There’s always one, isn’t there?- Armchair doctors? Views on Coronavirus in Spain and more

WHEN we discuss health and advice we’re given by experts, you always get the internet/armchair ‘doctors’ popping up.

These people have no medical training whatsoever but think it’s fine to shove false information and conspiracies down our throats.  I’ve seen it many times. ‘Educate yourself,’ they say… Which means watch YouTube conspiracy videos. Whilst so high on pot, it’s to the point of paranoia!

Anti-vaxxers are the worst. In my experience, they are some of the most egotistical people I have ever come across. Their desire to be right completely overrides everything. Logic, expertise, even lives. They prey on the desperate, vulnerable and naive. Money is usually their motivation. You have a look at their social media pages and more than often they’re flogging snake oil rubbish. Quite ironic they then accuse the ‘Big Pharma’ of being money-orientated!

Recently, I’ve come across the Corona conspiracists. One man spent quite a lot of time on social media today telling me I’m wrong because I think the UK should have a properly policed lockdown, like here in Spain.  He, like a few other idiots, think the virus is man-made and a conspiracy to control us all. He said he refuses to social distance himself. Used boring cliché phrases like ‘I’m not a sheep.’

So, while Spain are using ice rinks to store the dead, you have idiots like him roaming the streets of the UK, without any consideration for others’ lives. Their own egos and desire to be an individual override everything, as always.  I’m all for free speech – I mouth off a lot online myself. I just wonder – where do you draw the line? Pages like Natural News and Info Wars were taken down by Facebook.  Conspiracies may seem harmless. But quite frankly, they aren’t. Info Wars, for example – because of their conspiracies, teachers from Sandy Hook Primary School had to move house several times due to death threats.

Personally, I think the best way to deal with conspiracies is to laugh at them.  But sadly, a lot of people do believe fake news. They leave their children unvaccinated. Pass the Corona Virus to innocent people. Even try and murder schoolteachers. Because of the internet, we have access to so much valuable information. But also, false and potentially dangerous information. Where do you draw the line?

Anyway. It’s so disappointing all the flights out of Malaga are cancelled. Because next week I was due to visit my friend Elvis on his little island again. Hope he’s doing ok out there with Diana and Lord Lucan.