I have to wonder about the groups of people out there protesting over the lockdown and isolation directives designed to stem the spread of COVID-19.
Mainly they are up in arms about their “rights” being trampled on and the emergence of a “police state” which is preventing them from living their lives the way they wish and doing whatever they want to do whenever they want to do it. They are demanding the lockdown and restrictions be lifted immediately because the whole situation has been either a set-up, or a conspiracy, depending on who you listen to.
Okay, so let’s look at rights. Here in Australia we have been asked to stay home, where possible, to slow down the spread of coronavirus. Many have been able to work from home, but those who haven’t are receiving government financial assistance to help them through. Yes, it’s tough right now. People have been asked not to congregate in groups. However, they can grab takeaway food and coffee. They can watch whatever they like on television, download movies, socialise on social media, go to the supermarket whenever they need to and to go outdoors to exercise via going for a walk, a jog or a bicycle ride if they wish. No hard or fast rules here, so even though we have been in a lockdown/social distancing situation, we have still had it pretty good because we have had a lot of options available to keep fit and stay healthy. As a result, I’m not seeing any trampled rights here. If our rights were being seriously compromised, we would not have all of those options.
Regarding those fined by the police, they were the ones who refused to abide by the directives to not travel to holiday destinations, not congregate and mingle in groups or attend/organise functions in large numbers. That was it. They refused to do as they had been asked and so naturally, the consequences they had been warned about repeatedly, followed.
Which brings us to the claims we are now living in a “police state”. My feeling here is that those claiming we are living in one, would not know a police state if they fell over it. As mentioned above, we have not had our lives locked up altogether. We still have the freedom to access the Internet, socialise online, talk on the phone, and go out on essential errands like doing a food shop etc. These activities are not restricted to certain days or times and the only restrictions we do have to abide by is keeping to that social distance thingy marked out on the floor. In a genuine police state, these options are just not there and people live in fear of reprisals every day, even when they are innocent of any wrongdoing. This is not happening here. The police in Australia have been enforcing the social distancing directive only, and only with those who have deliberately flouted it due to a misplaced sense of entitlement. No one is exempt from social distancing at the moment. But no one has been fined for being out for a walk or a jog either, or for a trip to the supermarket or takeaway food outlet, when they have adhered to the directive and kept apart from others they might meet along the way.
In a genuine police state we’d all be pounced on the minute we walked outside our doors, so those claiming we are living in one now have absolutely no idea. Being free to use the Internet, perhaps they should have Googled “Police State” before congregating with their placards, then perhaps they would have realised just how un-policed we are in comparison to the citizens of countries where a police state is very real and the people have no rights or freedom at all, and any form of protest is out of the question because the fear of reprisals is severe and very, very real. Australian citizens are so not living in a police state. The only thing we have been specifically asked to do is to stay home where possible and avoid close physical contact with each other. That’s it. Our rights have not been taken away and the police are leaving us alone, so long as we follow that simple directive.
But there’s a lot of misinformation out there and too many people tend to take it as gospel. Do the research! COVID-19 is very real and is killing people world wide. Even those who survive it will be dealing with the after affects for a long time, some even for the rest of their lives, because the disease causes all manner of health complications. It is not a nice thing to contract and plays merry hell with the immune system, lungs, heart and a host of other things.
Personally, I doubt there is a link between it and the 5G network either, because I have yet to find any reliable information which proves that there is, but I remain openminded for the moment and if I ever find a link, I’ll get into it here. But right now, I think we can dismiss that one. The disease it real though, so I’m not dismissing that by any means, nor an I ignoring the practical ways of hopefully avoiding coming down with it.
The be honest, I think those protesting in large, close-contact groups need to take a step back and and a good look at how much they still have. Sure, we are dealing with sudden economical hardships, some more than others, but the nature of COVID-19 currently dictates that life is going to be very different for a while, but we have not been deprived of our rights or our freedom. We are just dealing with temporary parameters designed to slow the spread of a dangerous disease. So shelve the entitled perspective.
And drop the attitude.