Opinion

Alex Kane: Sheeple is not the worst insult I've had thrown at me

At the end of 2019, none of us had any idea what coronavirus would mean for the human race
At the end of 2019, none of us had any idea what coronavirus would mean for the human race At the end of 2019, none of us had any idea what coronavirus would mean for the human race

Sheeple is a funny old word. I have a vague memory of hearing it for the first time in the early 1980s, in the run-up to the wearing of front seat belts being made compulsory in the UK in 1983.

I also have a memory of TV debates in which politicians ranted about compulsory wearing representing an assault on generations of British freedoms and rights: the sort of debates which reminded me of Tony Hancock’s brilliant line: “Does Magna Carta mean nothing to you? Did she die in vain?”

I also remember the debates about race relations legislation, when people, politicians, and parties like the National Front, complained that the right to describe coloured people in any language they chose was wrapped up in the sanctity of ‘freedom of speech.’ In other words, they championed the right to be as repulsive as you wanted to be about anyone - and the list was a long one, embracing homosexuals, foreigners, the Irish, women, overweight people, the disabled, those with educational difficulties and travellers. And, of course, anyone who dared question the hate-speak they were peddling was dismissed as a ‘commie’ or ‘bloody socialist’ (the favoured terms of abuse before ‘bleeding heart liberal’ and ‘woke’ entered the lexicon).

Anyway, back to sheeple. Its origins can be traced to the mid-1940s and it just meant people who were viewed as sheep-like in their willingness to follow the bark of the sheepdog. But in 2017 it became an ‘official’ word and was defined in the Merriam-Webster dictionary as ‘people who are docile, compliant, or easily influenced.’ A better definition, which I found on the Mashable blogsite, describes it as ‘the insult the blogging masses use to call someone a dummy for following a person or ideology without knowing why they’re following said person or ideology.’

I was called it the other day when I said I would continue to exercise caution re Covid, even if restrictions on social distancing, mask-wearing, holidaying, drinking in pubs and other outdoor activities were eased, or lifted altogether. By the way, a sheeple isn’t the greatest insult that’s ever been tossed at me (you should see the word used by a loyalist Twitter follower when I first mentioned I’d be writing for the Irish News—although judging by occasional comments he seems now to be a regular reader).

And what if I am a sheeple? I’m also a fathersheeple, partnersheeple, unclesheeple, friendsheeple, everyday citizensheeple and fellow humansheeple. I have a responsibility to my family. I have a responsibility to my friends and colleagues. I have a responsibility to my fellow citizens. I have a responsibility to other humans. I also have a responsibility to the people who believe I’m a compliant weasel of the ‘Great Reset’ conspiracy to end human rights worldwide.

Like just about every other member of the eight billion or so human race I had no idea what coronavirus was when I first heard the word at the end of 2019. I’m still nowhere close to being an expert on the subject, let alone comfortable enough to discuss variants and economic consequences with any degree of confidence. I take in as much as I can. I read the views of professionals in the field (even those who disagree with each other—which doesn’t make it any easier for lay people like me to understand what’s going on). I listen to politicians across the world and receive regular briefings from a variety of organisations and individuals in Northern Ireland.

I’ve always taken a cautious approach to the crisis—even though it has inconvenienced me many times since March 2020. At no point, though, have I ever been stopped in my tracks by any evidence or argument from those who seem convinced it’s a scamdemic, plannedemic, or attempt by shadowy figures to take over and change the entire world.

A person I know, who said it was all a hoax, has ended up with what seems to be Long Covid. Another who mocked mask-wearing and lockdown waited in dread as both his wife and youngest sister lay in ICUs. And while the exact scale and nature of the pandemic remains to be determined, no one could deny Covid’s existence, or make a serious case for claiming it’s part of a process to ‘reset’ existence.

The irony is I’m accused of being a sheeple by people who believe in a massive conspiracy run by the sort of organisations I thought only existed in Dan Brown books. Even more ironically, they insist I’m a sheeple yet they’re clearly too lazy to gather in the millions they claim to represent and lead the counter revolution. Happy to sit on their keyboards dismissing the rest of us, yet all still obeying the same rules and restrictions as the rest of us. Not even keyboard warriors. Just keysheeples.