Personal Choice
When I opened my eyes this morning I was already feeling agitated. This affected my reaction to the first words that Georgie spoke even though they weren’t even malevolent in any way. The reason for my discontent was the mainstream reaction to yesterday’s demonstrations against Victoria’s vaccine mandates and the proposed Pandemic Bill. I felt that everybody who attended yesterdays rally was being gaslighted by these invisible people who write what their editors instruct them to or those who allow the social pressure to conform to instruct their output of so called news.
This is what the demonstration actually looked like. The mainstream papers (as of Monday0 are either not reporting or are implying that there were 10,000 attendees. Take a look at this footage and then tell me what you think!
What the media reported was a disconnect from what happened. Calling the crowd “right wing” “religious extremists” “rabid anti-vaxxers” was so far from the truth. The diversity amongst the demonstrators was as great as you would see at Chadstone Shopping Centre at the Boxing Day sales. I don’t know who these people who marched beside me were but I was sure as hell pleased that they were there and that for whatever reason they have disagreements with being forced to be vaccinated, to agree to the current mandates that force citizens to be vaccinated in order to attend their jobs, to believe unsubstantiated data about the efficacy and safety of the vaccinations, to not be allowed to go to a hairdresser and get a haircut, to be put in a position where they are branded with names and tags that in no way demonstrate their beliefs or reflect who they are.
I was lucky enough to be born into a democratic society where I have had the right to my own views, opinions, my right to be healthy or unhealthy, my right to drink alcohol or abstain. My right to seek out my own information on any subject and base my views, actions and opinions on what I believe to be either true or workable. My life has always been about choices and the freedom to generate my own opinions and to debate my viewpoints if I see fit to do so.
I will be OK no matter what because I have had the freedom to create a lifestyle that works for me.
But not so for my children who are still young, who are being subjected to group think, who are being ostracised for being individuals who think for themselves and who I am proud of for standing by up their own integrity. Willing to give up the social comforts and privileges that seem to be so important to their peers and to which the label “freedom” is being attached. This morning I watched our Premier equate freedom with going to the pub, a restaurant, a crappy musical of Harry Potter or the bloody Boxing Day cricket.
We are as a society once again in a position where the blind are leading the blind. Where unwarranted trust is more important than putting yourself out to look at as many facts and viewpoints as possible, where what others think about you and say about you really matters more than your own self respect and integrity.
If people want to watch reality shows on television portraying greed, deception, spitefulness and such, if they choose to listen to commercial radio stations that blast out 30 minutes of advertisements for every song played or push the opinions of commentators and call back opinions, if they decide to queue at Kentucky Fried Chicken for some tasty but toxic treat, if they get fatter and fatter eating processed foods that have no nutritional value, if they don’t give a shit about the future of our planet and the effects of climate change on our children and future generations and if they choose to receive an untested or fully approved vaccination to hopefully protect themselves then that is their right. We live in a society where we do not have to agree with each others lifestyle choices.
All we can do is to inspire each other and live the best lives that we can.
At this point in time it cannot be substantiated that as an unvaccinated person I am a greater risk to my fellow citizens than my neighbour who is vaccinated. There are so many other factors, protocols and disciplines that come into play and which I won’t go into here.
Just because it seems to be expeditious for politicians to offer a false sense of security to their constituents does not mean that I or anyone else should be forced to subscribe to the shaky foundations upon which their arguments and rationalisations are built.
If a placebo is what is needed to get our society through the current pandemic crisis then so be it as long as this placebo is not forced on those who choose to take their own measures.
We all have to be responsible. We are all obliged to constantly take the safety of others into account. We are all subject to social restraints about the way we conduct ourselves in the presence of others. I’m sure we all agree on the Christian tenet of “Do unto others as you would have them do unto you”.
Isn’t that enough?
As a footnote. I just watched a podcast which stated that the American FDA has lodged a legal request to the Federal Courts to withhold the research papers that show the ingredients of the Phizer Covid vaccination for 55 years. You can watch this for yourself and work out what you think about this and its potential implications.
