The Latest Mask Meme

Memes are powerful symbols, not least because they are subtle. Only those tuned into their messages get them. Without a proper understanding of their symbolism, their messages cannot be read. This is how subversive messages have been spread since forever. The book of Revelation is one such example. It can only be read by people willing to replace the symbols with actual things. The same is true of medieval art. Much of their messages are found in the symbols hidden in the art works themselves, or along their borders. In the case of the Bayeux tapestry, there's an official story in the dominant images, and quite another story along the border.

I always enjoyed the challenge of a puzzle, and I find symbolism especially entertaining. Furthermore, the skills needed for this are similar to those used to make good predictions. That too requires a certain sensitivity to the deeper meaning of things. If we go with first impressions only, we'll never figure things out. Our predictions will unravel, and any investment based on those predictions will be lost. Deciphering symbols is therefore a worth while skill, especially for those who'd like to know what the future may bring.

It's easy to ridicule the whole symbols and predictions thing, and claim that only mystics would do such a thing. Images of witches reading tea leaves, tarot cards and crystal balls are often conjured up for this purpose, as is the hopelessly lost history scholar, trying to glean profound insights from the dimensions of the pyramids or the ancient engravings on some stone tablet. But the truth of the matter is that we all engage in some level of symbolism and prediction making. No-one lives completely outside this realm. The sinister part of this isn't the effort to read these symbols, but the effort by others to keep us ignorant of them.

Mask wearing rules are deeply symbolic. It signifies submission to authority, and the rules are pushed primarily for this purpose. There's no medical science behind this. The science applied is that of political power. Had we been properly educated into the significance of symbols, we wouldn't have been so eager to embrace the mask mandate.

The education system has dumbed us down to the point of ignorance. But ignorance doesn't mean that the symbols aren't real. They are there as much now as in medieval times, and all we need in order to read them is to open our minds to their existence. I have for instance noticed a rapid rise in a relatively new mask wearing meme here in Porto where I live.

It used to be that people either refused to wear the mask at all (5 to 10 percent), wore it under their chin (10 to 20 percent), wore it under their nose (10 to 20 percent), or in complete compliance (50 to 75 percent). But now, there's a new category. People strap their mask around their wrist or arm.

This new trend is almost the same as not wearing the mask at all, but comes with the additional message that this is not something done out of ignorance or stubborn refusal to follow the law. It signifies a willingness to compromise with the ruling class: Stop being such fascists, and we'll go back to pretend you rule over us.

This is the arrangement that Portugal always adopted, so the meme is significant. Portuguese rulers always pretended to rule, and the public always pretended to obey. Much abuse is tolerated, but anarchy is always there as a viable alternative, and the ruling class better not push things too far, or they will discover that their base is non-existent.

From the look of it, there's still a base of about 50% tacitly accepting the laws of the land. But the drop in compliance since they pushed their latest draconian rules onto the public has been remarkable. While these rules are followed diligently by those affected, the mask wearing rules are loosing support. In typical Portuguese fashion, the reaction comes somewhere other than where the ruling class is pushing. There's no enforcement of the mask wearing rules. Compliance is merely a measure of acceptance. So when the mask suddenly drops from people's faces and onto their wrists and arms, the message should be clear.

Needless to say, I'm wearing my mask around my arm these days, and keeping an eye out for any messages being sent my way. There's always the scared little rabbit, tucking their mask extra well before passing me in the street, or crossing over to the other side of the street. But there's been no hobby fascist screaming at me, and for good reasons. I'm not alone, and everybody knows how irrational the situation is. In fact, I'm pretty sure the average hobby fascist has swapped sides by now.

The typical hobby fascist is a small guy, stout of build and eager to shout at any perceived threat, such as a tall foreign looking guy. They drive around in their little box vans, shouting at people through their open windows. But I frequently see these people without any mask on these days. They seem to have caught on to the general message. They know that only the weak and scared still comply with the rules. Besides, most of these men run their own little businesses. They've probably been hit by some rule or other.

Hobby fascists aren't very smart, but they aren't stupid either. They know by now that Lisbon is set at making life miserable for them. Their biggest threat isn't the blond foreigner trying to hide away in Portugal. It's the scum in Lisbon and their evil ways, and I'd be surprised if the little guys haven't figured that out by now.

The mask of the beast