Copyright Dale Rogerson
In the end, there was no-one left to talk to.
Where politics and pandemics failed to divide and isolate, cancel-culture and censorship succeeded.
It had become easier not to talk though, for fear that someone, somewhere might hear you and delve deep into your hitherto seemingly unremarkable past to retrieve some deed, some thought, some opinion that ran counter to the creed.
And where they couldn’t find something you had done, they set about trawling for acts of omission.
So ultimately there was no-one left to talk to.
But it hardly mattered, because there’d been no-one prepared to listen anyway.
And on that note, thanks to Rochelle for her ever cheerful leadership of Friday Fictioneers. 🙂
castelsarrasin 
HI, According to my husband this scenario will NEVER happen in Western Canada. Reason: when men go to use the urinals in the toilets they carry out long and sometimes deep conversations with each other even if they don’t know each other and will likely never see each other again. Many times he has returned to the restaurant table in fits of giggles because of these serendipitous conversations. 🙂
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Oh the imagery there, Carole! 🙂 Thanks for dropping by, keep safe. And sane.
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This only happens in the “wild west” of Canada, not the Eastern provinces. We love the familiarity, you can have similar long and detailed conversations in the grocery store check-outs too!!!
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There are people listening, Sandra. But only the ones who think just like us
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Ah! would that be the Twitter echo chamber or the ‘silent majority’?
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That would be exactly it
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If we all get tech-connected, this might very well happen. Ominous and powerful!
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I don’t know why I even go on Twitter, but every time I resolve not to go there again I get drawn back. I ought to know better, but since I know I’m not being told the truth in MSM you have to get other versions where you can. And apply judgement. 🙂
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Twitter, I hear, is a slug-fest arena. I never venture there. I would gladly stay away from FB if I didn’t have a biz. What is MSM?
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Main stream media.
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Well, that’s holding up a mirror. I hope we rise and smash the mirror or the future will be bleaker than COVID. I’m guessing WP won’t be safe?
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I’m afraid there’s no going back with social media now. I’m not sure what the answer is. Thanks for reading.
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There is alternative social media… for now.
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Well Parler went down, just waiting to see what happens with Gab.
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Dear Sandra.
All too true and that last line is rather like jumping out of a plane without a parachute. It’s the abrubt ending that gets you. Depressingly well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks for reading Rochelle. Hope I didn’t make you too depressed. 🙂
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A gloomy picture. I deliberately avoided a pandemic-related story, even as the image lends itself to it – it’s just too depressing. And beyond that, cancel culture.. yeah, you got it spot on. A world of echo chambers awaits.
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It does indeed. This is the first story I’ve linked to the current situation, but this really has been one of the most depressing weeks in a long time.
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First they came…
Ah Sandra, I love your light-hearted pieces!
Did you run out of tea?
But I admire the quality even as I slash my wrists.
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Gin, my boy. Gin. Or wine. Or brandy. But tea?
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This piece feels like the end of a novel, Sandra. So precisely written, it cuts deep. All of which is maybe a reflection on how these days feel. I hope there’s a sequel… and a genre change.
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I think some of the divisive comments I’ve heard from people in public office (on both sides) guarantees no change of genre for this administration.
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No one to talk to, no one listens. If that’s the future I fear for my grandchildren.
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My grandchildren and their future crosses my mind a lot these days, Keith. Thanks for reading.
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Chilling, and entirely believable. You nailed it!
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Many thanks, Linda. 🙂
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Savagely true, Sandra. We’ll keep ourselves to ourselves, and all dance to the tune of our techno-bureaucrat puppeteers.
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Oh the power they wield, especially now they are our main conduit to the outside world. Thanks for reading, Dora.
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Great way to present this frightening truth. I feel so bad having to cover the smile that I sincerely treasure and so much miss the smiles given freely by friends known and unknown.
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It’s a weird time for sure. Who could have foreseen this?
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Gah! How did we get here? A scarily apt picture of where we are..
Written by a master.
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Many thanks Dale. Hope you are well and enjoying your new job. Loving your photos.
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You’re welcome and I am, thanks. I’m loving it and it’s getting more challenging each day. Aww. Thank you!
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Orwell come true thanks to the magic of social media.
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Yes, they’re doing a superb number on us.
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What a sad indictment on today’s cancel culture – one can only hope it runs its course and common sense again prevails.
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ah … gloomy possibility. In some countries already a plausibility (or, alas, a reality). But … I’m of the belief that there will ALWAYS be those of us who will find a way to talk, and to listen, to each other. In code. In looks. In touch. In smiles. In words. In stories. In dance. In prayer. In song. In play.
Amen. …
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Amen, indeed.
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it looks like civilization is at the crossroead. i wonder where we’re heading?
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Pretty well describes today’s environment. Never thought I would see the day.
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Your story is very apt. I feel exhausted and extremely discouraged at the state of our world, the turn of events in one week especially. From human rights lawyers being arrested in Hong Kong under PRC’s National Security Law to the cancel culture, censorship, and general ugliness and hatred that abounds. Heavy sigh. No one to listen to the other. What’s next? I shudder to think. Masterfully done and thought provoking as always.
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Oh Sandra, these times can be overwhelming. This is right on target but beautifully prosed.
A world no one expected to be living in, for sure.
Have a wonderful weekend … Be Safe 😷
Isadora 😎
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Wow, you’re as good at political polemic as you are at fiction. Great write, Sandra.
I’m sorry you’ve had such a bad week, though.
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The other pandemic.
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You capture the bleak and dystopian mood of now Sandra so powerfully. We must be warped by fear and social isolation, and as you say, being cut off from celebrating culture and collective socialising. very well done.
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