Semiotics of COVID Cult

Mask as Crucifix and Vaccination as Baptism

When I was comparing COVID pandemic with religion, I didn't mean that COVID narrative was based on entirely imaginary or impossible to prove premises. My meaning was rather that their SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE is much more important than a practical one. Also, the dogmatism and rigidity of both COVID cult and traditional religions are pretty similar, and they both are coming from this symbolic way of thinking.

To understand that better, let's again take examples of masks as crucifix and vaccination as a baptism, very good examples actually. By making these comparisons, I didn't mean that masks and vaccines don't work at all in protection from the virus (though I argue that efficacy of both is largely exaggerated but to that later). My current point was rather that for majority of people who wear masks their SYMBOLIC significance is much more important than practical one. That is, the feeling of PERCEIVED SAFETY when you and everyone around you wears masks is much more important for many people than an actual protection masks give. It could explain many ridiculous cases of wearing masks - for example, to wear masks in the restaurants only to take them down to eat (what is an actual protection here when you actually potentially expose everyone to the virus while eating?); to wear masks while alone in the car or in the forest; or to wear masks while playing board or card games together (what's the point when you all are sitting together anyway and are touching the same cards or board game items?), and so on. In all of those cases, there is practically literally no point to wear a mask. Yet, people still do it. Why?

Because the SYMBOLIC SIGNIFICANCE of it and the FEELING OF PROTECTION and PERCEIVED SAFETY wearing a mask gives to people who are wearing them is much more important than any actual protection here. And this actually equates wearing masks to wearing a crucifix - a SYMBOLIC PROTECTION from 'invisible evil' the crucifix gives to people is much more important than any actual protection people could have against evil (e.g., having courage or a good heart). It's a basic psychology when our faith might make us feel safe even when it's actually unsafe. That is, wear crucifix and walk in the dark fearless. Or wear a mask and go into the large crowds fearless. Symbolic protection.

This is a basic religious, faith-based thinking. I bet all these people daily wearing masks who deem themselves 'educated smart people trusting the science' would be offended by my comparisons of them with religious people (though maybe some religious people might get offended by my comparison of them with COVID cultists as well). I'm sure I'm right though, and that psychologically the mechanism between both wearing a mask and wearing a crucifix is exactly the same. Moreover, even the 'trust the science' mantra itself smells of religion much more than of actual science, but to that later.

With regards to the vaccine it's also much more about SYMBOLIC than real protection vaccines give. Thus, vaccine gives some protection against severe dynamics of the disease and death (though even there not absolutely). Vaccine doesn't give you PROTECTION FROM GETTING INFECTED though. Vaccine doesn't stop the transmission of the virus, and vaccinated people are almost as infectious as unvaccinated ones. This is an actual science. Yet, fascist 'vaccine passports' are still in use, and many people actually believe that it's 'safer to be around fully vaccinated people and to isolate not vaccinated ones'. Why again?

Again, because of SYMBOLIC PROTECTION vaccination status gives to many people. In the minds of many people, 'fully vaccinated' is equated to 'safe' (while 'unvaccinated' - to 'dangerous'). This is again scientifically incorrect but there is no scientific or even logical thinking in the heads of COVID cultists. It's pure religious way of thinking over there. We all need to understand that.

All of this could be well explained by semiotics when people create an artificial meaning and then attach it to a certain thing. This meaning is created through the system of signs and symbols, again (hence SYMBOLIC PROTECTION). Then, this meaning is got permanently attached to a certain issue and becomes a strong association in people's subconscious minds (again, a strong association between 'vaccinated' and 'safe', and 'unvaccinated and 'unsafe'). That's why we have 'vaccine passports' and unscientific and actually fascist discrimination of unvaccinated people. This was done not the first time in history - during HIV pandemic, gay people were also unfairly stigmatized and basically equated to HIV positive (just like now unvaccinated are equated to COVID positive). The mechanism was the same.

How this is achieved, how the associations 'vaccinated = safe' and 'unvaccinated = unsafe' are imprinted in people's minds so strongly? Through the mass propaganda in all media, ofc. Silencing and censoring all other views. So, when people hear for one year in a row daily 24/7 from all media channels and all their social circles about how 'good and safe and effective vaccines are, how good and right decision to take the vaccine is, and how wrong and 'unsafe' decision is not to take it, etc'., then they start to believe it. More than that even. A STRONG SUBCONSCIOUS ASSOCIATIONS between vaccines and ABSOLUTE safety, and absence of vaccine and SERIOUS danger are created inside people's minds. It's again a very dangerous psychological manipulation, brainwashing of our subconscious minds if you like. Since I'm it seems immune to any kind of propaganda and brainwashing by default, and my view won't change however often I would be told to change it via all media and social media, it doesn't work on me. But on majority of people it does work unfortunately.

Again, I know that vaccine gives some protection. It's not absolute though, same as refusing the vaccine doesn't put people in an immediate danger when we are talking of the virus with survival rate over 99% for all who aren't in risk groups, for fuck sake! But many people believe that this protection is ABSOLUTE, and subconsciously, which is even worse.

Again I believe that same happened with religion. People were repeatedly told for centuries that every word of the Bible is true, that homosexuality is a 'deadly sin', etc., so they came to believe all that even SUBCONSCIOUSLY due to strong associations in their subconscious mind created through system of symbols and signs and imprinted in their minds by centuries long religious propaganda. Now we see the birth of new pandemic religion, and that's a scary sight to behold. Would this new pandemic religion also last for two millennia like Christianity? I hope not, this delusion and infection of mind might be far worse than traditional religions.