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Australian minister calls anti-racism protests 'self-indulgent'

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By Lidia Kelly

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"But we are going to have a mass gathering of tens of thousands of people in complete breach of the rules that apply to everyone else, it is absolutely reckless and irresponsible," he said.

He is not wrong. I am living in morbid fear of the infection case numbers in the U.S. in the next 2 weeks.

13 ( +20 / -7 )

Ah_soToday  06:26 pm JST

The term "self-indulgent" sums up the attitude of many on the right who cannot appreciate why frustration and anger are bubbling up in minority communities around the world.

No that's not true. The vast majority of people, right or left , appreciate the frustration and anger and the cause of these demonstrations. It's just that the vast majority people also recognize that breaking lockdowns rules, social distancing at this particular time could very well produce a massive increase in infection numbers that may overburden and possibly break down the medical systems which are already under stress.

9 ( +11 / -2 )

I stand with protesters. So long as we stand 6ft/2m apart

I wonder how that would work. Hey, I stand here and you stand there and you stand next to the Didgeridoo street performer...

4 ( +7 / -3 )

Australia is one of the countries who has managed to contain covid-19. However, the cost is enormous. It is estimated that 1 million people lost their jobs in 72 hours. Billions of dollars are spent to cushion the impact on the economy. Yet things are not back to normal. Many business are calling restrictions to be lifted earlier so they can start rebuilding their businesses. I feel lucky that unlike many people in other countries I do not need to wear a mask when going out. Therefore, no matter how noble the cause is these people are clearly being irresponsible by putting public health safety at risk.

Freedom to protest is the fundamental pillar of a democratic society. However, it should be done peacefully and responsibly. Not causeing any inconvenience or safety hazard to other people.

4 ( +4 / -0 )

I said it before and I say it now:

I stand with protesters. So long as we stand 6ft/2m apart.

That said, me thinks Mr. Cormann is full of it.

3 ( +12 / -9 )

He makes a good point. I can't attend loved ones funeral, but protesters can gather? #deadlivesmatter? Guess people who were wanting to mourn at funerals shouldve had the foresight to call it a (BLM) protest.

3 ( +12 / -9 )

Two words: Manus Island

3 ( +3 / -0 )

He is correct.

Very self-indulgent.

Plus, ALL LIVES matter.

Cheers.

3 ( +8 / -5 )

Assuming protesters understand and are willing to take the risk of catching Covid-19 but then inadvertently passing it on to a vulnerable relative or friend who may end up dying from it, then they shouldn't be stopped from protesting.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

The cause is righteous, but the timing is all wrong. Putting others at risk during a pandemic is the wrong thing to do. Ways need to be found to allow the message to be unequivocally sent and the seriousness of the people, without endangering thousands during a time of a medical emergency.

I support the cause that all lives matter equally but not the risk of spreading sickness which can kill and spread quickly.

3 ( +3 / -0 )

It’s not self-indulgent to point out the disparate impact of the Lefts hypocrisy

Comical. Hope your usage of hydroxychloroquine as recommended by your bunker inspecting leader is going well. The right's well know consistency for being on the wrong side of history is again on display. And hypocrisy as well. It is fine for gun totting neanderthals to invade government offices using zero safety protocols but when peace loving citizens protest yet another murder by a white police officer of a helpless black American then the complaints stream in suddenly against free speech. It all mostly parroting their echo chamber talking point flaks as right wing folks are crippled from thinking on their own. No need to mention the racism undermining these comments as well. The white cop who murdered the Floyd, hey they are both good people, right. Except one is dead and one is being charged with murder.

2 ( +10 / -8 )

I went to two BLM protests this weekend. It was clear that an element of the crowd was absolutely "self-indulgent" - mostly young whites there only to get a thrill of acting "edgy" and to get some good Instagram shots. It wasn't the majority of the crowd but it is just stupid not to recognize that large gatherings attract people who are there for different reasons - some honorable, some not.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Has anyone noticed that the people in power want us all to turn a blind eye to justice?

To ignore the evil in the world?

To stand down and stop thinking?

To be sheep?

I have been watching the world leaders very closely this past year and can only say, I do not trust any of them at all. None of them. Not one.

We The People must think for ourselves and stop others from doing our thinking for us.

Think about that.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

We'll find out June 21st. (two weeks)

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Cormann later told reporters that many Australians had lost their jobs, the economy had suffered and people had been unable to attend funerals of loved ones in order to stop the virus.

"But we are going to have a mass gathering of tens of thousands of people in complete breach of the rules that apply to everyone else, it is absolutely reckless and irresponsible," he said.

Cormann doesn't seem to realize that rules, regulations, and laws no longer apply to protestors, or to the looters, and rioters, that the protestors are covering for.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

@zurc: Comical. Hope your usage of hydroxychloroquine as recommended by your bunker inspecting leader is going well.

Why would I? According to Progressives, the public health crisis is over. Large gatherings with no 6 foot distancing are not needed anymore. The Right can go back to work again and the Left has already returned to protesting and rioting again. Win-win.

The right's well know consistency for being on the wrong side of history is again on display. And hypocrisy as well. 

George Floyd and most other black citizens killed by the police are being brutalized in Progressive cities under Progressive Mayors, police chiefs, and district attorney’s. It’s a cop out to try to shift the blame to people with no political power to make positive changes.

Make no mistake, this is a political problem concentrated primarily in America’s Progressive cities. The Left is working hard to shift blame away from their failures to lift up black citizens since the civil rights era. Progressives in mixed race coalitions have been in charge of the policies most directly affecting the daily lives of the largest black communities in America for most of the past 60 years. They protest year after year, pursue the same failing public policies derived from their failed Progressive and neo-Marxist ideology.

Spend all your time shifting blame to people with no political power to make a difference, or stand up and be accountable for the decades long failures of Progressive policies. Your choice.

0 ( +7 / -7 )

"If you are born indigenous in this country, your life stands to be materially worse than those of us who are born non-indigenous in terms of child mortality, education, employment and incarceration," Marles said on ABC's "Insiders" program.

Spoken like a typical politician jumping on any cause with out researching the facts - the reason Indigenous communities fall substantially short in these area's is because of their lack of motivation and poor attitude, its a cultural issue not a racism issue.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

zurcronium - Hope your usage of hydroxychloroquine as recommended by your bunker inspecting leader is going well.

Couldn't be better. It appears that the usual suspects have been caught once again playing politics by falsifying their negative test results of hydrozychloroquine. And the once prestigious medical journal The Lancet has been forced to retract their publishing of the unverified study.

Researcher involved in retracted Lancet study has faculty appointment terminated, as details in scandal emerge

https://www.bing.com/search?q=lancet+retract+scandal&form=EDNTHB&mkt=en-us&httpsmsn=1&msnews=1&rec_search=1&plvar=0&refig=82c24ad6195342dcfd3404e36319fdfb&PC=HCTS&sp=-1&pq=lancet+retract+scandal&sc=1-22&qs=n&sk=&cvid=82c24ad6195342dcfd3404e36319fdfb

Equally embarrassing for Democrats is that the University of Utah has “mutually agreed” to terminate the faculty appointment of Amit Patel, who was among the authors of two retracted papers on Covid-19 and who appears to have played a key role in involving a little-known company that has ignited a firestorm of controversy.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

ZaphodJune 7 11:59 pm JST

Peter14

I support the cause that all lives matter equally

What kind of cause is that? Doesn´t everybody agree already? What is the point of supporting something that nobody disputes?

If everybody already agreed then this topic of the protests would not be happening. Eyes open.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

At the end of the next two to four weeks there might be a lot fewer protestors than there are today. It's unfortunate that infected protestors may also kill off their non-protesting family members, and friends.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

The term "self-indulgent" sums up the attitude of many on the right who cannot appreciate why frustration and anger are bubbling up in minority communities around the world.

The Left were brow beating the Right for wanting to begin loosening lockdown rules two weeks ago in order to begin economic recovery and save people’s livelihoods. The looming depression is a horrible crisis too. It’s not self-indulgent to point out the disparate impact of the Lefts hypocrisy.

-2 ( +9 / -11 )

While I personally wouldn't attend a mass protest at this time, due to worries about the virus, I'm not going to condemn people who feel strongly enough to do so.

I'm also not going to criticise Japanese people for doing so, just because the initial trigger (this time) was in the US. Given that I've talked to a couple of Japanese people who were genuinely heartbroken and/or furious about what happened to George Floyd, I'll assume that these people are protesting because they actually care about it.

It should also be noted that the majority of the protests around the world have been peaceful, and even in the cases where they weren't peaceful, it was usually a small minority who were being violent and a vast majority who were being peaceful.

While I'm here, if anyone is into PC games and wants to support the BLM movement, there's a rather amazing games bundle on itch.io of over 740 games for $5. Over 500 developers donated their games for free, and they've raised nearly $2M in about 24 hours. 100% of proceeds go to charity.

More info: https://www.reddit.com/r/GameDeals/comments/gxh1bj/itchio_bundle_for_racial_justice_and_equality_pay/

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

@serendipitous: Assuming protesters understand and are willing to take the risk of catching Covid-19 but then inadvertently passing it on to a vulnerable relative or friend who may end up dying from it, then they shouldn't be stopped from protesting.

Yes - personal responsibility. It’s a shame that some see personal responsibility as dependent upon their politics.

-2 ( +3 / -5 )

The term "self-indulgent" sums up the attitude of many on the right who cannot appreciate why frustration and anger are bubbling up in minority communities around the world.

-3 ( +13 / -16 )

zurcronium: It is fine for gun totting neanderthals to invade government offices using zero safety protocols but when peace loving citizens protest yet another murder by a white police officer of a helpless black American then the complaints stream in suddenly against free speech.

I agree that it’s not smart to carry guns to a protest - but unfortunately for Progressives, the right to bear arms is a Constitutional right. Regardless- have you noticed that there was no violence. Contrast that with the “peaceful protests” in mostly Progressive cities has included riots, arson, destruction of countless black businesses, protestors running over the police with cars, and shooting dead of about a dozen people including a retired black police officer.

As for free speech I have heard of no one that supports violence except for Leftist academics, and antifa / white supremacist domestic terrorists. This is a problem concentrated mostly in Progressive cities. It should also be noted however that everyone has the right to free speech, not just people on the Left arguing to defund police in major cities.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

@Ah_so: The term "self-indulgent" sums up the attitude of many on the right who cannot appreciate why frustration and anger are bubbling up in minority communities around the world.

The Right can understand perfectly the failures of leadership in America’s large Democrat run cities. Black Americans have every right to be angry by the failure of big city social policies to lift up black people from the dire position they were at the time of the civil rights era. The policeman that killed George Floyd worked under an all Democrat political leadership. It is shocking to me that too many on the Left continue to give these leaders a pass. The white Democrat mayor of Minneapolis was booed by a crowd of mostly minority activists yesterday because he refused to defund his police force. Will the people of Minneapolis hold him accountable? Dems have a poor record when it comes to fixing their own problems.

-3 ( +4 / -7 )

Peter14

I support the cause that all lives matter equally

What kind of cause is that? Doesn´t everybody agree already? What is the point of supporting something that nobody disputes?

-3 ( +1 / -4 )

He is not wrong. I am living in morbid fear of the infection case numbers in the U.S. in the next 2 weeks.

Vote for better leadership of the country then so the USA does not again lead the world in infections and deaths for the next pandemic. Nearly 2 million Americans have become infected so far. What a total failure of leadership.

Vote for better leadership of the country to encourage the reduction of murders by police officers in the country.

Vote for better leadership of the country so that unemployment among minorities in the country does not again reach 17%.

You should be morbidly fearful of the outcome of the next election.

-5 ( +6 / -11 )

@Nator: While I'm here, if anyone is into PC games and wants to support the BLM movement

Good luck with your business promotion.

-6 ( +1 / -7 )

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