• Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.

    Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:
    • Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
    • Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
    • Access to private conversations with other members.

    We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!

Australia: 3,500 selfish people gather in Sydney for antilockdown protest

F1fan

Veteran Member
'There has been chaos in the heart of Sydney as anti-lockdown protesters, many maskless, took to the streets to protest COVID-19 restrictions, sparking police clashes and 57 arrests.
Thousands walked through Sydney's inner-city, despite the city being in lockdown. Some of the protesters were carrying placards with anti-vaccination messages. Many appeared not to be wearing masks...

...Police Minister David Elliott said a strike force of 22 detectives had been set up to track down 3500 "very selfish boofheads". He also said anyone who attended the protest to get tested for COVID-19.'

Source: Chaos as thousands gather for anti-lockdown protests

In the clip, "NSW police clash with protestors" from about 0:10 there is a protestor holding up a sign saying "I believe in Jesus not the vaccine".

Hopefully as many of them get charged as possible with flouting lockdown rules.

In my opinion.
I have to wonder if some of this behavior is due in part to human over-population. Could it be that there's some degree of awareness of over-population and more people are willing to take foolish risks?
 

Kangaroo Feathers

Yea, it is written in the Book of Cyril...
'There has been chaos in the heart of Sydney as anti-lockdown protesters, many maskless, took to the streets to protest COVID-19 restrictions, sparking police clashes and 57 arrests.
Thousands walked through Sydney's inner-city, despite the city being in lockdown. Some of the protesters were carrying placards with anti-vaccination messages. Many appeared not to be wearing masks...

...Police Minister David Elliott said a strike force of 22 detectives had been set up to track down 3500 "very selfish boofheads". He also said anyone who attended the protest to get tested for COVID-19.'

Source: Chaos as thousands gather for anti-lockdown protests

In the clip, "NSW police clash with protestors" from about 0:10 there is a protestor holding up a sign saying "I believe in Jesus not the vaccine".

Hopefully as many of them get charged as possible with flouting lockdown rules.

In my opinion.
Most of the protestors were New Zealand 5th columnists
 

PureX

Veteran Member
It's a fight for freedom from rouge power hungry people who like to control the lives of others.

Solution for compliance?

Do better at making a more convincing case, so people can see any rhyme and reason. Otherwise it's going to be difficult to continue selling a pandemic of which the majority will factually survive it, vaccine or no vaccine.
People who do not want to see reason are not going to see reason, no matter how reasonable it is, or how clearly it's being resented to them. At some point, someone simply has to tell then what to do, and what not to do, whether they like it or not. And as 100 years of commercial advertising has brainwashed a global culture into venerating selfishness as "freedom", the number of people among us that will not allow reason to infringe on their selfishness has increased exponentially.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
People who do not want to see reason are not going to see reason, no matter how reasonable it is, or how clearly it's being resented to them. At some point, someone simply has to tell then what to do, and what not to do, whether they like it or not. And as 100 years of commercial advertising has brainwashed a global culture into venerating selfishness as "freedom", the number of people among us that will not allow reason to infringe on their selfishness has increased exponentially.

My list is longer than just commercial advertising, but I do agree that visible selfishness is an epidemic.
 

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Do better at making a more convincing case, so people can see any rhyme and reason. Otherwise it's going to be difficult to continue selling a pandemic of which the majority will factually survive it, vaccine or no vaccine.
Well if you only care about the majority then there is no case to be made if you have such open disregard for the masses of lives that constitute a very large minority, and I think that is the flaw in your reasoning.
 

sun rise

The world is on fire
Premium Member
Massive figures means nothing unless hundreds of thousands are dying around you in the immediate vicinity.

That's the issue. People are being dishonest and manipulative enjoying using shock value and others pick up on that. While the grand totals may be true, the context and perspective is certainly not when you factor in per capita and metrics.

The right certainly is but it's being ignored by those who listen to such people.

But this is also a catch 22 setup. If the death toll, infection rate etc are reported, people are accused to using shock value. If they don't report it, of not being convincing enough.

But just for grins, how would you convince people that the death toll is real, the infection rate is real, that the vaccines are as effective as they've proven to be and how small the side-effects truly are?
 

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
My reason is people don't react to a fire unless the fire becomes big enough. The virus isn't big enough yet.
Its a very shut the gate after the horse has bolted mentality.
If a fire springs up in my office computer I extinguish it (if safe to do so).
I don't wait to see if it is going to burn the entire level and kill enough people to be concerned enough to act.
 

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
That is what they call "Freedom of Religion", isn't it? And "Freedom of Expression"

I never forget @ChristineM say on RF "I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it"
I like @ChristineM her statement, hence I find it hypocritical if people disapprove of a protester holding up that sign

And by the way, if you take the sign literally, using proper English interpretation, there is nothing wrong with it

Note: I only replied to the protester's opinion as in "Freedom of Religion", not to the crowds or other stuff
Note: Reminds me about people objecting to "picture of Muhammad" yes or no? Hypocrisy easily raises it's hood
Note 1 Just comes across as a disclaimer in an attempt to disregard the obvious nuance of the situation and context in which the point you were making refers to.

FWIW I too would die for the right of the person to say, "I believe in Jesus not the vaccine", however I would not die for their alleged "right" to stand in a crowd of 3500 people not wearing masks or practicing social distancing.

I would also draw your attention to the fact you appear to have confused my criticism of the protestors with my criticism of the sign. I was not in any way saying the person did not have a right to hold their sign. I added that to highlight the studpidity of some of the protestors, and saying something is stupid is not the same as saying they don't have a right to say it.

As for Note 2, people objecting to "picture of Muhammad" have never been an issue with me. It is people who raise the prospect of blasphemy laws for drawing pictures of Muhammad that I have the problem with because such unwarranted laws cause all sorts of harm. But protesting without social distancing wearing no masks also causes harm. So no I don't see any hypocrisy here.

In my opinion
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Its a very shut the gate after the horse has bolted mentality.
If a fire springs up in my office computer I extinguish it (if safe to do so).
I don't wait to see if it is going to burn the entire level and kill enough people to be concerned enough to act.
We know fire burns everybody.

The virus on the other hand, dosent affect everybody. Many are asymptomatic.

Poor analogy to use for comparative porpoises unless of course you can find those unaffected by direct exposure to fire.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
The right certainly is but it's being ignored by those who listen to such people.

But this is also a catch 22 setup. If the death toll, infection rate etc are reported, people are accused to using shock value. If they don't report it, of not being convincing enough.

But just for grins, how would you convince people that the death toll is real, the infection rate is real, that the vaccines are as effective as they've proven to be and how small the side-effects truly are?
I think everyone with some sense and sensibility knows the virus is not safe for everyone. It's real enough and it does kill.

That's why I emphasize risk assessment for people to decide for themselves if they need to take the extra mile by way of vaccination or simply let it take its course like many do with colds and the common flu.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Well if you only care about the majority then there is no case to be made if you have such open disregard for the masses of lives that constitute a very large minority, and I think that is the flaw in your reasoning.
There's no flaw. We drive cars without concern for the death toll. We don't go crazy about heart disease either which is unfathomably tremendous by way of the total death count.

We acknowledge that a lot of people die en masses every year from a variety of things and accept it as a fact of life.

Coronavirus is no different. So I'm not affected by attempts by people who only want to guilt shame other people over it because it's suddenly newest hottest thing to do now.
 

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
There's no flaw. We drive cars without concern for the death toll. We don't go crazy about heart disease either which is unfathomably tremendous by way of the total death count.

We acknowledge that a lot of people die en masses every year from a variety of things and accept it as a fact of life.

Coronavirus is no different. So I'm not affected by attempts by people who only want to guilt shame other people over it because it's suddenly newest hottest thing to do now.
Cars are an unavoidable practicality for many, and I for one hope that the money being spent on driver-less cars will pay dividends for safety in the future.

We don't go crazy about heart disease because with the exception of smoking induced heart disease which does have ramifications for others and which we do have laws to minimise the public harm of it is a self inflicted suffering. COVID-19 on the other hand is not just inflicting death on yourself, it is inflicting death on those you spread it to.

In my opinion.
 

Twilight Hue

Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
Cars are an unavoidable practicality for many, and I for one hope that the money being spent on driver-less cars will pay dividends for safety in the future.

We don't go crazy about heart disease because with the exception of smoking induced heart disease which does have ramifications for others and which we do have laws to minimise the public harm of it is a self inflicted suffering. COVID-19 on the other hand is not just inflicting death on yourself, it is inflicting death on those you spread it to.

In my opinion.
Cars are completely avoidable. It's not unavoidable at all.

We want them because it's clearly convenient, but I don't see people being guilt shamed for driving them even if people regularly get killed in them all the time.

You can inflict death on anyone in some capacity and frankly Covid is not actually that lethal by virtue of the majority of its survivors who catch it and are no worse than wear.

It's hard fact that most will do just fine overall.

The rest are the ones who have the responsibility to utilize the vaccines and health precautions for themselves by being smart about it and doing proper risk assessment and ppe.
 

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Cars are completely avoidable. It's not unavoidable at all.
I disagree, without industrial means of food production and distribution, without means of transportation to and from work that cars provide, many dare I even say the majority of people would starve.

As for the rest of your post vaccines take time to develop and implement and without lockdowns an unacceptably large minority of people would die in the time it takes to develop and implement vaccines.

In my opinion.
 

stvdv

Veteran Member: I Share (not Debate) my POV
Note 1 Just comes across as a disclaimer in an attempt to disregard the obvious nuance of the situation and context in which the point you were making refers to.
No, exact the opposite actually. Note 1 I wrote to highlight that I follow social distancing/masks rules imposed on us; no problem for me there

FWIW I too would die for the right of the person to say, "I believe in Jesus not the vaccine", however I would not die for their alleged "right" to stand in a crowd of 3500 people not wearing masks or practicing social distancing.
Exactly my point too

I would also draw your attention to the fact you appear to have confused my criticism of the protestors with my criticism of the sign. I was not in any way saying the person did not have a right to hold their sign. I added that to highlight the studpidity of some of the protestors, and saying something is stupid is not the same as saying they don't have a right to say it.
No, not at all. My reply was NOT about your opinion, I just shared my opinion on the article. You are the messenger of this article, and you just shared it on RF, which I appreciate, because the articles you share are usually the ones I am interested in.

I almost never criticize the opinion of others, there might be 3 exceptions: 1)They belittle others + 2)They belittle me + 3)They impose, IMO, 'stupid' rules on me/others, like disrespectful/belittling rules (masks and soc.dist. are no problem for me ... I love them ... because I love seclusion)

As for Note 2, people objecting to "picture of Muhammad" have never been an issue with me. It is people who raise the prospect of blasphemy laws for drawing pictures of Muhammad that I have the problem with because such unwarranted laws cause all sorts of harm. But protesting without social distancing wearing no masks also causes harm. So no I don't see any hypocrisy here.
I know this. Note 2 is also NOT directed at you, it is just my opinion on the article you shared, to highlight how easy hypocrisy enters the game

Hopefully as many of them get charged as possible with flouting lockdown rules.

In my opinion.
This is the only line in your OP where I see you gaving your opinion, and as you can see, I did NOT quote that line (I left it out on purpose), hence my reply was NOT about your opinion, but purely my opinion on the article you shared. I am not in the business of criticizing the opinion of others, my only business might be criticizing others when they criticize my/others opinions in a disrespectful way (as in violating RF Rules) and/or try to take my Freedom of Speech away or impose their view on me, or make a "general" claim that imposes their view on me and with which I do not agree
 

Martin

Spam, wonderful spam (bloody vikings!)
It's quite a difficult balance to strike, IMO. You don't want to shut down the economy and restrict freedoms, but on the other hand you don't want lots of people to die, and you don't want hospitals to be overwhelmed.
It's also tricky because you have to wait several weeks to see the effect of any changes on the infection rate.
 
Last edited:

Saint Frankenstein

Wanderer From Afar
Premium Member
'There has been chaos in the heart of Sydney as anti-lockdown protesters, many maskless, took to the streets to protest COVID-19 restrictions, sparking police clashes and 57 arrests.
Thousands walked through Sydney's inner-city, despite the city being in lockdown. Some of the protesters were carrying placards with anti-vaccination messages. Many appeared not to be wearing masks...

...Police Minister David Elliott said a strike force of 22 detectives had been set up to track down 3500 "very selfish boofheads". He also said anyone who attended the protest to get tested for COVID-19.'

Source: Chaos as thousands gather for anti-lockdown protests

In the clip, "NSW police clash with protestors" from about 0:10 there is a protestor holding up a sign saying "I believe in Jesus not the vaccine".

Hopefully as many of them get charged as possible with flouting lockdown rules.

In my opinion.
Do you feel the same about those who took part in BLM protests? I see that the media and governments all gave them a pass to gather in their hundreds and thousands (millions took part in those in the US last year) during lockdowns and quarantines, and are hailed as "brave" and so on. But people doing the exact same thing but with different political opinions - "lock 'em up!", "selfish", "spreading disease", etc. This double standard is disgusting.
 

danieldemol

Well-Known Member
Premium Member
Do you feel the same about those who took part in BLM protests? I see that the media and governments all gave them a pass to gather in their hundreds and thousands (millions took part in those in the US last year) during lockdowns and quarantines, and are hailed as "brave" and so on. But people doing the exact same thing but with different political opinions - "lock 'em up!", "selfish", "spreading disease", etc. This double standard is disgusting.
BLM protesters should have worn masks and practiced social distancing as well. And I certainly never called for the protestors to be locked up.
I'm not sure why you consider saying people who don't wear face masks and don't social distance are spreading disease and selfish is a double standard.
 
Top