Safety...
Posted on 09/28/2021 10:15:42 PM PDT by lightman
An obsession with “safetyism” has underpinned Australia’s response to COVID-19, which has seen state governments readily deploy public health restrictions to contain the virus at the expense of all else—a move that has garnered increasing global attention, according to one psychiatrist.
Tanveer Ahmed, an author and clinical psychiatrist, says Australia’s low COVID-19 infection and death rates by global standards has fostered an increasing belief in “safetyism”—a culture where individual safety takes primacy over other practical or moral concerns.
“I think as a country we haven’t calculated the risks in a healthy way, and it’s been disproportionate,” he told The Epoch Times. “We haven’t considered other important parts of life like sending our kids to school, for example. I think we’ve overreacted in some respects.”
“I do hope people don’t come out of the pandemic in a state of fear, obsessed with health and safety, because Australia probably has some of the strictest controls around the world on health and safety, whether it’s speed limits or child helmets, you name it,” he said.
He also said Australians had been willing to give up their liberties for safetyism.
Australia has seen some of the lowest infection and death rates from COVID-19 by global standards. In turn, this has spurred popular support surge for state and territory leaders who have readily used strict measures to combat the virus, including border closures and snap lockdowns—sometimes across entire cities over a single case of COVID-19.
Ahmed warned that this approach and perspective has meant Australians with genuine concerns, including over vaccine safety, are at risk of being ostracised.
“A criticism of the safetyism dynamic, for example, is if I argue about the mental health effects of the pandemic on kids, that often has more impact than if I talk about liberty,” he said. “So, people who are angry, upset, or feel unheard—that’s almost not seen as an acceptable response. That’s not given the same validity.”
“So, we’ve been quite dismissive and people who are rightly angry and feel like they’re being treated unjustly—we write them off as ‘anti-vaxxers,’ he said. ‘Anti-vaxxers’ becomes this stigmatised label that is used to dismiss people.”
Early protests in Melbourne on Sept. 20, involving blue-collar members of the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining, and Energy Union (CFMEU) against vaccine mandates in the construction industry were initially dismissed by union leaders, some politicians, and media commentators, as “conspiracy theorists,” “extremists,” or “anti-vaxxers.”
However, the action soon evolved into larger protests involving thousands of individuals—and isolated incidents of violence—marching across Melbourne over several days.
The protests were the latest sign of visible frustration from Australians at government-mandated health orders, including vaccine mandates, passports, and lockdowns.
Melbourne, for example, has endured one of the toughest and longest lockdowns, with Labor Premier Dan Andrews relying heavily on a suppression strategy, such as imposing immediate “Stage Four” restrictions, including curfews, limits on movement within a 5km radius, and closing non-essential retail outlets.
The city is also on track to break the world record for the longest time in lockdown. As of Sept. 29, the city has endured 241 days of lockdown since the pandemic broke out last year—just shy of the 245-day record set by Bueno Aires, Argentina.
Ahmed said an increasingly “atomised” or individualistic society meant the pandemic naturally ushered in heavy government intervention, which has resulted in more division in society—whether that be divisions between the vaccinated or unvaccinated; or between the knowledge industry (who could work from home), and those in the physical economy which need to travel and were “hurting the most” from restrictions.
“Western society has become so individualised, they lack ties, whether that’s extended families, nationalism, or religion,” he said. “I think that builds a degree of weakness where governments can impose themselves.”
“You know, you have individuals, the governments, and the market,” he added. “The good bit that cushions all that—families, community, civil society—is getting weaker and weaker. So, governments are trying to fill that gap.”
--Benjamin Franklin
Bending the knee to the cult of safetyism led too many churches to starve their faithful of the life-giving Sacraments and deprive the of the “medicine of immorality”.
Pascha 2020 came very close to being the “abomination of desecration”.
That’s what’s going on, but just insert government in place of every time it says “Mother”. Fits perfectly.
Aye, brings a new layer of meaning to “Nannystatism”.
I’m getting friggin PTSD from all the CONvid scamdemic lies. 💉🔥🐂💩
I’m from the tail end of the baby boom. My political awareness awakened during Watergate, the fall of Saigon, and TMI.
Learned early on that GOVERNMENT LIES.
When Mike Pence held up the “30 days to stop the spread” sign it was deja-vu all over again.
I stopped worrying about the Coup-Flu and began worrying about the tyranny.
Safety...
I suspect an underlying common theme around the world is that boomers do not want to die. For one thing, many of them (us) are going to hell so there’s that. Also, there was a generational creed of invincibility, as you’ll recall if you are yourself a boomer. Many of them took dangerous drugs and later started to engage in very risky activities like mountain climbing and wilderness orienteering.
Most political leaders nowadays are of that generation, or its rather similar younger reflection, gen x (often boomer kids with boomer values). Boomers are of that age where their very aging parents if still alive are almost certain to be in care homes.
So boomers don’t want to die and perhaps the range of opinions about whether their 80-90-something parents should pass has a selfish edge to it.
Also boomers think they know best and can prescribe for almost everyone. I may be of that age and generation but my libertarian conscience (and my faith) tend to make me too humble to think I know what other people should be doing with their lives — it’s a full time challenge for me to figure out my own path. But my socialist in-laws quite blandly told me when this subject came up in general that they are so wise that their opinions should be legislated into general guidance for everyone else.
I said in no mocking tone that I just hadn’t realized until that moment how out of touch they were with the concept of freedom, which they promptly dismissed as “for idiots” in other words, if you or I dispute their better judgement, then we are idiots and deserve nothing good.
You can sort of see how the mandates and lockdowns proceeded from this sort of mentality which is very common among boomers of a left-wing political leaning and especially if they have been anointed to teach or “serve the public” (an oxymoron at best).
I try to avoid speaking to leftists now that I have reached my lifetime quota of infuriating exchanges with them, and I have tried to convey that they are on the road to a very dark place but of course they can’t see that place or its alternative so they don’t believe me.
Rationalists all, they think they are gods in their own little worlds, and they function in such a way, having never known criticism from their liberal parents or siblings, they just come to think perhaps they are letter perfect. Sound familiar?
“Safetyism” has always been around. The Covidism Cult is new and special, because the vaxx forces, or will force, Christians to choose.
Dark and hot.
Thoroughly enjoyed your post which nails boomerism.
Insightful post. Thanks.
Ping.
Covidism has become a religion, with it’s own god.
PORT? Public Order Response Team?! Where’s the dang social workers we were promised?
Thus spake the fauxgod FauXi:
“Thou shalt have no other experts before me.
Thou shalt not take the fame of thy lording expert it vain.”
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