I took on another pro-bono ghostwriting assignment today. I am doing it for millions of people who are looking for the right words for a very awkward situation. You can use these words on social media and in correspondence with friends and family members.
You do not have to pay me anything for this service. Not even royalties from the increased success that you are sure to enjoy if you put my text to use. You are welcome.
OK, here we go …
“Dear friends – please accept this note as a sincere apology for my terrible behaviour over the last two years.
I bullied you, I shamed you, I ostracized you. I even stopped communicating with many of you, simply because you had different viewpoints on important issues. I acted as though I had all the answers when, really, I was almost completely uninformed or misinformed.
Of course, I now understand that there are many ways to look at the challenges surrounding COVID-19. I now realize that COVID-19 is a very different experience for healthy versus unhealthy people, and that just because most journalists and politicians are not very smart when it comes to presenting data, it does not justify lumping all people together with one forced solution.
I also now understand that the COVID vaccines are not as effective as we had hoped for. Because I committed so deeply to vaccination as the only solution, I found it very difficult to acknowledge that the vaccines have rapidly waning effectiveness and do not protect me from contracting COVID-19. I now understand that natural infection is more effective at slowing spread than the vaccines currently offered.
I understand that vaccines have been shown to reduce severe outcomes and therefore help limit strain on health-care systems, but also that people who are unvaccinated do not present greater risk to me or anyone else who is vaccinated.
I now understand that someone who works hard to maintain a high level of physical fitness and counts on their powerful immune system to fight off COVID and other viruses is not acting selfishly. In fact, I now realize that those are the people who best reduce strain on our health-care systems – now and in the long term. Thank you, healthy people! Sorry for calling you a–holes!
I also acknowledge that adverse events following immunization (AEFIs) are a legitimate concern, and that a very healthy person may face higher risks from the vaccine itself than from infection. From now on, I will keep in mind that 100% of people who are vaccinated face the risks of AEFIs, while we can choose to avoid contracting COVID by taking simple precautions such as not letting people breathe on us.
I will not ruin my apology with an excuse. I will, however, promise to be more discerning in how I absorb messaging from mainstream media and government press releases/briefings. I am now keenly aware that most of those folks do not have our best interests at heart.
In summary, I am deeply regretful for my shameful behaviour over the last two years. I promise to be better.
Love and respect to all!
(Sign your name here … then stop being an a–hole)
