Anonymous

[inoceaned]

Again, I have to ask, to all the people who protested in Melbourne last night don’t you think that the WHOLE of Australia would actually support you and genuinely respect your cause if you wore masks??

Because again, the moment that thousands protest WITHOUT masks shows a complete disregard for human life and a total lack of empathy for millions of Australians.

I know how frustrating these lockdowns are for people who have lost their home, business, income, financial support, loved ones to suicide or feel hopeless about their future due to a government that won’t listen. I really want to support you, I do. But when you show a complete lack of empathy to the Australians who WOULD be affected by Covid your protest appears selfish and that you do not support ALL Australians. You don’t want to “unite” and “free” all Australians.

When you protest without a mask, that is the biggest fuck you to millions of elderly Australians and those Australians in nursing homes. It’s the biggest fuck you to the Australians who are immunocompromised, the Australians in hospitals, the Australians who are health care workers, the Australians who have died from Covid, the Australians who have lost loved ones to Covid, the Australians who have been trying to do the right thing during lockdown by wearing masks and adhering to the rules. It’s the biggest fuck you to the millions of Australians who work front-line jobs and continuously risk their health by working during a pandemic.

I really want to support you. But if you want to make genuine change you need to gain the support of ALL Australians, then the Politicians will listen. When you protest without socially distancing or without masks you are only creating more of a divide; making the rest of us angrier and frustrated than we already are.

So I will ask you again, do you really think that all of Australia will support a maskless protest that claims to “unite” and “free” all Australians? I think not. If you did the right thing during the last protest and this protest we would listen to you.

[inoceaned]

To the people who protested I have a genuine question for you, don’t you think that if you wore face masks and socially distanced yourselves from others that more Australians would have supported your cause?

Because the moment thousands of protestors cram themselves together during an outbreak without any safety measures just shows a complete disregard for human life.

Please stop saying you want “freedom” and to “unite” Australia if you clearly don’t care about all Australians, you do not respect all Australian lives.

Did you forget about the Australians who have died from Covid, or the Australian families who have lost loved ones because of Covid, or the Australians who are immunocompromised, or the ageing or elderly Australians?

Your lack of using face masks or encouraging others to implement simple safety measures, in my opinion, is a big fuck you to the millions of Australians you seem to have forgotten about during your protest (or you simply don’t care about the rest of Australia and only yourself). It’s a big fuck you to all the health care workers and all of the Covid patients who have been in hospital fighting for their lives in ICU trying to breathe. It’s a big fuck you to those who recovered from Covid but will live with damaged lungs and varying lung conditions.

We know that millions are financially struggling and are just trying to live. Australians have lost homes, jobs, their businesses, or even loved ones to suicide. The constant financial stressors and job insecurities we have to face every day has also had a detrimental impact on mental health. I hear you and I understand. I am sorry for what you, and we, have gone through. I know that it seems almost impossible for some people to remain hopeful about a future when you feel forgotten or ignored by your leaders.

And again, in my opinion, when you protest during an outbreak without respecting the safety of all Australians, people will not listen to your cause. Because it looks like you don’t care about them and only yourself. It is not about you. I can understand some of the reasoning behind the protestors but you went around it the wrong way.

Most people value doing things for the greater good and making decisions that benefit the majority of people. I acknowledge that the lockdowns had almost unforgiving consequences on some individuals and businesses, but the lives of ALL Australians come first. Wearing a mask serves the purpose of protecting others. No one has ever said that wearing a mask prevents you from getting Covid, but it stops you from spreading it to others. If you don’t wear a mask because it is too uncomfortable or is an inconvenience for you, then you are selfish. This is not about you. And it never will be.

I just don’t think that the protestors went about the protest the right way. When you verbally and physically attack people because you disagree about something, you will not create change; you are only creating more of a divide. You will only make the rest of Australia more frustrated and angry. Angry at you. The protest looked like (and I repeat, from the lack of masks and social distancing) that you only care about yourself and you are protesting for selfish reasons (whether you were or weren’t). Your lack of care about the safety of others while protesting during the outbreak of a more infectious strain of the virus does not encourage people to support you or respond positively to the protest itself.

And finally, my unpopular opinion. If you were protesting for selfish reasons and you truly don’t care about the health of others then I have to say it… maybe Australia isn’t the place for you. Maybe you should consider moving to a country where it is survival of the fittest during the global Covid pandemic, and that’s okay. Different countries value different things and often it’s citizens will share common values. Cultural and social values do vary in different countries. So, maybe you could consider seeing which country aligns best with your values. If you continue to maintain these survival of the fittest values and don’t want to move, then you have to compromise, because Australia values the safety of everyone during a pandemic. Australia is a country that wants to protect all individuals from getting the virus and if you don’t agree with that then that is okay. There are other countries that align with your opinion.

And if you do move to another country, what will you do you in the moment that you, your mother or father, brother, sister, child or friend is dying and your country turns their back on you and won’t help, will you come crawling back to the country that was trying to protect you and everyone else all along? Or will you be accept their value of survival of the fittest? If you don’t accept the survival of the fittest notion for yourself but don’t care if others die and you protested without using safety precautions then guess what, you are a selfish person and only care about yourself. Or to put it the Aussie way, you’re a shit cunt.

The reason we had lockdowns in the first place was to protect everyone. Australia went into lockdowns to stop spreading the virus around and to protect all of its citizens. The lockdowns didn’t want anyone getting the virus or risk the deaths of any Australians. We are lucky that we went into lockdown soon after Covid hit Australia as we had minimal deaths compared to other countries. The government wanted to stop the spread and majority of us did too. We protected one another.

Now whether the lockdowns continue to be the best solution today is another conversation but I would encourage you to contact your local government representatives, and most importantly vote.

I am always open to hearing other people’s perspectives and if you made it this far, cheers, have a good one.

[inoceaned]

To all the people who attended the protests in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne, don’t you think that the WHOLE of Australia would have taken your protest more seriously and actually RESPECT your cause if you all wore masks and physically distanced yourselves?

Now I do empathise with people who are unemployed, financially struggling and are facing detrimental mental health issues. I am so sorry for the people who have lost thousands, their businesses and homes. I am so sorry to those who, because of the lockdowns, feel like they have lost everything and struggle to remain hopeful for the future. I really am sorry. And I guarantee that most people are sorry. I have cried for hours because of Australia’s economy and what it means for Australian citizens and how life will be different. It is scary and lockdowns predominantly have a negative impact on businesses and especially the small businesses.

It’s true, the Australian government is no longer releasing data or statistics on the suicide rate which continues to grow. Psychologists are booked out for months and people are struggling to get medical help. To the people who protested because they lost a loved one or they themselves have struggled, I am sorry. And I hear you.

I have been trying to understand every reason that people went out to protest. I genuinely wish that every single person, whether you support the lockdowns or are against it, try to gain as much knowledge as you can about both sides or both perspectives of the argument. I said not long ago that if the Australian state government put us in lockdown that people would be out protesting, maybe even riots. I was somewhat right. I can understand why some people protested and I can sympathise with you.

However, I am not happy. To the people fighting for Australia’s freedom, to “free the people”, I have a question for you, why did you not want to wear masks or try to socially distance yourselves from eachother? Okay. Let’s pretend that a few of you have Covid and spread it to other people. I know that some people who attended the protest would not get tested, would not follow the guidelines and would spread it to other people without remorse. You throw stats at us regarding the death rate and whatnot, I hear you. But what about all the people who are imunocompromised? What about the thousands of people in hospital who are sick? What about the millions of elderly people who have weaker immune systems? The people in nursing homes? I have heard some of you say “well they’re old anyway”. These people have contributed to making Australia the country it is today. They have created jobs, businesses and things that we don’t imagine living without. Even if you don’t agree with wearing masks and social distancing guidelines can’t you see how the rest of Australia would take you more seriously, sympathise with you, if you acknowledge that you care about others. Because from the perspective of those who are angry, furious at you for protesting, your actions just look selfish and ignorant.

Now I have been yelled at for wearing a mask, I have been spat at by a woman for wearing a mask. I was at work, keeping to myself, working in retail. If people chose to wear a mask to stop the spread of a virus that shows respect for others. If you didn’t wear a mask and spread Covid to others, possibly resulting with them dying, would you not feel guilty? If it was your mother, your father? Sibling? Children? Friend? Would you not feel bad if they died of Covid and it was because you didn’t want to wear a mask. It’s not hard to do the right thing. You can socially distance yourselves from others and maintain good hygiene standards. While this might be “inconvenient” to you, all I have to say is get over it. It’s a slap in the face to all health care workers, to people who have lost their loved ones from Covid simply because it’s “inconvenient” to you and because you don’t care.

Now I completely understand that the lockdowns can benefit those 1%, the rich, the upper class. I understand that people with privilege don’t care if we go into a lockdown. I know that people treat lockdowns like a holiday while others are fighting to live. To those who are oblivious to the destruction that lockdown has caused some individuals, families and businesses, wake up. Some people are struggling, losing their homes, aren’t eligible for government support and are trying to make ends meet.

Whilst the government is certainly part of the blame for Covid outbreaks and lockdowns, you, Australians could have done better too. Now I’m not perfect either but to all Australians I ask you, please support Australian businesses. The world has supporting these “I want” buying behaviours and will purchase things just because they “want” them rather than having an actual “need” for them. Stop buying from these e-commerce giants, or at least try to reduce your spending with them. Amazon are known to exploit their workers and please if you don’t even know this just Google “reasons not to shop at Amazon”. Small businesses could have done better throughout the lockdowns, survived perhaps, if people supported small businesses rather than these big multinational corporations. If everyone bought local, supported local jobs, we would have done better. So yes, we are somewhat to blame. And rather than trying to argue that or find reasons to put the blame elsewhere. It’s true. Australians should have bought and continue to buy from Australia.

Don’t get me wrong, I am angry at the government too and especially for their lack of empathy and accountability. I am sorry that they are not being the leaders we need. They are not representing us or looking after our best interests. It is hard to find a solution that suits everyone, I get that. But the middle and lower socioeconomic classes are struggling and it’s almost as if some of these politicians are turning a blind eye. So again, to those people at the protests, if you wanted change from our leaders and the government you failed to try and win over those angry at you. In my opinion, you fighting for “freedom” were not fighting for the freedom of ALL Australians, primarily just yourselves. If you acknowledged the seriousness of Covid and how people end up in intense care and thousands dying around the globe, that this virus is real and deadly especially to those who are imunocompromised, maybe, you would have been heard properly. If you fight for all Australians and want to protect all Australians and protested with these simple safety measures, perhaps you would have been heard by everyone.

For now, I do hear you, but I will not support your cause, for you do not truly understand what freedom looks like for all Australians. I genuinely don’t like talking about political issues but if anyone made it to the end the main message I want to send is: even if you are so set in your ways, in your beliefs, always be open to listening and try to understand everything you can about the other side, those who might not agree with you. Because without all the information you can possibly get, you will never find the best outcome for everyone.