55 Crazy and Absurd Moments of 2020
Shôn Ellerton, December 31, 2020
Here are 55 crazy, absurd, hilarious, shocking, ridiculous or inspiring moments of 2020 that I won’t forget in a hurry!
This year has been a memorable one, mostly in not very good ways, but certainly one we are not going to forget for quite some time. I have put together 55 moments of 2020 which I found either totally crazy, absurd, hilarious, inspiring, ridiculous or shocking. My perspective is primarily focussed on what happened in Australia, Europe and the United States and, had I read more, on events in other countries which get very little press in the developed world, I’m sure I would have discovered many more gems.
Of these 55 moments, I added some useful links for each section either pertaining to a video in question or an article where possible. Note that some video links may change or get deleted by their owners.
1. Ricky Gervais Slams Hollywood Woke Elite at the Golden Globe Awards
2020 starts off with a bang as Ricky Gervais speaks at the opening of the Golden Globe Awards. Casting everything Hollywood into the trashcan, denouncing the woke virtuous signallers, calling Joe Pesci ‘Baby Yoda’ and then finally to invite the recipients of the award to step up, thank their gods and their agent, and to then eff off. I don’t think he will be invited back!
Ricky Gervais – Golden Globes 2020 (Uncensored) (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJOb9xHggS4
2. Australia to make exchanging $10,000 in cash illegal
Early in the year, the utterly ridiculous proposal to make trades exchanging $10,000 in Australia or more illegal made headline news, although, technically, the proposal was drafted in 2019. You don’t need to be a mastermind to figure out that this is not going to work, and, to claim vindication on my part after writing about this earlier, this proposal was later shelved in December.
Australia’s Proposed Cash Ban Will Not Work (article – S. Ellerton)
https://medium.com/ironkeel/australias-proposed-cash-ban-will-not-work-8824baea3a9f
3. Turkey releases murderers but not the regime’s critics due to COVID-19
Since the start of the pandemic, I came across various snippets of news that emerged of prisoners being released from prisons in Australia and California due to COVID, some of which are violent offenders. This is crazy in its own way. However, Turkey’s stance on releasing violent prisoners, many of which have committed murder, but not releasing those accused of speaking out against the regime illustrates the supreme selfishness of the ruling classes that it’s better to have rampant murderers on the streets rather than outspoken critics.
Turkey releasing murders – but not political opponents – from prison amid coronavirus pandemic (article – The Conversation)
https://theconversation.com/turkey-releasing-murderers-but-not-political-opponents-from-prison-amid-coronavirus-pandemic-136466
4. Help! We’re out of toilet paper!
If there’s any whiff of a lockdown coming your way, you had better make your way to the supermarket immediately, because by the time you get there, a crowd of hysteric shoppers are fighting tooth and nail to claim that last package of toilet paper. As for that plonker in Adelaide who bought thousands of rolls trying to get a refund from Foodland when supply was back to normal? He got two fingers from the manager who politely told him to piss off.
Supermarket boss’s blunt reply to toilet paper hoarder wanting refund (article – new.com.au)
https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/retail/supermarket-bosss-blunt-reply-to-toilet-paper-hoarder-wanting-refund/news-story/985cc7022ce371a71b7d86c3031e2ce5
5. Greta becomes a COVID expert
Last year, Greta Thunberg took the world by storm when she denounced practically every nation on the planet for being irresponsible in not looking after the world, while travelling extensively around the world on jet planes and traversing oceans on high-specification carbon-fibre yachts. On the positive side, she did wake up much of the world for being too complacent earning her a position in the Times magazine Person of the Year, but to be invited to a COVID panel consisting of medical experts during a CNN broadcast back in May is an equally remarkable, but fruitless, achievement.
Greta Thunberg added to CNN’s expert coronavirus panel, Twitter erupts (article – news.com.au)
https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/media/greta-thunberg-added-to-cnns-expert-coronavirus-panel-twitter-erupts/news-story/e7e382fba2bc6fd35cd51594de453593
6. Radio presenter gets suspended for not supporting BLM
Back in June, Stu Peters of BBC Manx Radio on the Isle of Man got suspended for making comments that he did not understand why Black Lives Matters protests are happening more than 3,000 miles away from America. Make it what you will, but his comments are not racist in the traditional sense; however, and this is the problem, his comments were not taken as being suitably anti-racist enough to fit the narrative. The full transcript can be read in the links below for you to decide if he should have been suspended.
Stu Peters: Manx Radio host suspended over Black Lives Matter comments
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-isle-of-man-52936980
7. Would you like to watch some ‘Kung-Flu’?
Apart from Prince Philip, who came out with the most amazingly brazen quotes like ‘Cannibalism is a radical but realistic solution to the problem of overpopulation’ or ‘If you stay here much longer you’ll all be slitty-eyed’, Trump second-bests that in terms of being inappropriately funny. My wife, who is Chinese, and I watched him on the news when he mentioned Kung-Flu referring to the ‘China Virus’. Did it offend? Certainly not her. She only laughed.
Trump says ‘Kung Flu’ is one of the names for COVID-19 at his rally in Tulsa (article – msn)
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-says-kung-flu-is-one-of-the-names-for-covid-19-at-his-rally-in-tulsa/ar-BB15LRNE
8. 5G kills you!
Words alone cannot express the stupidity of those that believe 5G was developed as a means of spreading the virus and a means for the Illuminati to control society. Having worked in the mobile phone industry for more than two decades, I should have, by now, come across just a little smidgen of evidence that this could be the case. No?
9. Woman in a Zorb ball
We love the British and its eccentric behaviour, but the crown of glory must go to this woman who put herself into a giant clear plastic ball walking around the supermarket to buy groceries. Causing havoc to fellow shoppers who got in her way, she claimed she was trying to socially distance from them. I cannot say, for sure, if this was a ‘put-on’ but whether it was staged or not, it was devilishly funny.
Weird world of coronavirus Britain as woman shops in zorb ball at Morrisons (YouTube – Sun)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L74rKM_8f9Q&ab_channel=TheSun
10. The first US presidential debate
Millions of viewers watched the first presidential debate between Trump and Biden on the edge of their seats while two slightly unstable geriatrics argued like two small boys fighting over a piece of chocolate. Prizes go to Trump’s seventy-plus interruptions and Biden’s claim that Antifa is just an idea. In any case, it is riveting but cringeworthy material to watch. Entertaining. 100% Informative. 0%.
11. Gone with the Wind pulled off streaming services
During the height of the BLM protests, Hollywood, media streaming services, sports teams and thousands of major corporations tried to be absolutely certain that none of the contents or names of their products could remotely be deemed as racist. Products like Aunt Jemima’s syrup or football team names like the Washington Redskins were victims of this mad craze as well as the movie, Gone with the Wind, which got chopped from various media streaming services. Roll on a few months, and the frenzy has died down to some extent with many of these shows being re-platformed, but it shows the extent of the silliness of it all.
Gone with the Wind removed from HBO Max (article – BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52990714
12. Defunding the police
If there is anything more asinine then to claim that the police need to be defunded, please say. Sure, provide funding into better training, look into what savings can be made, prioritise police activities, but to defund police means getting ‘cheaper’ and less-qualified policemen to try to do the job that well-trained professional policemen do. The Minneapolis City Council, who initially pledged the notion of defunding the police, three months later, came to their senses and backed out of this most bizarre of proposals.
How a Pledge to Dismantle the Minneapolis Police Collapsed (article – NYT)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/26/us/politics/minneapolis-defund-police.html?fbclid=IwAR0oB3xT45HhiH6WrC0MrXcJiVy8lAmeYeGRAhKw8LLWryR02kAGqTAY0iQ
13. The Lake Travis Trump Rally
Give me a glass of wine and a funny movie like Caddyshack any day of the week, especially that scene with Rodney Dangerfield pummelling his motorboat amongst all the little wooden yachts piloted by ersatz sailors wearing yellow wellies and commodore uniforms. Well, here it was again, but this time taking place on an overcrowded reservoir situated on the outskirts of Austin, Texas by a bunch of Trump rally supporters. Lake Travis turned into a frothing bathtub while hundreds of high-powered motorboats tried to maintain their distance without crashing into each other. Nevertheless, there were plenty of accidents and I believe, at least four sinkings. ‘Hey! You scratched my anchor!’
5 boats sink and 15 calls of distress reported during Trump Boat Parade (article – abc)
https://abc13.com/trump-boat-parade-lake-travis-today-boats-sink/6410444/
14. Good Morning, Sunday Morning!
Many of us, now and again, have said something without meaning it or just got lost with words, but when Nancy Pelosi was being interviewed back in September on ABC, she suddenly stalled, took a pause, and then said, ‘Good Morning, Sunday Morning’. The interviewer was, unsurprisingly vexed, and after a further pause, Pelosi then, like a robot snapping back into action, continues with the interview as if nothing happened. At the workplace, many of us were greeting us with that phrase jokingly for the next few days.
Nanci Pelosi Confused during Interview (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fwqWzbk_LeY&ab_channel=TacticalAdvisor
15. LAW AND ORDER!!
Where does Trump find the time to socialise with Twitter, Facebook, Telegram, and probably a host of many of other social media platforms to constantly pepper us with usually useless statements like, ‘LAW AND ORDER!’? The cocktail lounge analogy of this is a room filled with guests chatting away pleasantly while Trump sits in a corner and just blurts out LAW AND ORDER as if anyone is paying any attention to him. It’s just a little surreal. There are many who wish him to be silenced off the platforms, but this would be a travesty in upholding free speech. Social media created him. Social media destroyed him.
16. Pharmacists in Minnesota refuse to prescribe HCQ
By now, anyone who actively speaks for the benefits of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) on social media platforms is in danger of getting de-platformed, which is utterly bizarre considering this is a well-tested and proven anti-malarial drug developed back in the fifties. Whether it helps to alleviate effects of COVID is another thing of course. Most states did not allow doctors to prescribe it, but the governor of Minnesota later overturned that closely followed by several more states. However, the gobsmacking moment arrived when pharmacists, taking their own ‘medical expertise’ to hand, decided to not allow it being dispensed despite the valid doctor’s prescription.
Minnesota pharmacists won’t fill hydroxychloroquine prescriptions (article – alphanews)
https://alphanewsmn.com/pharmacists-wont-fill-hydroxychloroquine-prescriptions/
17. The police start to make their own laws
Anyone who knows how law and order works, is that laws are passed through the judiciary system and are then enforced by the police and the sheriffs. Not, it appears, in the case of many California sheriffs who have made it publicly known that they are going to ignore the governor’s laws to enforce lockdown measures. This partly came about from the double-standards set by the governor when he flaunted his own lockdown rules whilst dining at a prestigious restaurant with many other guests. Whilst I applaud these sheriffs from a moral standpoint, I am equally concerned that the enforcement agencies are playing ‘Wild West’ and making up their own local laws. That can’t be a good thing. ‘I’ll see you at high noon!’
Riverside County Sheriff Bianco blasts Newsom, say department won’t enforce lockdown orders (article – Fox11 L.A.)
https://www.foxla.com/news/riverside-county-sheriff-bianco-blasts-newsom-says-department-wont-enforce-lockdown-orders?fbclid=IwAR29z9scn-UqGUUMhw2XhHzTjohHvkFM1wcGDoLkcueBAExVxVlEHsBGLPI
18. Hillbilly Elegy now a bad movie because of Trump
A man by the name of J.D. Vance wrote his life story about how he grew up from a deprived hillbilly Ozark denizen of the hills with not much in the way of good prospects to a successful lawyer. His book, Hillbilly Elegy, got rave reviews from all parts of the political divide. Even Oprah Winfrey gave it the thumbs up. Now that was back in 2016. Roll on 2020, Ron Howard scripts it for the big screen minus the politics because of, well, … the politics of 2020. That being said, the audience gave the movie great reviews, but the critics did not even without the politics. I will make it clear that I never read reviews before watching a movie or reading a book because of spoiler alerts but I have a long-time distrust with so-called expert film critics, starting all the way back from Barry Norman days in the UK. Most are toffee-nosed, elitist, pompous, twits who use big words and tell you how disgusted they are with you for liking a movie they did not. In this case, they did not like the movie, because it portrayed life in a predominantly white poor area in ‘Hill Country’ many associate with as ‘Trumpland’. ‘Now squeal like a pig!’
Rotten Tomatoes (reviews)
https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/hillbilly_elegy
19. Mask on! Mask off!
Mask on, mask off. Is this an allusion to the Karate Kid? No. But if you have your mask on, you’re a damned communist and a Biden-lover! If you have your mask off, you’re a killer spreading a deadly disease. But worse, you love Trump! It’s an astonishing feat that so many would rather prefer to don or remove their masks in deference of their political persuasion rather than when the real need arises. Insane.
20. Shopping in Wales during a lockdown
For those of us that experienced the frustration of going shopping during a lockdown and having to spend time in a queue, getting into the store should be a great relief. But this could have come as a bitter disappointment if you were happening to be shopping in Wales looking for an item to buy which is not on the ‘essentials’ list. When I heard reports that non-essential items would be behind ‘police’ tape, even though they happened to be in the shop which was open, I thought this was a joke. Sadly, it was not a joke but a real policy that had been put in place by weirdos or by someone who has shares in black and yellow ‘police’ tape.
Wales lockdown: ‘Non-essential’ items covered in shops (article – Sun)
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13006099/wales-lockdown-shops-covering-up-non-essential-items/
21. Abe and Teddy falls
I’m not the greatest fan of statues in general, but I can, at least, restrain myself from clambering up one of them with a noose to wrap around its head so that my compatriots can yank it down to the ground with an almighty crash. Colston was the first well-known statue to be pulled down and then a whole series of others fell because of the connection with those idolised with the slavery trade or those who have owned them. History is destroyed. History is made. I understand. But then other statues of those with no claim to infamy with respect to colonialization and slavery started to fall as well, presumably just for some good times and to alleviate some boredom. Case in point. Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt.
Protestors topple statues of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt in Portland (article – CNN)
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/12/us/portland-statues-riot-trnd/index.html
22. Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize
During the middle of the year, Trump brokered a peace deal between Israel and the UAE, but as it was nearly totally drowned out by news of other national interests, including COVID, social rights activities and police brutality. Now I don’t have much in the way of opinion on this peace deal because I have not researched into it in any detail but the fact that he was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize by a Norwegian politician is what has made this so interesting. Naturally, we are told that the politician is very right wing, so he must be bad as well and likes oranges.
Donald Trump nominated for Nobel Peace Prize after Israel-UAE peace accord (article – news.com.au)
https://www.news.com.au/finance/work/leaders/donald-trump-nominated-for-nobel-peace-prize-after-israeluae-peace-accord/news-story/d078aca55000be24411fcdbf14a3e831
23. Inanimate objects suddenly turn racist
Do not play chess. It is racist. Why? Because white goes first. Recreational parks in Oregon are racist because there are not enough people of colour in them. And that’s even though, according to the US Census Bureau in 2017, those who identify as black of African American is about 3 percent of the population of Oregon. But the pièce de résistance of them all is that maps are racist because they are not representing the size of the continents correctly. For example, the well-known Mercator map in which Greenland is nearly the same size as Africa is obviously racist. Unfortunately, those who claim it is do not know that the Mercator project is used for its ease of navigation as lines of latitude and longitude are aligned in a grid. I remember getting into an online argument about this until I mentioned, ‘just get a damned globe’, which seemed to bring a moratorium to the conversation.
Sydney radio station asks if chess is racist because white always moves first (article – 7new)
https://7news.com.au/sport/sydney-radio-station-asks-if-chess-is-racist-because-white-always-moves-first-c-1121419
Racism in the Great Outdoors (article OPB)
https://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-northwest-racism-outdoors-nature-hiking/
How maps teach racism in school (YouTube – In the NOW)
https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=258516312255215
24. The Keith Olbermann Rants
Oh, how I enjoy a good rant, and when it comes to rants, this former ESPN anchor man is truly one of the greats. This is a man who seems to be totally unhinged and acting like a frothing lunatic. This is a man who, in the most colourful of languages, wants the expunging of Trump and all his followers to be prosecuted and convicted and removed from our society. A man who believes that Trump should have sat in the electric chair for every count of death attributed to COVID. I wonder how much electricity that would consume? However, Trump’s dogged stubbornness would probably prevent the electric chair from doing him any harm!
Olbermann Rant video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r0qVn_DUUKs&ab_channel=JeremyGriffith
25. Don’t like it? Find a fact checker!
Prior to 2020, I don’t remember much in the way of fact checkers being used very much. I had heard of Snopes for some time, but other than that, no. If one doesn’t like what they read, they can fact-check it. Yes! The word pair is now verbalised! Now that we have an ‘appeal to a higher authority’ in the guise of fact-checking websites, which are, of course, completely run by neutral, objective and unbiased people. Yeah….
26. The Hunter Biden story gets completed blocked out by Twitter
Prior to the election, a story emerged from the Washington Post about information on overseas business dealings contained on a laptop dropped off at a computer repair store by Biden’s son, Hunter. This kind of story shouldn’t really surprise many people out there. After all, it won’t be the first and it won’t be the last time that people within the higher echelons of power dabble with naughty things. However, what makes this so arresting is that Twitter decided to completely block out the news completely on its platform. I can think of no other example which is so obviously ‘plain as day’ as this one. Yet, after the election, the Hunter Biden story continues over his potentially nefarious tax movements. It’s so obvious, but so many still deny the story. Incidentally, the latest news is that the repairman in the computer store unsuccessfully tried to sue Twitter for defamation of character as being a hacker.
Smoking-gun email reveals how Hunter Biden introduced Ukrainian businessman to VP dad (article – NY Post)
https://nypost.com/2020/10/14/email-reveals-how-hunter-biden-introduced-ukrainian-biz-man-to-dad/
27. Calling for less free speech
Whether it is from COVID and associated lockdowns, mass hysteria, or from any of other chaotic events that has occurred this year, a surprising number of people are calling out for less free speech. This year, there were three congressional hearings against the big tech companies about censorship of material on their platform. Not surprisingly, the Republicans have accused the big tech giants of being overly suppressive on free speech, especially that of being material supporting Trump or the Republicans. However, one of the democrats pointed out that the big tech platforms are not censoring enough. Moreover, I’ve come across many posts on social media claiming that ‘free speech is overrated’. Those who claim this do not understand that, in order to distinguish what is good and what is bad, it is necessary to understand what is bad about the bad. And the only to do that is to listen to what is bad to formulate a judgment. Therefore, we listen to debates and arguments to formulate a judgment through our own agency. In order to have free speech, there must, out of necessity be hate speech. We should not rely on others to make that decision for us. Certainly not by the ‘gods’ in big tech land!
‘Too much power’: Congress grills top tech CEOs in combative antitrust hearing (article – Guardian)
https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2020/jul/29/tech-hearings-facebook-mark-zuckerberg-amazon-jeff-bezos-apple-tim-cook-google-sundar-pichai-congress
28. Oprah Winfrey shames white people
I’ve been a fan of Oprah for quite a long time and I can remember some years ago, thinking that she could be a potential candidate for the presidency. However, I was mortified when she said this during an interview on the Oprah Conversation.
“There are white people who are not as powerful as the system of white people — the caste system that’s been put in place. But they still, no matter where they are on the rung or ladder of success, they still have their whiteness.” –Oprah Winfrey
Bearing in mind that this she is one of the wealthiest people in the nation, this is a mind-blowingly absurd statement to make. I wonder what one of those hillbilly denizens in a poor community in deepest darkest Ozark would make of that claim. That’s ok. They’re not tuning in any way!
Oprah Winfrey shames white people: ‘Whiteness gives you an advantage no matter what’ (article – Lifezette)
https://www.lifezette.com/2020/08/oprah-winfrey-shames-white-people-whiteness-gives-you-an-advantage-no-matter-what/
29. Nuclear a green option?
In September, an extraordinary story materialised when Zion Lights—yes, that’s her name–left the climate change activists group, Extinction Rebellion, to claim that nuclear is the only option. Furthermore, several more stories emerged stating nuclear power to be a viable baseline green energy. Putting the word green with nuclear in the same sentence is not something which is usually done but there seems to be growing momentum on the part of the greens to embrace nuclear as an option, although guardedly. With today’s modern methods of modular thorium based nuclear reactors, I am optimistic about the future of nuclear power and glad to see an uplift with increased development of nuclear power technologies. I found this kind of story to be uplifting and positive.
Why Climate Activists Will Go Nuclear – Or Go Extinct (article – Quillette)
https://quillette.com/2020/06/25/why-climate-activists-will-go-nuclear-or-go-extinct/
30. Cambridge University Allows Free Speech
Another optimistic and uplifting story is from Cambridge University who gave the proverbial two fingers to policies enforcing ‘respect’ which clamp down on free speech that might prove hurtful to others. Instead, the university drew out a freedom of speech policy which utters tolerance to differing views. Philosophy fellow Dr Arif Ahmed spearheaded this victory and Vice Chancellor Toope later stated,
“The university will always be a place where anyone can express new ideas and controversial or unpopular opinions, and where those views can be robustly challenged. The statement also makes it clear that is unacceptable to censor, or disinvite, speakers whose views are lawful but may be seen as controversial. Rigorous debate is fundamental to the pursuit of academic excellence and the University of Cambridge will always be a place where freedom of speech is not only protected, but strongly encouraged.” –Vice Chancellor Toope
Cambridge University votes to safeguard free speech (article – BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/education-55246793?fbclid=IwAR0JdDtvoS6wxC9tpIxOz35ZCX4hwOsaji_DVp4_0Fbp9Dp2OFV4LFYR85g
31. Pregnant woman arrested by Victorian police
During a rather prolonged and brutal lockdown in Victoria because of an outbreak of several hundred cases due to mismanagement of hotel quarantine, a pregnant woman in Ballarat put a post up on Facebook to peacefully protest against the lockdown in a local park. Although no action was taken, police stormed into her house, charged her, handcuffed her in full view of her husband and kids while she was still in her pyjamas. The police were certainly aware that they were being filmed but what they did not know was that it was being live streamed into the Cloud. So, despite confiscating her phone, the material has been released for all eternity on the Web. Needlessly to say, it sparked quite a reaction making news around the globe.
Andrews ‘must go tonight’ after horrible example of ‘inexcusable powers’ (article – Sky News Australia)
https://www.skynews.com.au/details/_6186892198001
32. Beheading of a teacher in France
Back in October, a very ugly incident happened in which a teacher in France by the name of Samuel Paty got his head cut off by Islamic fundamentalists for insulting Allah. Perhaps we’ve become used to having people’s heads getting chopped off by extremists, like ISIS, but the fact that the news did not get around as much as it should is interesting. Which raises an interesting point. Why have we not heard much about religious fundamentalism this year compared to the last few years?
France: Teacher decapitated, suspect shot dead by police (article – Aljazeera)
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/10/16/france-teacher-decapitated-suspect-shot-dead-by-police?fbclid=IwAR3p5DTD7T4rZtbexfJiT3GDY4F6zh2ZORMTwC_F1-fTPPqEX9Pe9BtNsPs
33. Amy Coney Barrett shows her blank notepad
Amy Coney Barrett was sworn in as the next Supreme Court Justice much to the utter disgust of many Democrats who tried every trick in the book to try to catch her out during her confirmation hearings. Some of the questions asked of her were of such an asinine and infantile nature involving topics like if she has a gun or what it’s like having black children or why judges wear robes. However, the best part was when Senator John Cornyn asked her if she had anything in her notepad containing notes prepared for her. She happily obliged and exhibited a blank notepad to all to see. Cornyn stood there in silence for a moment and then muttered something on the lines of ‘that’s impressive’ and, with a tail between his legs, sat back down forthwith.
Amy Coney Barrett Didn’t Even Use Notes for Her Lengthy Senate Hearing (article – Federalist)
https://thefederalist.com/2020/10/13/amy-coney-barrett-flashes-blank-notepad-at-lengthy-confirmation-hearing/
34. Mayor Lori Lightfoot gets a haircut
It has become all too frequent that politicians contravene their own lockdown orders, but the response that Chicago’s Mayor Lori Lightfoot made back in April when she decided to have a haircut despite barber shops being ordered to close during a stay-at-home order is priceless. When asked, she said, ‘“I’m the public face of this city. I’m on national media and I’m out in the public eye.” If anything, she made herself more conspicuous through vanity although with a haircut like that?
Chicago mayor defends getting a haircut amid coronavirus (article – The Hill)
https://thehill.com/homenews/news/491558-chicago-mayor-defends-getting-a-haircut-amid-coronavirus
35. Ethnomathematics and Ebonics
At the apex of absurdity lies the belief that people of colour could do so much better if diversity (the racial kind) is thrown into the world of mathematics. Enter ethnomathematics, a way of teaching mathematics to ethnic minorities without being hindered by the ‘oppression of mathematics’. As for ebonics, the idea that English should be taught differently to those of people of colour to include jargon specific to certain ethnic minorities and to dumb down the importance of grammar because correct grammar is racist is barmy beyond reprieve. No wonder I have difficulty reading many comments on social media posts by woke folks! If this is not an insult to people of colour, I don’t know what is.
Seattle schools propose race-centric ‘ethnomathematics’ curriculum (article – WSWS)
https://www.wsws.org/en/articles/2019/12/06/ethn-d06.html?fbclid=IwAR0N-p04EyEWhDvQHLKcoicFTJyTuznPcCR_aoL3LP0z1AbYZNbNPpTx2Ho
36. Why the Brits will never lockdown again in earnest
I would say, without a shadow of a doubt, that Britain’s lockdown policies this year has been the most confusing of them all. How one would expect your average Brit to understand and comply with them is beyond me. During the summer months, thousands and thousands of sunseekers flocked onto Bournemouth Beach during the pandemic. Apart from the potential of spreading the virus, can one imagine the state of the beach and the frontline properties considering the very limited toilet facilities? The Brits had enough. Why? There are several reasons, but two very good reasons may be attributed to Neil Ferguson and Dominic Cummings who were high-profile figures who spearheaded policies to lock down the country. Unfortunately, for Neil Ferguson, he was caught out when a married woman popped over for a quick one and as for Dominic Cummings, he was caught out for driving hundreds of miles north to visit family members during a lockdown. Now this is the thing. I am one hundred percent confident that many ‘average joes’ out there were probably doing very similar things, but for a high-profile figure to do the same is just plain stupid. As if they aren’t going to get caught. Yeah, right.
Prof Neil Ferguson quits government role after ‘undermining’ lockdown (article – BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-52553229
Dominic Cummings: What is the scandal about? (article – BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-52811168
37. California’s Proposition 16
Back in 1996, California passed Proposition 209 which prohibited government institutions from considering race, sex, or ethnicity, for example in education, public employment, etc. Seems totally reasonable to me. Then the loony Proposition 16 came into appearing in November this year asking California voters to amend the Constitution of California to repeal Proposition 209. The idea for Proposition 16 is to make affirmative action easier by legally making it possible for employers to hire based on someone’s race, gender or ethnicity. But most people tend to have a measure of common sense and it was, thankfully, outvoted.
Why affirmative action measure failed in California (article – LA Times)
https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-11-04/election-2020-california-proposition-16-fails-affirmative-action-analysis?fbclid=IwAR2AG5c3COlJVF4kpYd07EPAhHRtMRIPx4tT85iR5VVbIEek4c1WNQ2TXlg
38. The US Voting System
In plain-speaking parlance, the US voting system sucks, and I’m not talking about the Electorate College, which has a valid reason much in the same way as India does in a very large democracy to balance out regions of high and sparse density. I’m talking about the very basic rudiments of how to make, what should be a simple system, able to work. First, allow all schools and other public places like libraries to be local voting stations. Second, cater for everyone by hosting ballot drops on several different days, and that includes weekends, not just Tuesdays. Why Tuesday anyway? Third, everyone that goes in gets their name crossed off by a registrar on production of an ID card. Fourth, voter goes in box and then drops of ballot at door on the way out. And I don’t want any excuses about not getting access to ID cards. Either way, not having a simple but effective system has now backfired because no one will ever know in full if the voting counts are truly correct because the more complexity one puts into a system, the more likelihood errors will exist.
39. Asian students are no longer people of colour
Apparently, a school in Washington State has decreed that Asian students are no longer people of colour. Is that because they are generally better at getting good grades or is it that other people of colour are less likely to have good grades? Either way, it seems incredibly demoralising to both. A similar story occurred when a lawsuit was filed against Harvard for discriminating against an Asian candidate. Harvard claimed to have failed to admit him on grounds of having no character. The cheek of it!
The Affirmative Action Battle at Harvard Is Not Over (article – NYT)
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/18/us/affirmative-action-harvard.html
School district decides Asians aren’t students of color (article – Reason)
https://reason.com/2020/11/16/equity-report-north-thurston-asian-students-of-color/
40. South Australia goes into hard lockdown
I thought we, in South Australia, might have been in the enviable position of being one of the few countries in the developed world in which we never had a lockdown. Unfortunately, one of Adelaide’s inner-city hotels was used as a place of quarantine and somehow, or another, a tranche of new cases emerged in other locations. Officials managed to trace the incident to one of the workers holding multiple jobs who ordered a pizza from a takeaway which led to an immediate 6-day lockdown for the whole state of South Australia. Apparently, it was revealed that he lied and, instead, worked at the pizza bar. The lockdown was immediately called off. No charges were given to the worker who lied, although, he would have been, no doubt, one of the most unpopular people in Adelaide!
South Australia to end coronavirus lockdown three days early after pizza worker’s ‘lie’
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-11-20/sa-coronavirus-hard-lockdown-to-end-early/12903834
41. The 1619 Project
A project known as the 1619 Project was started by a couple of writers from the New York Times back in 2019 but it soon made widespread news in 2020. The purpose of the project is to re-frame America’s history by purporting that the birth of the United States did not, in fact, happen in 1776 when it gained independence from England, but rather, when the first African Americans arrived as slaves. I don’t disagree that the landings of these first African Americans would prove to be a great influence on the nation; however, to claim that the birth of the United States occurred in 1619 is simply incorrect. To make a comparison, the states of New South Wales and Victoria existed well before the formation of the country of Australia, which occurred in 1901.
Project 1619 website
https://www.project1619.org/
1619 Project Founder Melts Down After Criticism of her Fake History (article – Federalist)
https://thefederalist.com/2020/10/16/1619-project-founder-melts-down-at-criticism-of-her-fake-history/
42. The Trump Accountability Project
Not content with Trump losing the election, anti-Trump progressives started up a finger-pointing, ‘burn the witch’ initiative called the Trump Accountability Project, the purpose which to seek out anyone who had received a paycheck from Trump’s administration or had involvement with Trump and his party in an effort to name and shame them. This somewhat disturbing idea has since been disbanded when Biden spoke out his unity speech. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez famously tweeted out,
‘Is anyone archiving these Trump sycophants for when they try to downplay or deny their complicity in the future? I foresee decent probability of many deleted Tweets, writings, photos in the future.’ – Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez
Dems ‘accountability project’ aimed at ‘canceling’ Trump loyalists shuts down (article – Washington Times)
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2020/nov/12/trump-accountability-project-shutdown-spirit-unity/
43. The Man Wandering Around CHAZ with a MAGA Hat
Remember that autonomous zone set up by activists in Seattle called CHAZ? The funniest moment I saw was when this man dressed up in Trump gear and a MAGA hat walked around CHAZ proudly holding the American flag. He obviously did this to taunt the activists who assailed him on all sides trying to take the flag off the pole while someone ran away with this hat. Meanwhile, this bulldog of a woman kept trying to snatch the flagpole out of his hand and she simply would not back down. Very entertaining.
Welcome to CHAZ (article – S. Ellerton)
https://medium.com/ironkeel/welcome-to-chaz-a9f3506563ca
44. Abigail Shrier’s Book Irreversible Damage
Earlier this year, Abigail Shrier releases her new book Irreversible Damage, a book that discusses the irreversible effects on young boys and girls who wish to medically change their gender. Not surprisingly, this book caused an outburst from trans rights activists and subsequently resulting in the book being banned from various retail outlets like Target—who later decided to sell them again. Shrier was also interviewed on a Joe Rogan show and when Spotify took up his podcasts, many of Spotify’s staff threatened to resign if Spotify did not remove the episode from its repertoire.
Gender activists are trying to cancel my book. Why is Silicon Valley helping them? (article – Quillette)
https://quillette.com/2020/11/07/gender-activists-are-trying-to-cancel-my-book-why-is-silicon-valley-helping-them/
45. Black woman denigrates BLM mural while shouting Jesus Matters
During the time when whacky Mayor Bill de Blasio of New York City decided to let BLM protests occur; himself even taking part in painting the yellow BLM letters on the pavement, while he forbade anyone from congregating in groups of ten or more, this clearly upset black woman was shouting to and fro trying to paint over the BLM letters claiming that BLM doesn’t care for black lives at all. She carries on at full pelt repeating Jesus Matters while turning tables over and trying to create as much unrest as possible. Cops fail in calming her down, but they were also hesitant on arresting her.
We are on the path to martial law (article – S. Ellerton)
https://medium.com/ironkeel/we-are-on-the-path-to-martial-law-88f4625c602e
46. Unhinged crazy woman hurls abuse at anti-lockdown protestors in Oregon
In early December, a mob of anti-lockdown protestors were congregating outside in Bend, Oregon. This woman in a car shouts like a lunatic at the top of her voice delivering an assault of verbal abuse at the protestors. Such passion!
Public Freakout: Oregon Teacher Screams at Anti-Lockdown Protesters (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=utMEsDSue1c&ab_channel=PersonofColor
47. The Bakersfield doctors get censored on YouTube
Two doctors who ran a private clinic in Bakersfield, California delivered their opinions on how lockdowns are doing more damage than the virus. This marked one of the first significant occasions of big tech companies playing God determining what can be seen or not. There were flaws in their statistics; however, there are usually always flaws in statistics. It’s just that it didn’t fit the narrative at the time. Setting a precedent, many other videos from HCQ, anti-vaxxing and 5G conspiracy theories have been removed.
Dr. Erickson COVID-19 Briefing (Bitchute)
https://www.bitchute.com/video/c2AVwykdFA8V/
YouTube issues statement on removal of controversial video interview with Bakerfield doctors (article – 23 abc)
https://www.turnto23.com/news/coronavirus/video-interview-with-dr-dan-erickson-and-dr-artin-massihi-taken-down-from-youtube
48. The rise of Parler, Bitchute and other alternative social media platforms
Fed up with big tech giants playing God by determining what viewers can see, 2020 marks the first year in which the mainstream public are dabbling into mirroring their content onto social media platforms not controlled by big tech. The rise of Twitter alternatives like Parler or YouTube equivalents like Bitchute or DTube will continue in earnest but not without a fight from the incumbent big tech giants. In December, many Instagram users have left the platform due to new terms and conditions that have been introduced.
49. The Portland riots that lasted more than a 100 days
After George Floyd’s death, protests were widespread in various cities across the United States and even the rest of the world, but I can think of no other city where a near continuous riot took place in the city of Portland, Oregon for well over a 100 days. A federal building was under attack which prodded the federal police force to intervene which further exasperated the problem with counts of alleged police brutality. In the meantime, the mayor of Portland, Ted Wheeler, pretty much just sat on his ass and did nothing to stop them.
50. Trump Derangement Syndrome
Trump Derangement Syndrome is a new medical condition in which any mention or a mere allusion to Trump around a person afflicted with an extreme hatred of Donald Trump causes that person to instantly lose his or her mind, froth at the mouth and claim that everything and anything Trump touches or gets involved with is evil. Persons suffering with TDS are unable to play certain card games where calling trumps is a necessary part of the rules of play.
51. Watching the complete police webcam video footage of George Floyd’s arrest and death
It is not surprising how George Floyd’s death caused so much anger and chaos. However, what is utterly surprising and tragic is the much-delayed release of the complete police webcam footage taken. Three months later, the anger is still there but the thought processes of how brutal the death based on the video clips most have watched already are so thoroughly embedded that having to now watch the unredacted video now is not likely to have much in the way of any impact.
George Floyd, the Law, and the Absolute Necessity of Due Process (YouTube)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJlQvOgEx58&ab_channel=farfallewestern
52. Mass gatherings during a pandemic
If there is one thing most memorable this year, albeit in a bad way, is how we have let mass rallies, protests, demonstrations and celebrations to allow to take place during times of lockdown and social distancing. If one does not believe in social distancing or lockdowns, then fine, attending mass gatherings shouldn’t be a problem. However, not believing in social distancing or lockdowns generally bucks the narrative and attracts criticism. However, criticising BLM protests to take place has its own set of dangers, particularly for high-profile officials who may be claimed as being racist or worse. Not a good career move. Therefore, the BLM protests occur. As for Trump’s rallies, they are not challenged either as they are working in the framework of the law within those states which allow them to do so. Whatever the narrative, mass gatherings and social distancing are mutually exclusive because there is no way that everyone is going to maintain two metres apart especially when emotions get on edge. I won’t entertain the notion that masks are protecting people at mass gatherings. If someone can catch the virus from touching a pizza box from a takeaway, it sure the hell can be transmitted by touch for those of us who don’t wash our hands enough.
53. Sweden is the black sheep of the pandemic
For many, Sweden has become the black sheep of the international coronavirus fighting community. Through the whole of the year, Sweden has doggedly prevented any lockdown to take place, discourage those outside to use masks and has allowed most businesses to run through the pandemic albeit with various restrictions. In reality, Sweden has consistently had restrictions in place throughout the whole of the year, whereas many countries under periods of severe lockdown suddenly open up and ‘let rip’ before being shuttered under a new lockdown. Towards the end of the year, Sweden has ramped up its restrictions even proposing a new law to make imposing restrictions easier if passed by parliament.
Sweden has been the victim of poorly interpreted statistics. First off, the initial surge of deaths will, for most basic statistic calculations, be averaged with the entire year condemning it to be far worse than its Nordic neighbours. Second off, if another state or nation is to be compared to Sweden more accurately, it should be Quebec, but because, as far as non-Scandinavians are concerned, Sweden speaks ‘hurdy-durdy vilkom to sveeeeden’, Sweden has to share the same boat with the other countries of Scandinavia. Try telling that to the Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Why lockdowns are the wrong policy – Swedish expert Prof Johan Giesecke (YouTube – Unherd)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bfN2JWifLCY&ab_channel=UnHerd
54. Trump revives federal executions after 17 years
Capital punishment is a very emotive topic. Many support it. Many do not. The thought of capital punishment is a sickening one in my book. There is no doubt that there are some horrendous crimes that take place but there are cases of mistrial as with Henry Keogh of South Australia, who after being found innocent twenty years later, was released. Moreover, it costs many times more to legally execute a prisoner rather than lifetime incarceration. Michael Portillo did an excellent documentary some years ago when he explored the grim world of capital punishment putting himself through parts of it himself to see what it’s like. When he concluded that the most effective way to kill a prisoner is by hypoxia, a right-wing conservative politician in the United States retorted what would be the good of that if that person doesn’t suffer.
Michael Portillo’s documentary How to Kill a Human Being
https://vimeo.com/83750163
In Trump’s final days, a rush of federal executions (article – BBC)
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-55236260
55. The Smithsonian White Culture Chart
I’ll leave the best to last. I have to say this is the most surreal and absurd piece of reading material I have ever read. Moreover, it was displayed at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture until it was, relievedly, removed due to demand. An author of critical race theory by the name of Judith Katz, who is about as white as you can get, came up with possibly the most insulting piece of work set on paper. Insulting to people of colour, that is.
The title of the work is Aspects & Assumptions of Whiteness & White Culture in the United States. After reading this, I thought this was a joke at first but was dumbfounded to find out that it was being displayed at a national museum. To be frank, it could have been written by a white supremacist. The full image of the chart is shown below.
The idea is that certain traits listed in the work are inherently white which discriminate against people of colour. For example, the following, according to Katz, are white traits: self-reliance, objective and rational thinking, hard work is key to success, work before play, Christianity is the norm, follow rigid time schedules, wealth equals worth, respect authority, plan for future, delayed gratification, be number one, decision-making, be polite and many more. I was jaw-dropped stunned when I read this. The author is making it plain and clear that coloured people do not have these traits.
Whiteness (article – Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture)
https://nmaahc.si.edu/learn/talking-about-race/topics/whiteness
That’s all folks!
Hope you enjoyed this article. See you in the New Year!
