The prophet

Prophecies wherever you look. Gloomy visions of the future justify political decisions in the present. The prophecies are models, scenarios, dystopias, apocalyptic glimpses into the crystal ball of the day after tomorrow. They are designed on computers, formulated by experts and repeated thousands of times. What does the population think? So many people can't be wrong. That's why measures are needed. We need protective measures in the here and now to save the world of the future. 

If we don't adhere to 2G-plus today, if we don't all get vaccinated now, the healthcare system will collapse the day after tomorrow. Then the pandemic will never end. If we don't reduce our CO2 emissions and our ecological footprint today, the globe will burn the day after tomorrow. If we don't supply more weapons to Ukraine today, the Russians will be in Berlin the day after tomorrow. And so on. And now you're proving the opposite, you covidiot, swearer, denier and far-right misunderstander! You can't do that. The future cannot be refuted. Only past prophecies, such as those of Bill Gates, can be refuted or proven. Do you remember the interview in the Tagesthemen on April 12, 2020 [1]? A single sentence was discussed afterwards.

"We will eventually administer the vaccine to be developed to seven billion people!"

If you do the rule of three in your head, this means that almost 90 percent of the world's population should be vaccinated. In purely linguistic terms, Gates' statement was not formulated as a suggestion, but as an accomplished future. As a definite plan that is now being implemented. As a fact at a time when any form of compulsory vaccination was still officially relegated to the realm of conspiracy theory. And yet the sentence didn't scare me. It was in line with what other actors were saying in similar terms. Gates' prophecies were interesting. His visions. The end of the interview was really interesting.

"The world won't be the same after this pandemic. What exactly do you think will change?"

At the end of the obsequiously conducted interview, TV presenter Ingo Zamperoni asked Bill Gates to take a look into the crystal ball. The powerful billionaire was asked to paint a picture of the post-pandemic world. Gates' lengthy answer was fascinating and can now, more than four years later, be compared with reality.

"I believe that the warning that we need to prepare thoroughly for the next pandemic will be taken seriously this time (...) We will be better prepared next time. And the platforms that make this possible will also be useful for existing diseases. We are looking for RNA vaccines for all infectious diseases (...)."

After the pandemic is before the pandemic? This is reminiscent of the old soccer motto "after the game is before the game". Whether it's monkeypox or a new type of bird flu - a supposedly new deadly virus keeps popping up in the media. In addition, the WHO's pandemic treaty is on the home straight. And platforms such as Biontech are working on RNA drugs and cancer vaccines. So Gates' first prophecy has come true. And what next?

"Our behavior will have changed after this crisis. Maybe we will do a lot more things online after we are forced to do so now."

Human behavior has indeed changed. The digitally distanced person is increasingly replacing the human being as an analog, social being. Mr. Gates seemed euphoric. The idea makes my blood run cold. And I have a question. Has the virus forced us to do this or have political decisions forced us to do this? But Billy Boy also thinks about human suffering when he looks to the future. Or so it seems.

"People who had to live in isolation during this time, who had to deal with great uncertainty, the children who lost valuable school time (...)"

Remarkable. The interview was conducted on April 12, 2020. The first lockdown and the first school closures had only been in place for three weeks. Many people hoped that the lockdown would be over by the summer at the latest. The "philanthropist" already knew at this point that older people would be isolated for longer and that children would lose valuable school time. This prophecy also came true. But let's continue with the text.

"We will have to thoroughly clean up economic life after the crisis. After all the traumas that people have had to go through (...)"

What exactly is meant by cleaning up the economy? Wasn't it always said that the economy was to be protected by the measures? Now there is an admittedly audacious conspiracy theory. This theory states that the collateral damage to the economy caused by lockdowns was not only ignored and played down. This theory says that the damage to the economy was the real goal. A slash-and-burn of the existing, a destruction of the middle class in particular, in order to build something new. In the words of Bill Gates: the economy was to be thoroughly cleaned up. The finance minister at the time, Olaf Scholz, did not pull a rescue package out of the metaphorical cupboard. It was a bazooka. Will Gates' last prophecy, with which the interview concludes, also come true?

"And unfortunately, we are also facing a dramatic upheaval here. Our behavior will change in many ways. I also hope that we don't forget other things like climate change because of the pandemic (...)."

I can reassure Mr. Gates. The issue of climate change has not been forgotten by the political-media complex. Or is it humanity that should not forget about climate change? Who actually is "we"? Ingo Zamperoni did not ask these or any other critical questions.