What is a buzz saw? Thankfully, Google has not censored images of buzz saws.
This week I listened to Episode 82 of The DarkHorse Podcast, a show featuring a live discussion between the husband and wife team of Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology). In this episode, Brett defined what he refers to as the various "buzz saws" that are out in the world ready to take someone out who gets too close to them. Here are some examples.
Example 1:
BLM and "woke" policies: It is assumed that you should be for diversity, equity, and inclusion proposals. If you are against these proposals for any reason, if you speak out against BLM protests, if you are against the concept of "anti-racist," you are hit with the buzz saw called "racist."
Example 2:
How should we address COVID mid-pandemic? There are many legitimate points that can be made about vaccines. There could be serious harm from vaccines in short term. There are no long-term safety data. It's possible that deploying the vaccines mid-pandemic rather than pre-pandemic may drive the evolution of escape mutants and new variants. Any discussion about other potential therapies or options for reducing the risk of COVID such as Ivermectin will naturally be linked to discussions about the vaccines. Anyone who raises these questions or wants information about alternative treatments gets shoved into the "Anti-Vax" buzz saw.
Example 3:
Where did the novel coronavirus come from? For the past year, anyone who suggested exploring the lab-leak hypothesis was hit with a double buzz saw--"conspiracy theory" and "racist." By the way, why is it racist to wonder if the coronavirus came from a Chinese lab but it's not racist to wonder if the coronavirus came from a Chinese wet market?
Example 4:
A more recent phenomenon is the term TERF - trans-exclusionary radical feminist. This term is used to describe feminists who are transphobic. Anyone who asks questions or pursues scientific research perceived as contradictory or counter to the transgender community will be run into the "TERF" buzz saw.
We are losing the ability to have nuanced conversations about these serious topics. Politics and polarization have created teams, and you'd better be on the "right" team otherwise you may end up losing much of what you value to the buzz saws. The media and big tech companies are making sure those buzz saws stay sharp and run 24/7.
This week I listened to Episode 82 of The DarkHorse Podcast, a show featuring a live discussion between the husband and wife team of Bret Weinstein and Heather Heying (both PhDs in Biology). In this episode, Brett defined what he refers to as the various "buzz saws" that are out in the world ready to take someone out who gets too close to them. Here are some examples.
Example 1:
BLM and "woke" policies: It is assumed that you should be for diversity, equity, and inclusion proposals. If you are against these proposals for any reason, if you speak out against BLM protests, if you are against the concept of "anti-racist," you are hit with the buzz saw called "racist."
Example 2:
How should we address COVID mid-pandemic? There are many legitimate points that can be made about vaccines. There could be serious harm from vaccines in short term. There are no long-term safety data. It's possible that deploying the vaccines mid-pandemic rather than pre-pandemic may drive the evolution of escape mutants and new variants. Any discussion about other potential therapies or options for reducing the risk of COVID such as Ivermectin will naturally be linked to discussions about the vaccines. Anyone who raises these questions or wants information about alternative treatments gets shoved into the "Anti-Vax" buzz saw.
Example 3:
Where did the novel coronavirus come from? For the past year, anyone who suggested exploring the lab-leak hypothesis was hit with a double buzz saw--"conspiracy theory" and "racist." By the way, why is it racist to wonder if the coronavirus came from a Chinese lab but it's not racist to wonder if the coronavirus came from a Chinese wet market?
Example 4:
A more recent phenomenon is the term TERF - trans-exclusionary radical feminist. This term is used to describe feminists who are transphobic. Anyone who asks questions or pursues scientific research perceived as contradictory or counter to the transgender community will be run into the "TERF" buzz saw.
We are losing the ability to have nuanced conversations about these serious topics. Politics and polarization have created teams, and you'd better be on the "right" team otherwise you may end up losing much of what you value to the buzz saws. The media and big tech companies are making sure those buzz saws stay sharp and run 24/7.