Lockdown 6: can we please can the protests?

I just finished watching a frustrated wedding business owner from Melbourne expressing his support for the anti-lockdown protest after yesterday’s announcement that Victoria would lock down again (Lockdown #6.)

 

His complete lack of logic destroyed any scrap of sympathy I may have had for him. 

 

A year and a half into this pandemic there are still people doubting its existence and treating mitigation/suppression measures as a human rights issue rather than a public health issue.

 

FARK! I’m losing patience with the media giving air-time to every single person who wants to have a whinge about their dreadful business prospects during this global pandemic.

 

We get it. We know times are tough. We know.

 

WE KNOW!

 

In case people hadn’t noticed, we’re ALL going through it. Everybody’s family life has been disrupted. Our bank balances & mental health have been affected. Our lives have changed. Some of us, sadly, are dead. Some are in hospital on ventilators, and we all find ourselves unable to plan ahead. 

 

ALL. OF. US. 

 

Does anybody really believe that having a whinge on the telly, protesting in a city street, punching a horse or chucking ink on a policeman will change anything for the better for ANY of us?

 

Perhaps Mr COVID-19 Virus, Esq., is sitting at home in front of the TV with the missus. Perhaps he’s hearing the sob stories, seeing the frustration and anger of the people acted out in public. Perhaps he’ll have a change of his little viral heart and will turn to Mrs Virus with tears in his little viral eyes.

 

“Geez, love, I didn’t think this through, did I? I didn’t realise I was being such a thoughtless bastard. I think it’s time we packed up and left. I just wanted to make a connection, but nobody likes us. This was a bad idea.”  No?

 

Well maybe this virus really is a truly Evil Overlord. If so, it must be delighted by all this chaotic protest! It’s probably turning to the missus right now with a giant

Muwahahahahahahahaha! 

Sweet! Look at those dumbarses suffering! This is great!!! What can we do to make things worse? Outdoor transmission? Check. Short transmission time? Check. ” No, I don’t think that’s any closer to the truth either.

 

Mr and Mrs Virus aren’t saying either of those things because guess what? COVID-19 is a VIRUS. It has no brain. No feelings. It’s not alive. It’s not a plot to steal human freedoms. It doesn’t vote Labor or Liberal or anything else. It doesn’t give a shit about your business or our economy or whether we’re happy, or even whether we live or die. 

 

IT’S A VIRUS, FFS!

 

We human geniuses have become so comfortable, so complacent, so much the centre of our own universe that we demand governments fix every little thing that goes wrong – even a virus. When they DO try to fix things, we argue, we whinge, we tell them it’s inconvenient and uncomfortable and hurting us and “not fair”. We want things fixed at zero cost to ourselves and we aren’t prepared to put ourselves out one iota.

 

Grow up, people.

I’ve made some lists - first, here’s a list of protests that MIGHT make a difference.

Protests against governments that cut medicare, that imprison children, that tax the poor and give the rich a free ride, that ignore climate change, that cut welfare, that love coal. Protests against government corruption and systemic discrimination.

 

And here’s a list of things that it’s just plain dumb to think you’ll solve with protests:

Bad weather, brittle fingernails, onions, a lumpy mattress, pineapple on pizzas, your cat waking you up at 4am, hangovers, the word “moist”, blisters and oily skin. 

 

And COVID-19.