Signs of Truth

On the door of Horseshoe Coins and Antiques, Blaine, Washington.

On our trip to the Pacific Northwest, we crossed into the United States at Blaine, Washington, a one time fishing and logging town whose businesses now meet the needs of the people and trade that pass through every day.

In 2019, a local gave the town this review:

Blaine is a slow town that’s great for retirees and alcoholics. It’s home to the worst of everything I’ve just about ever encountered. The grocery store is horrible, the post office is by far the most inadequate and the police force is great if you’re a good ol’ boy. The restaurant choices are limited, racism is rampant and the town is 20 years behind the times. You can’t even get internet everywhere and your choices for anything are limited and usually poor. ... Easily the worst place I’ve ever lived. 

By 2020, Blaine was beset by the COVID virus, and one shopkeeper felt he needed to take a stand. He refused to allow people wearing masks to come into his store and covered his windows with laminated memes, just in case there was any doubt about where he stood on the matter.

The shopkeep, whose name is Bill, had some simpatico clients, like the one who left this review in 2022:

I popped by Blaine today and saw this antique store. I was intrigued by all the signs of truth posted and was welcomed by Bill the owner who I talked to for 30 min...he's very knowledgeable about history, politics, and artifacts. He showed me around his store it was full of wonderful items...I will be back with my husband for sure once our home is complete. Thanks Again Bill

But, by July 2023, another patron had some advice for the proprietor of Horseshoe Coins and Antiques:

Don't get Bill started on the Trump stolen election or vaccine issues and you will be fine. The windows of the business are plastered with anti vaccine and Trump stolen election fliers. If Bill wants to get more customers in the door he needs to take all the fliers off the window and let some light in and stop discussing politics.

People who study these things can tell you crises like the COVID pandemic give rise to civil unrest, and to shopkeepers getting their dander up. The people who study these things will also tell you that, sooner or later, angry populations will simmer down, go back to normal (whatever that is) and let the collective powder keg that is humanity sit quiet for a time. 

The biggest impression Bill's one-man-one-window campaign left on me is how ratty and old everything is starting to look. 

So maybe it's time to move on.

Thanks for reading!

Karen

This window meme shows a real doctor, and he may have actually said this, but not because he did a controlled study of 13,000 children. He runs some kind of "whole health" alternative health service. And here's what his service has to say about vaccines now: 

Foundationally, IFM recommends a functional medicine approach for all individuals, regardless of their COVID-19 vaccination status, for protection against SARS-CoV-2 infection and severe disease. Such an approach focuses on lifestyle and personalized nutrition to strengthen the immune system and to address complex chronic diseases that confer increased risk. IFM also recognizes that the use of these vaccines has been shown to decrease the serious sequelae and/or death from SARS-CoV-2 infection.[empahsis added]

There are variable risks and harms of COVID-19 and variable risks, benefits, and harms of COVID-19 vaccines, both known and unknown, in different populations. Therefore, IFM recommends the use of vaccines applied in a personalized, risk-stratified manner. Evidence regarding COVID-19 vaccines continues to emerge and will be continuously monitored.

For more information
Alyssa Parker, Manager, PR
media@ifm.org