When ‘Follow The Science’ Means ‘Shut Up And Do As We Say’

at

Yesterday.

Seanad Eireann,

During the order of business, Independent Senator Sharon Keogan, elected by the Industrial and Commerical panel,  said:

I wish to express my grave reservations over our media and their coverage of the current state of Covid-19 in this country. Ever since the beginning of our vaccination programme, I have been constant in warning against the dangers of dividing society along the lines of vaccination status and opposed any legislation that encouraged it.

Imagine my disappointment then when I tuned into “The Pat Kenny Show” to hear the host demonising 17-year-old children for going to the cinema and referring to them as “vaccinatable”, as if a person’s worth is based on whether we can jab them and include them as a figure on the vaccine uptake tally.

Only a few weeks ago, we were all smugly patting ourselves on the back as articles about our great vaccine uptake flooded in. The unspoken message was that we were great, selfless and educated, unlike other countries, whose people were acting like savages. A fat lot of good that has done us as the Taoiseach has confirmed that our restrictions will once again live on past their supposed expiry date, while other countries with much lower vaccination uptakes are now more successful at suppressing the virus.

It is clear then that the current tone reflecting the position that the only reason we are having a problem with the virus is due to the individuals choosing not to get vaccinated is not only deeply insulting, discriminatory and harmful, it is also incorrect. This hunting around for some cohort of ordinary people to blame must stop and the responsibility for that lies with our media figures and outlets.

It was not even two weeks ago when we stood in this Chamber and were told that the continuation of Covid certificates past 22 October was unlikely.

At this stage, I cannot even muster any surprise that while the rest of Europe is up and running, the Government maintains its policy of fear and stifling caution, and rushes to move the goalposts once again.

The message after today’s announcement is very clear. People who are not vaccinated can and will be treated like second-class citizens. They will be dehumanised, labelled and cancelled unless they do what they are told. “Follow the science” means, “Shut up and do as we say.”

Earlier: No, You’re A Leper

Transcript via Oireachtas.ie

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74 thoughts on “When ‘Follow The Science’ Means ‘Shut Up And Do As We Say’

  1. E'Matty

    Well said Senator Sharon Keogan! “It is clear then that the current tone reflecting the position that the only reason we are having a problem with the virus is due to the individuals choosing not to get vaccinated is not only deeply insulting, discriminatory and harmful, it is also incorrect.” This +A billion.

  2. Zaccone

    Its a great (morally awful) move by FF&FG to be fair – blame the 5%~ of adults who aren’t vaccinated for all of our problems. Instead of 20+ years of chronic complete and utter mismanagement of the health service under both parties. And 18 months of acute mismanagement of the health service during the crisis.

    Why is nobody asking why Ireland has 1/2 the ICU capacity per capita of the EU average, despite us being one of the richest states? Why does Germany have *400%* the per capita ICU capacity of Ireland? If we had 4 times as many ICU beds there would be no question of us needing further restrictions…

    Why haven’t we dramatically expanded ICU capacity in the last 18 months? Because the government instead thought we could lockdown our way to zero covid. And then vaccinate our way to zero covid. And now neither has worked, so we’re back in the same situation we were in in March 2020 – our inadequate hospitals about to be overwhelmed…

    1. freewheeling

      There are early intervention Covid therapeutics, proven to reduce hospitalisation and demand for ICU space. No one is even asking why the HSE aren’t pursuing a rollout of those. So don’t expect any pertinent questions about authorities in this country, when the preferred media investigation is into why some people won’t listen to them.

    2. K. Cavan

      Well, about 1981, we had 17,000 hospital beds, now it’s about 12,000, with, of course, a significantly larger population. On a couple of occasions, our occupancy rate, always in the high 90’s percentage-wise, has been estimated as the highest in the world.
      Campeones!

      1. Daisy Chainsaw

        What’s cheap about it? She’s a bigot, but she’s an antiscience bigot, so keep defending her.

        1. Micko

          Just to play Devil advocate here.

          What did she say that makes her a bigot?

          Fairly hefty accusations to be throwing around there Daisy

          1. Micko

            Hang on.

            Looks to me that she was saying that people shouldn’t be promoted BASED on their sexual orientation?

            Is that something you’d agree with?

          2. Micko

            Oh and to continue to play devils avocado

            Ahem… A Bigot;

            “a person who is obstinately or unreasonably attached to a belief, opinion, or faction, especially one who is prejudiced against or ANTAGONISTIC towards a person or people on the basis of their membership of a PARTICULAR GROUP.

            Which group is it you don’t like again Daisy? Ye know the ones that you call out daily?

            It’s on the tip of my tongue…

            Ye know the ones…. Ratstickers scum or something or other…

            Ahhh – I’m sure it’ll come to me.

          3. Micko

            I’d defend anyone saying that we should have a society that promotes people based on their ability rather then them belonging to a certain group.

            Ye know… equality.

            Someone’s race, gender, sexual orientation etc shouldn’t come into play.

            Do you think it should?

            Can you define exactly what it was that she said that made you think she was a bigot?

          4. SOQ

            Given that you have previously professed your support for injecting children and discriminatory vaccine passports, it is no surprise that you would attempt to nit-pick this lady’s politics- because that is what you do.

            I know nothing about Sharon Kegan apart from the fact that she has the backbone to speak when nobody else is willing- fair play to her.

            Oh and btw- you do not speak for gay people like me- there is no more tolerant single issue political community on this island.

            Vaccine passports are deeply unpopular within LGBT, because it goes against our grain.

          5. Oro

            Ignorance about public health measures and abdicating personal responsibility for societal health are also deeply unpopular within LGBT, but just look at you.

          6. SOQ

            I keep saying what?

            That you have expressed support for injecting children and vaccine passports? You were gloating on here about being able to go for a drink without ‘rat lickers’, and when challenged about children, you refused to answer.

            If you didn’t mean either of those things then you really need to take a good look at yourself darlin- and why you think it is so funny to goad others.

            Oh and I just found your twitter- https://twitter.com/MsDaisyC- given some of the wildlife you have retweeted, I wouldn’t be so quick to throw stones.

          7. SOQ

            I keep saying what?

            That you have expressed support for injecting children and vaccine passports? You were gloating about being able to go for a drink without ‘rat lickers’ on here, and when challenged about children, you refused to answer.

            If you didn’t mean either of those things then you really need to take a good look at yourself darlin, and why you think it is funny to goad other people.

            Oh and I just found your twitter- https://twitter.com/MsDaisyC- given some of the people you have retweeted, I wouldn’t be so quick to throw stones.

          8. Termagant

            “One’s gender or sexuality shouldn’t be used for a seat at any table.”
            is this the part you disagree with?

          9. Nigel

            Who could possibly agree with that ‘organised takeover at every level of our society?’ The Straight Replacement!

          10. SOQ

            I don’t have access to the Broadsheet DB- contact skinny.

            I am quite happy to rake through once available.

            A backup for sale I expect- so lets start with the basics.

            Are you the persona known as, on twitter?

          11. K. Cavan

            I reckon, Micko, that some people are so dumb, so narcissistic, so badly-educated, so utterly blinkered, indeed so bigoted, that they believe the term “Bigot” means “someone who holds a contrary opinion”. Dolly supports certain things & anyone who doesn’t support those things is a bigot, see?
            It must be wonderful to be so right, so very very right, so completely right, so far right.

          12. f_lawless

            https://www.broadsheet.ie/2021/08/05/fridays-papers-94/#comment-2337407

            Reminded me of that thread, where Cian was drumming up fear about the prevalence of long covid in Irish children off the back of a discredited figure quoted in the UK Independent.

            Cian
            August 5, 2021 at 11:41 pm

            30,000 UK kids suffering long COVID according to the Independant:

            If Ireland has the same rates there would be 2,270 Irish kids….

            Daisy Chainsaw
            August 5, 2021 at 11:56 pm

            Good job the vaccine uptake is so high. Hopefully the numbers will carry through to the younger groups.

          13. Daisy Chainsaw

            Tell you what SOQ, why don’t you give me your twitter details and I can check out who’s stalking me.

            And f_lawless there’s no mention of children in that comment.

          14. Oro

            Just to jump in here but to out-loud suggest that you don’t believe LGBT people should be promoted based on their orientation is a trollish kind of way to plant the idea that that is the case in public discourse. LGBT people don’t get promoted based on our orientation, it doesn’t happen. It’s very “I’m just asking questions!”. It’s a easy way of introducing anti-LGBT discourse when you get away scot free yourself because people (like you M) will give it a quick glance and say something like you said above ‘she didn’t say any thing bad’ and then the conversation switches to that if LGBT people being advanced due to orientation (which doesn’t happen) and I see that that exact conversation happened just a few comments later. Predicable.

          15. Chris

            ^ You know, you’re brain & conscience are your own possessions. You shouldn’t allow them to be hijacked. I know life can be confusing, and there’s no end to the amount of people & groups that want to hijack peoples ‘schema’ of the world in order to have them do their bidding.

            But, if you find yourself second guessing others intentions without any solid evidence to confirm as such – you might just be ‘not thinking for your self’. A good way to break the spell of indoctrination is to read outside of your ideological zone. A good test as to if you’re indoctrinated is if you get overly emotional when doing so.

            To inhabit a multitude of ideas and thoughts – and get past the emotive stumbling blocks, is a great way of finding out where you actually stand in the miasma that is humanity.

          16. Oro

            I’m sorry was that comment for me? It’s so non-specific and meaningless.

            Maybe talking to yourself out loud? ;)

          17. f_lawless

            @Daisy

            ” there’s no mention of children in that comment.”

            But your comment was in reply to Cian who was talking about children. Who else would you be referring to? I didn’t quote your full comment last time. This is it again with link you gave detailing the massive vaccination rates of age brackets ranging from 80 down to 18. In this context the “younger groups” you were referring to are…children. It’s a bit silly to assert otherwise.

            “Daisy Chainsaw
            August 5, 2021 at 11:56 pm
            Good job the vaccine uptake is so high. Hopefully the numbers will carry through to the younger groups.
            https://twitter.com/newschambers/status/1423284962803871754


            ->”Vaccine take-up across the ages is massive.

            Latest from the HSE

            18-29: 73%
            30-39: 84%
            40-49: 90%
            50-59: 94%
            60-69: 96%
            70-79: 99%
            80+: 99%”

          18. Chris

            Why yes, it was. And if you know my posting history, even if it’s a lost cause – I’ll still fling the occasional pearl to swine.

          19. Oro

            I have to repeat the question, are you certain you meant to reply to me? That comment was as confused as the last one.

            As to your ‘posting history’ (lol) no I don’t know it.

      2. Nigel

        Given her illiberal inclinations I’d say we’ll be seeing her recast as controlled opposition or a psyop before too long. That’s what you have to do when you love the reactionary paranoid fantasies but still have enough basic decency to find large portions of the reactionary politics squicky. Sadly, all too many keep going down the radicalisation path and embrace the squicky.

        1. K. Cavan

          Nigel, you’re the most reactionary person I ever encounter, radically, totally, utterly reactionary, so I assume you’re extracting the urine here or, God forbid, do you think you’re full to the brim with human decency?
          I followed your lead, there, in mixing “radical” with “reactionary”, anything goes, in your upside-down, back-to-front, arse over tit world, eh?

          1. Steph Pinker

            Nigel, you changed your avatar due to a very basic idea suggested by another commenter on BS.

            That speaks volumes.

        1. Chris

          She’s unable to form a constructive argument, its belied by an adoption of ‘beliefs’ without the attendant understanding of the pros & cons of what those ‘beliefs’ may entail.
          It’s far easier to sprout a virtue signal – and then follow it with insults to those she imagines are opposed to that she doesn’t particularity understand herself.

      1. Daisy Chainsaw

        She’s a failed election candidate who got into the Oireachtas creche on the basis of 49 votes.

        But she’s preaching from the ratlicker bible so she’s their new Number One favourite politician.

    1. Chris

      Is the current parlance 2SLGBTQIA+? Daisy the bigot, forgetting all the rest of the alphabet otherkins. How very dare you!

      1. K. Cavan

        Well, it has been estimated that by 2025, LGBTQ etc will encircle the globe & include most of the alphabet, at least once, apart from S, of course, too inclusive.
        Don’t ever forget, though, Lesbians come first & the MAPs will be the final letters, not P.

        1. jungleman

          Not surprised to see you are anti-LGBT. It’s amazing how the antivaxxers invariably lean right on most other social issues also. I wonder are you a trump fanboy also by any chance? I could fathom a guess as to your view on global warming.

  3. Bruncvik

    I wonder what will happen when the initial vaccination expires and people fail to get boosters to renew their Covid passports. I assume that the total number of unvaccinated will begin to rise at that point. Will the media still demonize this group, when there’s 10, 15 or 20% of the population? And what if, God forbid, the likes of Pat Kenny fail to get a booster on time. Will the rest of the vaccinated people threaten to drag him into a vaccination centre?

    1. E'Matty

      The government have been quick to reference Israel lately, when seeking to cheer on their booster campaign (though not where post infection acquired immunity is concerned). I would say there’s a very high probability that we will follow them on their approach i.e. everybody must get a booster, and if none in 6 months since last shot, you lose your Vaxx Pass. If this happens, the “unvaxxed” numbers will undoubtedly grow. This may not occur until early in the new year. Looks like they might be setting it up to “ruin Christmas” again and would likely once again try pin this on the unvaccinated. They would hope the people would be so enraged at losing another Christmas and the unvaccinated are successfully scapegoated, they can then take the gloves off and be as aggressive as they do clearly want to be towards this group. The key for the unvaccinated right now, as they say is to, hold the line!

      1. SOQ

        Yes but the other side of that coin is the ‘waning’ pattern is bound to increase. This will be represented in the number of two jabs getting hospitalised and some, sadly dying.

        Interesting thing happening in US- CDC are to abandon the PCR test from 31st December because “… the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized hundreds of other SARS-CoV-2 diagnostic tests, many of which are now higher throughput or can test for more than one illness at a time. ”

        https://www.cdc.gov/csels/dls/locs/2021/08-02-2021-lab-alert-Clarifications_about_Retirement_CDC_2019_Novel_Coronavirus_1.html

        1. Cian

          More LIES from SOQ

          The CDC are not going ” to abandon the PCR test from 31st December because “”..

          They are retiring one PCR test – not because of any failures of the test but because they feel their other tests are superior.. You can still continue to use that test until the end of the year (6 months after the announcement was made).

    2. SOQ

      How much of the current infections is due to waning vaccines? Surely some must be? They certainly are responsible for part of the rise in the UK. Interesting point but there is half a million in the UK who now will be on their forth shot because the third was not a booster apparently. And just on that point- are all three/ four shots the same concoction, or are they in some way different?

      They are ‘boosting’ the over sixties here now- soon the over fifties- at what point does it become three shots for a valid passport? That is when the fun will really begin- and way more the non compliance in bars and restaurants of course.

    3. K. Cavan

      Yes, Bruncvik, the media will continue to demonise the unvaccinated, even when they become the unboostered, they won’t dare change a winning formula in an industry on the verge of implosive bankruptcy but Pat Kenny won’t be toppling downwards from his high moral horse-ground, he’ll be making secret arrangements to have his next booster now, so he can open his show (he has a show, right?) with “good afternoon, unvaccinated scum” (it’s an afternoon show, right?)
      About then, I expect his head to explode, let’s just hope someone captures it on video, it’ll be his Greatest Triumph as a broadcaster (he’s a broadcaster, right?).

  4. Optimus Grime

    Look up Keogan’s comment on “the drug epidemic” in Duleek in Meath then look at crime & arrest stats over a few years for the same area and it does not tally so I file her under “Karen”. Her office was set fire to under strange circumstances during the last election while she was lagging in the opinion polls

  5. Jono

    Add the terrible news out of Israel (the first highly vaccinated country) that the current expected outcome for double vaccinated and non vaccinated is close to being the same due to vaccines wearing off.

    On our timescale that will be December / January.

    Still, excellent protection for the recipients of booster vaccines but how many will take that knowing it’s every six months for life!

    More restrictions coming…

    1. K. Cavan

      Jono, you’ve heard the news from Israel but you still reckon the ol’ gene therapies give “excellent protection”? Excellent protection from being stopped going into a restaurant, sure but about as effective as that Feline Coronavirus mRNA injection from a few years back, which protected the cats from the coronavirus by killing them, all.

  6. Nullzero

    Good to see the usual level of debate being maintained here. Daisy is a true firebrand, facts be damned.

    Maybe instead of putting the blame for the increased numbers on the small cohort of unvaccinated people (oddly the most vaccinated part of Ireland – Waterford – is an absolute covid black spot right now with some of the highest case numbers in the entire country) we might want to look at factors such the fact that Ireland is an absolute dream for these type of diseases. Our climate at this time of year always leads to huge numbers of upper and lower repository tract infections.

    Vaccines aren’t a silver bullet, and the government needs to stop this fetishising of a “return to normal” as if there’s a magic switch we can flip and go back to February last year.

    We have to learn to live with this disease, and with each other. Divisions are being created and they should never be allowed to exist in the first place.

  7. Gavin

    You can file her under whatever you want, and point to her past record as much as you like, but it would be better to actually take apart what she is saying and point out the inaccuracies

  8. J9

    Sharon Keogan – your one who suggested putting actual MICROCHIPS in disabled kids … OK … And then there’s this quote … : “The most worrying issue here is the agenda of governments worldwide to catapult #LGBTQIA personnel into high-level positions. One’s gender or sexuality shouldn’t be used for a seat at any table. This is not equality, this is an organised takeover at every level in our society.”

    1. Micko

      “One’s gender or sexuality shouldn’t be used for a seat at any table”

      So you think it should?

      Should someone get a position based on their gender or sexuality?

      1. J9

        No. Obviously not. However, when somebody who happens to be part of a minority group gets a “seat at a table” I wouldn’t call it an “organised takeover of our society.”
        Would you?

        1. Micko

          No I wouldn’t.

          But she was talking about an text between Coveney and Zaponne where they quoted that Biden wanted to get people into power based on their sexual orientation.

          So, if anyone can get it a potential “organised takeover of society” I’d think it would be the aul POTUS lad.

          Even though her words were clunky and not very well thought out. And a bit silly too.

          Text here
          https://www.dfa.ie/media/dfa/aboutus/2021appoinmentofspecialenvoy/098_94_text-message-between-Minister-and-Katherine-Zappone.pdf

          That being said, her comments about microchipping kids is a bit odd alright. She made it in relation to the disappearance of a special needs child I see.

          So I think her understanding of technology probably isn’t the best.

          Thinking that the technology to microchip anyone to provide GPS location, shows that she doesn’t really understand current technology

          I think that she probably meant, they could wear GPS trackers. Which seems less crazy and more in context.

    2. K. Cavan

      If you were hanging around in the upper levels of the Civil Service, J9, you’d understand what she’s talking about there, ask any APOs or POs you might know or do you, like Dolly, reckon she’s a bigot because you don’t agree with her?
      I’ve heard rumours that Keogan places used teabags on the lip of the sink, yes, in the kitchen.

  9. Redundant Proofreaders Society

    The language is unparliamentary, but it’s very good to hear Senator Keogan challenge the Government’s Covid mitigation policy, which has meandered into a crazy minefield.

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