Dystopian Download, 31 January 2024
Happy Segregation Anniversary! CJ Hopkins, rub in vaccines, WWIII, joy
Over the last month I’ve had a lot of thoughts I want to share, but that are not all suitable for longer form, in-depth articles. I really enjoy reading
‘Thinking Points’ updates and am trying out a similar format. Let me know what you think in the comments!Happy Segregation Anniversary!
Today marks two years since my home state, Western Australia, imposed the toughest proof of vaccination (POV) restrictions in Australia (and probably the world), bringing about wide-scale state-sanctioned segregation.
A year ago I wrote about it to commemorate the anniversary, noting that segregation was only possible because of misinformation spread by the media and public officials, and the consent of the Good Australians who, like Good Germans, supported the policy either with enthusiasm, or with their silence.
A former friend sought to school me on how observing parallels between WA’s Covid response and public health policy of the Third Reich was bad, because the ABC said so. I can only assume that she and others who levelled similar criticisms neglected to read what I wrote, which highlighted that the first cab on the train to the Final Solution was a public health crisis in which the German government segregated its citizens and suspended civil rights, justified with misinformation peddled by media and government officials about an infectious disease.
CJ Hopkins said it best
This week also marks the acquittal of American playwright
in a German criminal court, where he stood trial for the thought crime of criticising the German government (he lives in Germany). He delivered a stunning speech, which I encourage you to read in full, below.Hopkins explains, so much better than I did in my segregation post, how to spot early signs of the slide into totalitarianism, and why it’s important to do so. He also joined
for his only media interview after the acquittal. He makes a good point - people are calling this a win for Hopkins, but actually, his constitutional rights were violated by the government. It took him eight months and a lot of money to claw back his most basic constitutional right to protected political speech. Sort of a win.
The future is rub in vaccines, at any cost
“Vaccinations could be made less painful by treating skin with a vaccine-laden liquid and using ultrasound to push it into the body,” NewScientist reports in an article titled ‘Ultrasound can push vaccines into the body without needles.’
The year is 2030. Thanks to billions spent on R&D you can now drink, sniff, eat, bathe in, inject, stick on or ultrasound your vaccines.
Meanwhile, one third of the world’s population still lacks adequate primary healthcare and is likely to die of hunger or preventable disease before they reach middle age.
The game is chess, and we are the pawns
Defence analyst Dr Alexey Muraviev says Australia must consider bringing back conscription as “all-out war” with Russia looms, writes Frank Chunch for News.com.au(.) The article echoes calls in Europe to consider the need for conscription should the conflict escalate further.
From the article,
“Last year, top-secret war-gaming exercises conducted for the Albanese government’s defence review concluded Australia would be “f***ed” if China established a military base in a nearby Pacific nation such as the Solomon Islands.”
“The question of the ADF’s size came to the fore during Australia’s contingencies in Afghanistan and Iraq, both of which required considerable commitments supported by regular rotations of personnel,” Dr Muraviev wrote.
“As the risk of Australia being drawn into a major war increase, we are facing a short window of opportunity to address some of the shortfalls in our defence capability.”
That may be true enough, but seeding the idea of conscription in the context of possible “all-out war” with Russia is particularly galling considering that Australia is allied with one of the world’s most aggressive war mongers, which was responsible for the above-mentioned conflict in Afhanistan and Iraq.
It’s doubly galling when you consider the US’s role in provoking the Ukraine/Russia conflict, from Victoria Nuland & Co.’s involvement in the 2014 Ukraine colour revolution, to the US backing Ukraine NATO membership, which was Putin’s clearly stated red line, to the US and the UK goading Zelensky to reject peace terms (after he ran on a peace platform) and instead charge his country headfirst into a conflict it couldn’t win.
They are playing cavalier games with hundreds of thousands of lives… and soon, maybe yours. If we go to war, let the politicians lead on the front line.
What about joy?
When Australia locked down for months, and in Melbourne’s case, years, I kept thinking, “But what about joy?”
When segregation rules were relaxed and I was allowed to participate in society again, I joined a choir.
After years of being treated like a machinistic virus-host with no value or purpose other than to dodge pathogens and follow orders, creating, singing, dancing and working towards a mutual goal of performing for no reason other than the joy of sharing what we’d made was immensely healing.
I’ve participated in two summer seasons now, culminating in a show at the Fringe Festival. The whole endeavour has made me feel human again. To be human is to be social, to create, and to play. Let’s not be so fixated on surviving that we forget to live.
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Gosh. Happy Segregation Day, my fellow segregated west Aussie. We got through and came out stronger, wiser, and determined to kick some butt 💛
With respect to Hopkins, I recall at the height of things someone (dirty unvaxed granny killer) in Melbourne? decided the appropriate demonstration of personal status was to wear a star of david in public. The act was immediately shouted down by a Jewish organization affirming its ownership of the symbol of pogrom. Right or wrong it did make me research again the '30s in Germany and the disturbing parallels. Or did i just dream it?