Protesting quarantine in the USA. Is it a conspiracy? - Courtesy of lé Reddit

[Trigger Me Timbers]

I was clicking around on reddit looking for communities to get banned from and I saw this comment in a thread about the current anti quarantine protest in Texas.

It’s astroturfing. This comment on bestof explains it fairly thoroughly: https://www.reddit.com/r/maryland/comments/g3niq3/i_simply_cannot_believe_that_people_are/fnstpyl

here is the full comment linked:

Spoiler: “Lé big brain”

There's an imperial ton of astroturfing going on, and it's quite visible in how those groups popped up literally overnight (hint-hint). The thing is that they targeted groups who were... how does one say... more receptive to the message who wouldn't be inclined to look any deeper into what they were joining.

As an example, right now, this is happening in Orange County, CA.

Now, here's a screenshot of the description of the "Operation Gridlock Los Angeles" group when it was first spotted by Buzzfeed News.

Concurrently, here's a screenshot of the description of the "Operation Gridlock Tennessee" group.

But, hey... it's Buzzfeed News right? Cool-cool-cool-cool-cool...

Here's a link to the group "Pennsylvanians Against Excessive Quarantine" - sitting 55,281 members deep at the time of this post.

Okay...

Now here's a link to the group "Minnesotans Against Excessive Quarantine" - presently with 18,938 members.

Why do these groups have the exact same description?

Let's not stop there. Following their own links: one is from the "Pennsylvania Firearms Association", and the other is from the group "Minnesota Gun Rights" - both with the exact same layout.

Both of these domains are registered with the same registrar and were registered on the exact same day at the same time.

[ ~]$ whois reopenmn.com
[Querying whois.verisign-grs.com]
[Redirected to whois.godaddy.com]
[Querying whois.godaddy.com]
[whois.godaddy.com]
Domain Name: reopenmn.com
Registry Domain ID: 2512322197_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
Updated Date: 2020-04-08T14:39:18Z
Creation Date: 2020-04-08T14:39:17Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2021-04-08T14:39:17Z

[ ~]$ whois reopenpa.com
[Querying whois.verisign-grs.com]
[Redirected to whois.godaddy.com]
[Querying whois.godaddy.com]
[whois.godaddy.com]
Domain Name: reopenpa.com
Registry Domain ID: 2512322050_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
Updated Date: 2020-04-08T14:37:30Z
Creation Date: 2020-04-08T14:37:29Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2021-04-08T14:37:29Z

The rest of the whois information is obscured by a proxy organization that provides privacy for whois records (I even use them myself as do many others for privacy reasons), so I cannot tell who owns these domains.

Following the pattern of their sites, I checked for "reopenmd.com", but it never resolved to anything. That said, the DNS lookup itself didn't result in a NXDOMAIN error which tells me the domain does exist.

[ ~]$ whois reopenmd.com
[Querying whois.verisign-grs.com]
[Redirected to whois.godaddy.com]
[Querying whois.godaddy.com]
[whois.godaddy.com]
Domain Name: reopenmd.com
Registry Domain ID: 2515645280_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
Updated Date: 2020-04-17T04:19:17Z
Creation Date: 2020-04-17T04:19:16Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2021-04-17T04:19:16Z
Registrant Organization:
Registrant State/Province: Florida
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Email: Select Contact Domain Holder link at https://www.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?domain=reopenmd.com
Admin Email: Select Contact Domain Holder link at https://www.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?domain=reopenmd.com
Tech Email: Select Contact Domain Holder link at https://www.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?domain=reopenmd.com

Registered a little more than week later with the same registrar. The thing is, they didn't actually complete their whois information this time, and whoever set it up cheaped out or forgot to pay for the Domains by Proxy service. Although whois information is literally a public record, I'm not inclined to place my account at risk by opening myself up to accusations of doxxing. That said, anyone who feels inclined to can go to https://whois.godaddy.com and search for reopenmd.com. I myself would be personally curious as to why someone in Florida is registering domains claiming to be gun rights organizations in other states.

Seriously, even without that information - who or whomever is responsible for this astroturfing couldn't make this more obvious if they tried. It honestly took me longer to type all of this up to present here than it did for me to find this all. Yet people have taken the bait hook-line-and-sinker.

Meanwhile, the President then starts tweeting "LIBERATE MINNESOTA", "LIBERATE VIRGINIA...", and "LIBERATE MICHIGAN"; and one of the major forces behind the group in Michigan was a political group that has direct ties to and has historically been heavily funded by the family of the Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos (though said family denies direct involvement in last weeks protest)?

In that regard, I'm not alleging some major conspiracy here, but l-o-fucking-l.

Edit: for the record, reopenva.com also exists and has the exact same registry info as reopenmd.com.

[ ~]$ whois reopenva.com
[Querying whois.verisign-grs.com]
[Redirected to whois.godaddy.com]
[Querying whois.godaddy.com]
[whois.godaddy.com]
Domain Name: reopenva.com
Registry Domain ID: 2515650132_DOMAIN_COM-VRSN
Registrar WHOIS Server: whois.godaddy.com
Registrar URL: http://www.godaddy.com
Updated Date: 2020-04-17T04:43:47Z
Creation Date: 2020-04-17T04:43:46Z
Registrar Registration Expiration Date: 2021-04-17T04:43:46Z
Registrant Organization:
Registrant State/Province: Florida
Registrant Country: US
Registrant Email: Select Contact Domain Holder link at https://www.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?domain=reopenva.com
Admin Email: Select Contact Domain Holder link at https://www.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?domain=reopenva.com
Tech Email: Select Contact Domain Holder link at https://www.godaddy.com/whois/results.aspx?domain=reopenva.com

Edit 2: Apparently, others have found that a domain for pretty much every other state was registered in the same pattern at the same time.

Edit 3: Holy crap, this blew up! Thanks! I really just have a strong dislike for disinformation, and want people to be empowered to know who is involved with what; and I also want people to know to always apply critical thinking to these things.

Edit 4: RIP my inbox. Also, edited the above changing Los Angeles to Orange County as Huntington Beach is definitely not L.A.. It's not even L.A. County. I apologize for that error!

personally I don’t know what to make of this and I want to open up the discussion away from Reddit since hive mind thinks this is an orange man bad conspiracy.

 

[Tomboy Respecter]

Maybe they are coordinated by a group of people with similar interests in getting back to work. I don't know. The fact that reddit is taking this seriously is a good reason not to.
More likely is that millions of people don't have enough money to survive the 3 months of quarantine a lot of these models say is necessary to stop the virus from spreading (let alone this month), so they just want to go back to work and make a living. It's not really a conspiracy if you lost your job due to the quarantine and want to feed you and your family. The only people that think it's a conspiracy have jobs that they can do at home, which says a lot about how unempathetic and uncompassionate they are to their fellow Americans. Plus, taking a hypothetical risk and getting infected (and dying) is better than dying from starvation, economic turmoil AND a pandemic. Plus, people can still use basic hygiene requirements and social distancing to make sure the virus doesn't spread far and wide, even if they go back to work.

 

[Ivan Shatov]

Yeah, and a couple other factors are at play.

The virus will not kill the majority of people, it will simply pass and be over with. Forget about all other reasons, 90%+ are having their lives interrupted for what they see as no good reason.

There's a political side to it as well. Some people rightly perceive Democrats as seeking to use the pandemic to political advantage at the expense of the US economy. They would like there to be a serious financial crisis in November to get their guys into office. A small group of them seek permanent changes to the way the economy works, more on the socialistic side.

My heart goes out to these people. They have a truth on their side, assuming what we know about the virus is correct. The original projections were that we would lose 1% - 2% of the population, the reality has been a lot less. No one knows for certain why that is.

 

[Recoil]

No one knows for certain

That's intentional, too.

 

[Radical Cadre]

No.

Any questions?

 

[sadbird]

If there's something to learn from how laws are passed and enforced in the US, it's when you allow the government to take control over certain things, it will be forever. It's always during a time of perceived crisis, like after 9/11 with the gradual ebbing away of privacy though various laws passed in the name of safety which is how we got to where we are now. The most dangerous thing about this situation is how they are trying to change the way we live and function even when the virus is long gone.
People are also being forced out of work and shut in for a potentially long time. You cannot grind the economy to a halt.

 

[Fanatical Pragmatist]

Plebbitor cannot comprehend that some Americans might actually want to work, therefore it must be a conspiracy theory pushed by right-wing billionaires to kill 1% of their own supporters for no reason

 

[Ketamine Kat]

I can understand losing your job and struggling to make ends meet but... Bigger picture... You're not gonna get your job back or help your family if you're dead or infectious from getting coofed on by Corona-infused idiots going to these protests. You're gonna accomplish nothing but increasing your chances of contracting this.

 

[heathercho]

I can understand losing your job and struggling to make ends meet but... Bigger picture... You're not gonna get your job back or help your family if you're dead or infectious from getting coofed on by Corona-infused idiots going to these protests. You're gonna accomplish nothing but increasing your chances of contracting this.

And? No Vaccine is coming to magically rescue anyone.
South Korea have the philosophy that there is never going to be a vaccine, so contain it and let it die out on its own, but don't go shutting down life and cowering until it hits.

It's worked well for them. But then again, they don't have politically motivated idiot govs who are adding excessive totals to the death toll in order to own the other political party either. They also know how deceptive the Chinese are, understand it and understand they must maintain social and economic order to keep themselves strong against them.
Hence no autistic shut downs. Lockdowns don't even statistically work.

Besides, they are achieving something - if people didn't rebel, you wouldn't have had the civil war, the revolution or even America itself.

OP, Reddit wouldn't understand that because it's full of cowards, cucks and faggots. The type that a good war would flush clean from its system.

 

[Ketamine Kat]

Snip

I can agree with you on a few points and while yes,a Civil War does leave the stronger side standing, at least to me it's dumb to just instigate these social gatherings of people with posters that are gonna get ignored by those jackasses sitting on the throne. And even if they were listened to, when this shit flares up again - and mark my words it will if we don't open up in controlled stages - what then? Another lockdown that could've been prevented by taking better measures than just cracking it open and let Corona facefuck all of us. Like you said, it worked for SK perfectly fine. I also wished though the cuntstick parties would stop the petty slapfest.

It's not about cowering so much as it is making sure this thing doesn't run rampant because people are too dumb to handle themselves in a pandemic crisis. I'm all up for darwinism but any one of us can get royally fucked just because one jackass decided this is a nothing burguer like they did months ago aaaaaaaaand boom, We're worse off than italy.

I just personally find it retarded the way they are going about it and what are they achieving really? They certainly are ensuring the pandemic continues... It just feels like battles could be better picked along with how one fights them.

 

[JustFuckinaDude]

There's a political side to it as well. Some people rightly perceive Democrats as seeking to use the pandemic to political advantage at the expense of the US economy. They would like there to be a serious financial crisis in November to get their guys into office. A small group of them seek permanent changes to the way the economy works, more on the socialistic side.

In my governor’s “plan” (which was him talking and not giving a plan) to reopen the state, it included crap about getting the minimum wage to $15, exactly like you’re talking about. Small businesses around here will be crushed by that; how it’s related to the reopening is unknown to me.

You're not gonna get your job back or help your family if you're dead or infectious from getting coofed on by Corona-infused idiots going to these protests. You're gonna accomplish nothing but increasing your chances of contracting this.

You’re also not going to build herd immunity by keeping everyone sheltered from it. I’ll take my chances with a staggeringly low mortality rate. If we’re gonna get it, let’s get it over with.

I just personally find it exceptional the way they are going about it and what are they achieving really? They certainly are ensuring the pandemic continues... It just feels like battles could be better picked along with how one fights them.

What do you suggest? Handling it legislatively? Our legislative bodies both passed bills to end the lockdown, which were vetoed, and there’s no supermajority to shove it through. If you’ve got a better idea than a show of dissent, I’m open to hearing it.

 

[No. 7 cat]

If I was out of work and a billionaire might pay for the protest as he wants money flowing again, I see a convergence of interests. They're good billionaires, unlike, say Bill Gates.

 

[Ketamine Kat]

@JustFuckinaDude

Currently mortality rate is at about 7%. I mean I'm sure it's easy to scoff at a measly small percentage when you are comparing it to the 93% but is 161,262 people really something to simply ignore? And it is rising.

I don't profess to having the solution because I'm not some cunt sitting in office that has to deal with this thankfully. And do you see where we are? Dissent is all we do here for the majority of the time. But personally minimizing exposure is a smart thing to do during a pandemic and if everyone did that, then this would be simple and easy and we wouldn't need some cunt in office to tell us what to do. But people are too dumb to do that, hence why lockdowns are a thing.

Tell me what are they achieving then with these since, as you put it, it was vetoed... What then? Social gatherings of sperging shouters gonna do anything to have it done the way they want? All I see is Cons to this with barely any Pros, is what I'm getting at.

EDIT: Also, I can guarantee you the numbers we are getting from most places are not the real ones especially from China so that 7% might be quite a bit higher.

 

[Jan Ciągwa]

Mortality rates are almost certainly lowballed.
OTOH the biggest rates are among the very old, and in places with private health care.
The quarantine makes sense since the rate will go up much more when hospitals will inevitably get overloaded, and no political party wants to be known as the one which ruled when people were dying in their homes due to not being able to find a place in a hospital.
In other words, the quarantine is a mainly political move and will not solve anything. People die all the time.

 

[JustFuckinaDude]

@JustFuckinaDude

Currently mortality rate is at about 7%. I mean I'm sure it's easy to scoff at a measly small percentage when you are comparing it to the 93% but is 161,262 people really something to simply ignore?

For a disease that largely kills the elderly and immunocompromised? Yes, I’ll take that chance. That number doesn’t account for any number of factors; for example, countries with larger populations of elderly, lack of access to proper nutrition and health care, etc. I’d also like to add that deaths where the patient died of something (like a heart attack) but happened to test positive is called COVID-related even though the death was comorbid. Additionally, testing for only the sickest will absolutely skew the numbers upwards, and there’s still no mass testing to see who’s been asymptomatic or only mildly affected before recovering. There was an antibody study that came out recently extrapolating the infection numbers could be way higher than we think.

As to the pros: it’s better than doing nothing. As JFK said, “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible make violent revolution inevitable”. It’s a warning.

Families aren’t being provided for. People will only stand for it for so long.

 

[Ketamine Kat]

I mean fair enough, it's a different perspective from my own. Don't see it as wrong, I just don't agree with a lot that involves this whole notion of "must revolt!" which I feel is a cultural thing in the end.

 

[JustFuckinaDude]

I mean fair enough, it's a different perspective from my own. Don't see it as wrong, I just don't agree with a lot that involves this whole notion of "must revolt!" which I feel is a cultural thing in the end.

I mean, revolutions have been happening all over the world for as long as governments have existed and not acted in the best interest of the governed. It’s hardly an American invention.

 

[Ketamine Kat]

True but it seems a lot more prevalent here where it's like people have itchy trigger fingers and every hill is one worth dying on. Or so is my opinion from what I witness on a day to day basis.

I hardly see some spergs sitting on a corner with posters as being a revolution and let's be real... A government that acts in the best interest of the people and not their own is extremely rare if not nonexistant.

 

[JustFuckinaDude]

True but it seems a lot more prevalent here where it's like people have itchy trigger fingers and every hill is one worth dying on. Or so is my opinion from what I witness on a day to day basis.

I hardly see some spergs sitting on a corner with posters as being a revolution and let's be real... A government that acts in the best interest of the people and not their own is extremely rare if not nonexistant.

That’s fair, but in my experience what matters is perception. Trump and Sanders are both popular because they’re populists, and people perceive that they’ll act in the interest of the people and not special interests.

The protests wouldn’t exist if people didn’t perceive the government to be acting unfairly. Perception, as they say, is reality.

 

[FatalTater]

With schools closed, Betsy DeVos isn't getting her pockets filled. Not saying she's responsible, but...

I'm pretty sure she's behind some of this.