Down the rabbit hole we go

| 12:01 pm EDT July 22, 2021
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One good thing about getting old; you learn to see trouble coming. You learn to recognize snares, pit falls and rabbit holes. Otherwise, one might not make it to old age at all.

There are many tell-tale signs, to be sure. Not like Hansel & Gretel’s breadcrumbs or trees blazed with an ax, but signs. You probably know them as well. If you’re alert, you learn to spot the signs pretty early on. Age, however, brings with it an index of variations of the basic themes. 
‘Been there. Seen that. Got the T-shirt.’

For example, a JFK conspiracy buff made the claim, in an on-line chat, that Lee Harvey Oswald did not kill JFK. That was a very clear sign – a flash of bright light – to remove myself, post haste, from his presence. I know a rabbit hole when I see one and he had set up residence in this one and was awaiting tea time.

Hardly a subtle example, but there you are. Myself, I avoid them. In my youth, I fell for them. I was known to invite ‘Watch Tower’ pitchmen in for conversation. I even involved myself in the excavation of one or two less harmful rabbit holes, but that was long ago.

There are many such rabbit holes, as you undoubtedly know; flat-earthers, climate change deniers, chem-trail kooks, anti-vaxxers, white nationalists and of course, the umbrella group of nutters, QAnon. Again, each these give off clear, pungent warning not to engage. One, however, must be aware that each of the aforementioned group of wing-nuts have sub-sets; some of which build their rabbit holes with less noisome elements.

Case in point: in a recent story concerning a former member of the Oath Keepers, the former Oathful Oaf asserted that the original idea of the group was a good one; to honor the oath taken by all members of the armed forces. Then, it was driven off the rails and ‘Poof!’; here’s Jan 6th and your clambering up the walls of the Capitol and beating cops bloody because your Orange Overlord in an overcoat urged you to march against your own government.

This guy obviously couldn’t read the signs that read, ‘Rabbit Hole – Abandon hope, all ye who enter!’.