And the impending shutdown of New York City. And the potential closing off of international borders.
You know, that kind of stuff.
Of course, every crisis has its silver lining: The producers of some of the most risible late night garbage, including Fallon, Colbert and Meyers, have announced they're suspending their shows for the rest of the month!
Yes, it has been a week of non-stop, wall-to-wall, over-the-top news that is enough to make even the sturdiest of information warriors feel queasy. It's not easy to look over the precipice of panic and not feel some vertigo from the view.
It's at times like these that people start worrying about their survival, and not without reason. Even if, as the cooked government numbers seem to indicate, you have nothing to fear from SARS-CoV-2 unless you're an octogenarian with a lung condition, there are still the very real martial law lockdowns and supply shortages and economic collapses to be concerned about.
Whatever your thoughts on what is and isn't really happening here, there's no doubt that we're heading into a profound and long-lasting economic crisis, or that we're facing a dramatic change in the way we live our lives. And even the slowest of the slow understand by now that we're about to see a massive power grab by governments the likes of which could scarcely have been imagined at the start of the year.
The question is: Are you ready for this? If not, here's your handy-dandy guide to surviving the end of the world as you've known it. I present to you five things to keep in mind during this time of crisis.
1) The MSM is Still Fake News
It is extremely tempting to fall into the old lazy habit of believing what you hear in the mass media during times of panic. You'll note that even podcasters and GooTubers who admit that governments and mainstream media regularly lie to the public to advance their agenda will also dutifully parrot the officially announced numbers of infections or deaths as if they are rock solid fact.
It will be orders of magnitude worse if this situation stretches on for months. People naturally turn to "trustworthy" and "authoritative" sources for information during times of panic, and we have all been trained from birth to believe that government and mainstream media are such sources. It's no coincidence that 9/11 crashed cnn.com as a horrified and confused public turned to the then-fledgling world wide web for up-to-the-second information about that unfolding tragedy. The same impulse will strike anyone who has been placed in a situation of panic and hysteria long enough.
If you think that the point of this observation is to say that everything you hear from official sources is automatically false (and/or that everything you hear from alt media sources are automatically true) then you have understood nothing that I have ever said.
But if you understand that all information is open to questioning, then you'll understand that it is vital to keep your critical thinking skills sharp and your skepticism shield raised during times of panic. These tools will serve you well in a world where discerning truthful information from lies can literally be a matter of life and death.
2) No "Temporary" Power Grab Is Ever Actually Temporary
This crisis has already seen a number of world historical precedents set, any one of which would be the story of the year if it took place in any other year.
The largest quarantine in human history.
The lockdown of the entire nation of Italy.
The injection of $1.5 trillion of phony baloney fiat liquidity into the markets by the Fed in a single drastic move to prevent total chaos . . . or is it $5 trillion?
But as incredible as all this has been so far, it pales in comparison to what could yet be unleashed on the back of this crisis: The US military enforcing lockdowns on American citizens on American soil. Forced quarantines and forced vaccinations. Increased travel restrictions, internal passports, color-coded QR codes to allow or deny access to certain areas, and other previously unthinkable methods for controlling the movements of billions of people.
And you can bet your bottom dollar that when these actions are taken, they will be sold to the public as "temporary measures" that will be revoked once the crisis has passed. No doubt, some of them will be merely temporary. Can you imagine what a propaganda coup it will be if the Powers That Shouldn't Be can perform a martial law lockdown of New York City, quell any rioting or looting, and then remove the troops when the "crisis" is over? "You see, you silly conspiracy theorists! Martial law isn't so bad after all."
But you can bet your bottomer dollar that many of these powers, once normalized, will never be relinquished by the would-be social controllers. Freedom of travel, freedom of assembly, the use of cash, the freedom to opt out of forced medical treatment. All of these freedoms, and many more, could be seriously eroded or even eradicated altogether if the public can be persuaded that the crisis is deep enough.
This is why power structures of all stripes—whether corporate, governmental or supra-governmental—love crises. And this is why you need to decide right now, before the situation goes critical, exactly where your lines in the sand are, precisely what you are unwilling to allow the agents of the state to get away with, and specifically what you are willing and able to do to stop any actions that cross those lines.
3) Have Plans in Place for Different Eventualities
As I noted in last week's newsletter: "[I]f we are fearful, it is because we are dwelling on that which we cannot change and ignoring the solutions that are right under our nose."
You don't have time to be afraid right now. If you don't have your emergency contingency plans in place yet, now is the time to draft them up. Once you have them in place, now is the time to be preparing their implementation.
Firstly, know what you are capable of and what you are not. How long could you last through a lockdown without needing help from some government agency? What are you prepared to do in the face of mandatory relocation? Or forced vaccination? How long could you survive without work or regular pay? And, also of extreme importance, what are your family and loved ones capable of? Do they share your views and will they be with you in your decisions?
Once you have figured out where you stand, you'll need to draft up your plans for various contingencies. Do not take anything for granted. What will you do if you lose your job? What will you do if you lose internet or communication access? What will you do if you don't have access to food or supplies? What are you able to prepare for now?
This may seem overly dramatic, and hopefully it is. I would love nothing more than for this whole coronavirus freakout to be over in a few weeks and for everyone to have forgotten the whole thing by summer. But are you willing to bet your family's well-being on that? Are you going to scoff at emergency planning in general? Do you believe that no prolonged disruption of society would or could ever take place?
As I've been at pains to stress, it doesn't even matter if this entire pandemic is a hoax, as some have suggested. The simple fact that so many people believe in it is enough to justify the societal Problem-Reaction-Solution that is coming on the back of this crisis.
And, as we are all about to find out, what those around you believe is of primary importance in times of upheaval.
4) Prolonged Crisis Will Bring Out Agents of the Matrix
In the short run, panics and crises bring out the best in communities. In those hours and days after the traumatic events of 9/11, everyone in the world was a New Yorker and New Yorkers themselves were displaying very uncustomary camaraderie and selflessness. In the wake of a tornado or flood or other natural disaster, people around the world are eager to send aid and communities come together to rebuild.
But as time passes, crises can tear communities apart. When disruption is profound and it becomes apparent that no authority is going to swoop down to save the day, looting, rioting, and a general breakdown in social order is never far behind.
In the Great Depression, America was still a mostly rural and agrarian society. People knew how to work the land, they knew their neighbors, there were community structures and institutions that brought people together. Even so, it was an incredibly difficult time and a true test of the human spirit as people endured financial hardship the likes of which many of us have never experienced in our lives.
Can you imagine how much differently such a scenario would play out today? Now that the vast majority of the population is confined to tightly-packed urban areas, has lost all connection with the land, don't know their neighbors, and relies on social media for "community," the idea of people banding together to get through a crisis is less likely than ever.
To make matters worse, all those people in your life who have called you crazy or questioned your judgment for disbelieving in mainstream media narratives will go from treating you like an eccentric acquaintance to treating you like a social leper. Some of them—believing that government is only there to save them—will actively oppose any attempt to question the pronouncements of the authorities.
Remember in The Matrix how the inhabitants of that computer simulation would suddenly morph into Agent Smith whenever someone started to work against the program? Yeah, it's kind of like that, except it'll be Bob from accounting, the guy who always rolls his eyes at your conspiracy rants. And instead of literally morphing into Agent Smith he'll just try to shut you up . . . with force, if need be.
This is why the real battle between the elitists and the rest of humanity has never been fought in a war on a battlefield and it never will. Because in truth . . .
5) This is About the Battle For Your Mind. It Always Has Been.
Everything that's happening right now is about one thing and one thing only: perception management. For a crisis to be of any use to the social engineers it's absolutely paramount that they control the narrative. As I observed in the most recent edition of #PropagandaWatch, the point is not whether you go out and "hoard" or refrain from "hoarding" during a panic. It's whether or not you're following the instructions of the relevant authority, whatever those instructions may be.
This is why the term "fake news" has been injected into the public consciousness in recent years, and this is why the internet censorship agenda has ramped up in that same time frame. The authorities will not be happy until we are receiving all of our news from approved sources because it is not until that happens that their monopoly on information will be secured.
As I've had cause to point out in previous works, this, in a twisted way, is actually a positive thing. After all, the PTSB wouldn't spend untold billions of dollars and invest so much time and energy in controlling what you see, hear and think if what you see, hear and think isn't important.
Those who wish to control you appreciate just how important your thoughts and actions are. Do you?
Conclusion
Finally, let me just say this: Everyone is going to be fighting for your attention as things continue to get crazier. They'll want you to listen to this and watch that and inform you how VITAL it is for you to understand this latest piece of news.
But it is OK to unplug from this stream of information when you feel it necessary. In fact, maybe it will be necessary to do so to maintain your sanity and your perception of the world during this chaotic period.
In the end, perhaps the Twitter user's friend "who just shut everything off and went out into nature for a day because it was all going to be there when they came back" was on to something after all.