Messages get shouted down or deleted
Did You Know written by Bonnie Donovan
Censorship and propaganda come in many forms — from the “scrubbing” of the internet to the shouting down with bullhorns and the monopolizing of public meetings via a bombardment of emails and cell phone calls. And let’s not forget name calling, which would have traditionally fallen under the collective term of racism.
The big boys of the internet will even suspend a user’s account if the user’s comments are not in step with the dictates of their message.
Our local AIA — Architect Institute of America — insists that State Street must be reconfigured to all residential units promoting the false notion that “Retail is dead.” This is the message promoted by the city to get their vision of State Street. We are confused with the doublespeak: “No parking required because no one wants cars.”
Yet any shopping, any need will have to be done by driving out of town, or by using the internet to order items — sight unseen. The death of retail makes Jeff Bezos of Amazon incredibly happy. He made $13 billion in one day!
But what about us? What about the proposed residents of State Street? What will they do after they eat dinner? How many meals can they have in their open park?
Remember before the lockdown and the deterioration of State Street that devolved due to transients, the increase in parking fees, the high rents and the Funk Zone?
Speaking of that, do you remember window shopping? Browsing? Impulse buying? Seeing something in the window for which you could yearn and see and feel the quality? How many times did you go to Sur la Table and spend $50 on things you did not need?
But it went with your coffee and stroll. This is what tourists do, and what we do when we are tourists. We all want mementos of our trip, and this generates business. What is wrong with that?
To add to all this, when the leases are up at La Cumbre Plaza, it is scheduled to become housing. Our choices will be Ross and Costco? This will be all we have to offer.
Although City Transportation Director Rob Dayton claims mask wearing on the State Street Promenade is at 90% compliance due to the ambassadors and the handouts of free masks, the Santa Barbara City Council voted to increase police officer presence to achieve 100% compliance of mask wearing in key areas in the State Street promenade.
Aren’t these the same police officers the City Council wants to defund? Is this more work for less officers?
In Portland, Chicago, Seattle, Minneapolis and New York City, the COPS are not allowed to have the armament/accoutrements to protect themselves during a riot. Yet the Santa Barbara City Council is now asking for the cops to monitor masking and write tickets for infractions.
We agree with Councilmember Eric Friedman, who was told that forcing people to wear masks evokes images of 1930s Nazi Germany. Councilmember Meagan Harmon laughed and discounted Councilman Friedman’s recanting of a conversation with a Jewish relative. Her officious tone, indignation and lack of empathy we find offensive. The Jewish woman’s experience is as valid as anyone else’s. Period.
Lately the doctors who recommend hydroxychloroquine and zinc are being censored, and their YouTube and Facebook entries are being deleted as soon as they are posted. This drug hydroxychloroquine has been widely used for decades to treat suffering from malaria, lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. What is the big deal here?
No one is sure how to fight COVID-19, and the information contradicts itself every other day, as well as how the number of cases is calculated.
No matter, let people say what they want to say. It is our First Amendment Right to Free Speech.
Twitter suspended Donald Trump Jr.’s account after he posted the doctor’s success stories of the hydroxychloroquine/zinc/azithromycin combination treatment — more censorship.
However, we suspect the reasons the point of view is deleted: 1. President Trump suggested and championed hydroxychloroquine as an option and 2. Big Pharma and Bill Gates will not make the profits they expect for their new virus drugs and vaccines.
Think of all the other people who are being censored if they challenge the narrative. As we have said, if you are not in step with their message, you are shouted down — or deleted or scrubbed.
Mr. Bernell Trammell of Milwaukee, a black Trump supporter, was murdered in broad daylight for holding a pro-Trump sign. He had something to say. Hence, he was deleted. R.I.P.
