Australia’s Anti-Covid Lockdown Protest

[bèlla]

Truck Drivers Vow to Shut Down All Major Highways in Massive Anti-COVID Lockdown Protest

A group of truck drivers furious about public health restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic has vowed to protest by shutting down all major highways in Australia next week.

Plans to protest vaccine mandates and other restrictions by blocking highways in and out of every Australian state on Tuesday, August 31, were first detailed in a viral video featuring a man who identified himself as a truck driver on Monday, according to Daily Mail Australia.

The man urged Australians to stock up on groceries and other supplies before the protest disrupts the supply chain. Several other truckers have since made their own videos pledging to take part in the effort to "shut down the country."

"It's on. The truckies are doing it," the truck driver says in the original video. "The truckies are going to shut down the country. What that means is you need to go shopping now, get what you can for the next week or two, load your fridge, freezers."

"The truckies are coming and they are going to pull this country down," he added. "We are all going to do it together and remove this s*** government."

The driver goes on to promote COVID-19 and anti-vaccination conspiracy theories in the video, mentioning Dr. Anthony Fauci and falsely claiming that the Pfizer vaccine is "poison."

At least some of the other truckers vowing to take part in the protest also appear to be anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, with videos showing different drivers echoing the claim that vaccines are "poison."

Some drivers may take steps to stop authorities from towing their trucks as they block highways. A like-minded American truck driver shared a video suggesting that the Australians modify their trucks by removing parts needed for towing.

—Continued on Newsweek

 

[Tanj]

Truck Drivers Vow to Shut Down All Major Highways in Massive Anti-COVID Lockdown Protest

A group of truck drivers furious about public health restrictions amid the COVID-19 pandemic has vowed to protest by shutting down all major highways in Australia next week.

Plans to protest vaccine mandates and other restrictions by blocking highways in and out of every Australian state on Tuesday, August 31, were first detailed in a viral video featuring a man who identified himself as a truck driver on Monday, according to Daily Mail Australia.

The man urged Australians to stock up on groceries and other supplies before the protest disrupts the supply chain. Several other truckers have since made their own videos pledging to take part in the effort to "shut down the country."

"It's on. The truckies are doing it," the truck driver says in the original video. "The truckies are going to shut down the country. What that means is you need to go shopping now, get what you can for the next week or two, load your fridge, freezers."

"The truckies are coming and they are going to pull this country down," he added. "We are all going to do it together and remove this s*** government."

The driver goes on to promote COVID-19 and anti-vaccination conspiracy theories in the video, mentioning Dr. Anthony Fauci and falsely claiming that the Pfizer vaccine is "poison."

At least some of the other truckers vowing to take part in the protest also appear to be anti-vaccine conspiracy theorists, with videos showing different drivers echoing the claim that vaccines are "poison."

Some drivers may take steps to stop authorities from towing their trucks as they block highways. A like-minded American truck driver shared a video suggesting that the Australians modify their trucks by removing parts needed for towing.

—Continued on Newsweek

Toll strike is a far bigger issue. This is very unlikely to eventuate.

 

[bèlla]

Toll strike is a far bigger issue. This is very unlikely to eventuate.

The article mentioned it. I'll post a snippet for the sake of the thread.

The Toll drivers will strike for 24 hours, with the TWU saying the decision to take drastic action was made after the company “refused to withdraw its attack on jobs, rights and entitlements at crisis talks” following months of failed discussions, warning it would disrupt food and fuel supplies this weekend.

here are now more than 15,000 truckies heading towards strikes, the TWU says.

 

[NBB]

I don't know about truck drivers... but this australia govt. move of making lockdowns is insane, imho, here the govt. agreed people needed to live their lives, that there are people who worked on the streets, and had no 'backup' money etc, even if they got more sick, and tried to find other ways of dealing with covid.

 

[Paidiske]

From my point of view, lockdowns are not the bigger issue here, but vaccine mandates. It's one thing to have a temporary lockdown in the face of emergency; it's another thing to force people to (say) be vaccinated or lose their jobs.

I'm very comfortable with vaccination, have a degree in immunology, am fully vacced myself; but I don't believe it's right for the government (or employers) to put people in that kind of position.

 

[Pommer]

From my point of view, lockdowns are not the bigger issue here, but vaccine mandates. It's one thing to have a temporary lockdown in the face of emergency; it's another thing to force people to (say) be vaccinated or lose their jobs.

I'm very comfortable with vaccination, have a degree in immunology, am fully vacced myself; but I don't believe it's right for the government (or employers) to put people in that kind of position.

At the end of the Oath that every person swears (or affirms) to serve in our government (or military) is the phrase “all enemies, foreign or domestic”.

This implies that there may come a point when fellow citizens are acting in a way that is contradictory to the Constitution, making it the duty to those whom take the Oath, to defend the Constitution, from “enemies”.

BOTH sides can read this and agree with it, each will think it of the “other side” being the “bad guys”.

I, myself and not willing to allow this pandemic to tear us apart like this, we’re better than this, we can still get through this even if we do it the absolutely stupidest way possible!

“The other side” is not my “enemy”, they’re just people with different opinions!

 

[Philip_B]

Hannah Arendt, in her book Men in Dark Times warned us against such isolation. She reminds us that to the Ancient Romans to live was "to be among people", to die was "to cease to be among people". She said we can become "expelled" or "withdrawn" from the world, we "hole up in the refuge of one's psyche", lose our "humanness" and forsake "reality".

How many people now are locked away, refuge in our own psyche, distracted, frustrated, angry, lonely, bored? As Arendt put it, "in the soundless dialogue of the ‘I’ with itself"? Where is our humanness? And what is the price we will pay? These are not questions for daily news but they will resonate long beyond the headlines. Arendt wrote about the rise of the Nazis and how too many people turned their eyes from the unfolding horror. They stopped asking questions. Especially in dark times, Arendt says, we should ask questions, think and put our thoughts into action. How would Arendt have seen COVID and lockdown?

She may well have supported the necessity of lockdown but not isolation. She certainly would have warned against creeping authoritarianism, encouraged us to ask questions, challenge what we are told and to think with compassion.​

We have lived with plague and pestilence for a very long time. The plague that devastated Ancient Rome probably killed 5 million people. Marcus Aurelius suggested that we should not so much fear death as we should fear never beginning to live. Most of us are prepared to concede some part of our liberty for the common good in the short term. It does concern me as I have listened to the endless string of press conferences, never quite certain if those speak of control as talking about the outbreak or the people. I don't believe that lockdowns are a viable long term solution. The thing we have, that stands us apart from the long history of pandemics is the proposition of a meaningful vaccination.

Those who have likened this to the Spanish should think carefully, for it resulted in around 50 million deaths, being 2.5% of the worlds population at the time. Covid19 to date has resulted in around 4.5 million deaths, being about .005% of the worlds population in our time.

We undoubtedly need some sustained creative and critical thinking about the situation, and in the short term I won't be expecting that to come from the NSW Press Gallery, unfortunately.