When the Victorian government announced another stringent lockdown some weeks ago; one could actually hear a collective groan across the Australian state. As has been the case across the planet, especially right-wing governments, and their news media, politicians, and their media goons turned it once again into a political issue. When the media do this obvious party maneuvering, assigning blame, coming close to pushing conspiracy theories, one can bet that it will come from some lobotomized journalist from News Corp. COVID 19 is a reality; masks are necessary and containing COVID through lock-downs is absolutely vital to prevent the spread of this highly contagious virus. Politicizing the epidemic is a distraction and, in some cases, can be dangerous. But when have politicians and their media cronies ever cared about people or the truth?
When the government introduced 'contact tracing,' that is checking-in electronically by I-phone or simply signing your name and phone number on a list as you enter an establishment, to be sure, I was in two minds. Personally, I own a cheap phone for the single purpose of receiving and making calls. So checking in electronically by way of my phone was out of the question. There's always some form of guard at the grocery store entrance to ensure you 'check-in' before walking into the building. On the one hand, this method of 'tracing' of potential carriers of the virus or a possible forming 'cluster' is a good tool of control and containment. Then again, informing the government, 24/7, of your whereabouts while entering any building hugely rings of Big Brother.
In all reality, the surveillance powers of western governments around the globe go beyond even the technology of Star Wars. Law enforcement use cell phones now to solve crimes. Let's face it if the government needs to find you and track your movements, they just do. Indeed, privacy is a luxury of the past, and confronting this fact and accepting it, is just the way things are now. So when the Victorian government announced 'contact tracing' as part of a lockdown, accepting it was a no-brainer.
A few weeks before the latest lockdown announcement, I experienced an interesting confrontation with a fellow citizen. Out of sheer habit, I wore a mask into the grocery store. Most people were not wearing masks, but a few people, like myself, were wearing one, mostly elderly folk. Exiting the store, a young man in his late 20's got up in my face and screamed, “You don't have to wear a mask right now! Take it off!” The young man was hostile, to say the least. I merely stared him in the eyes with my mask in place. He eventually walked away in a huff, screaming, "idiot” at the top of his lungs. Those who believe wearing a mask violate their given freedoms really have no idea what their actual freedoms are. I believe the right-wing Murdoch media have a lot to answer for by politicizing COVID 19.
The Victorian government once again came to the party. After announcing lockdown, they ensured that businesses forced to close would be subsidized to remain in business. The majority, aside from a few wing nuts, Melburnians are following lockdown protocols, and it seems the lockdown is currently coming to an end.
COVID 19 is a slippery snake that can mutate and rear its head at any time. We appear to be on top of the virus, but we are still wandering around in the dark to a great extent.
Like my personal life, it's a good idea to take it one day at a time.
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