Madness is probably the only appropriate word to describe the past couple of years. And it is typified by what is currently going on in the world of tennis.
Novak Djokovic’s chances of playing in the Australian Open still hang in the balance tonight as the country’s immigration minister considers using his personal powers to re-cancel the anti-vaxxer’s visa – despite a judge freeing him from detention this morning.
Note the use of language. Djokovic doesn’t need a vaccine as he already has antibodies swimming about in his bloodstream having caught and recovered from covid. There was a time when we wouldn’t have bothered about this – naturally acquired immunity being a good thing and all that. Now, however, we have gone through the looking glass. That it took a court case to undo what was obviously a spiteful, politically driven decision is bad enough, but the fact that this can then be overturned on the whim of a politician for precisely the same reason as the original embargo tells us that Australia, the home of the cheerful digger is lost.
We aren’t far behind, but give it time. I never thought in my lifetime that I would see such draconian, out of control behaviour by these people. I have always despised them, but thought that we had checks and balances in place to constrain their worst excesses, but they have failed. We are governed by ignorant, small minded, mean, spiteful cretins.
I went to The Great Australian Beer Festival back in 2018 and had planned to do it again in 2021 – but I think it’ll probably be many years – if at all – before I visit The People’s Republic of Australia again. It’s not a nice country any more.
“as he already has antibodies swimming about in his bloodstream having caught and recovered from covid.”
Except from the bit where its claimed he’s either faked getting it to get there, or not faked it an contaminated others the day after…
And the whole “I’m a famous person, I shouldn’t have to abide by the rules of the proles. So I had to cheat. Maybe.”
That last ‘I’m famous’ bit is what does it.
Yeah, maybe, but it does highlight the insanity of the whole situation. Shines a spotlight on the darkness that Australia has become. So on balance, I’m with the famous person on this one.
I’m not the slightest but bothered about the double standards – it’s the fact that any of these insane standards exist at all that’s the problem.
Yup.
It is all our duty to do everything we can to defeat arbitrary rules, by any means possible.
The “we should abide by the rules” attitude, however stupid and arbitrary those rules are, is why we are in this mess in the 1st place.
The other players, if they had a spine, should boycott that tournament as a matter of principle.
Try us next door in New Zealand. If you an ordinary bod trying to get home to see your family, tough, but if you are a DJ or a Pop Singer and a friend of She who rules us all then a place is found for you and nothing even happens when you go out and spread infection.
Wish people would quit the ‘unvaxxed spreading infection’ bullshit. Its the other way around, and statistics from governments around the world prove that if one looks closely enough. The vaxxed are now on a carousel that they can’t get off.
There’s an easy solution to all of this – turn off the TV, get off mainstream social media, stop getting tested and go enjoy life.
Hence my comment about the use of language. This ‘othering’ is a dangerous path.
Don’t forget, Australia was also a land of prison warders during the transportation era, and it seems as if their progeny are taking over
Yeah, shooting Ben Hall empowered them and they haven’t looked back.
I think a certain amount of common sense is finally beginning to hit the Australian government authorities when it was suggested that the Australian Open should be moved elsewhere because of this.
Castigating Novak Djokovic for being an anti-vaxxer is one thing and the other scum of the Australian Government couldn’t give a flying phuq about that, but losing the prestigious Australian Open to somewhere like Singapore, Malaysia or (god forbid) China would hit Australia across the board (tourism, international prestige, sport, etc.)
I’ll be surprised if any further action is taken against Novak Djokovic on the basis of risking losing the Australian Open to other Pacific rim competitors.