It shocked me to learn that Australia, which I always considered a pretty nice county, is using its army to move people who have COVID-19 and their close contacts to a quarantine camp. (Well, they call it a quarantine camp; I expect the people forced to live there who cannot leave consider it a prison camp.) This begs the question, why not go full into full Red China emulation mode and just weld them into their homes?
When China welded COVID-19 patients into their apartments to prevent the virus from spreading, I was not surprised. You expect that from a communist country that has a terrible civil rights record and where the government is all powerful. But we do not think of Australia as being a totalitarian state. What equation are they using where nine cases of a disease that infects 500,000 people daily around the globe justify sending people to a prison camp? Are the authorities going to kill their pets like the Chinese do?
Makes you wonder if they would dare try this if they had not removed assault rifles and many other firearms from private ownership back in 1996.
Here’s another example of how short-sighted these actions are: One day, COVID-19 will be only a minor threat in most of the world because everyone will have had it already and developed antibodies. Many countries will have herd immunity, but places like Australia, New Zealand and China will continue to have outbreaks and disruptions because their population does not. They will have to continue to double down on restrictions, limiting air travel, hurting businesses and causing resentment among the populace.
Europe Also Cracks Down
In Europe, Austria, Belgium, Italy and other countries are also cracking down. Austria may be the worse with compulsory vaccination.
Compulsory vaccination is not what we have in the U.S., although it may feel like it. The government is using the carrot and the stick approach to force people to get vaccination. Without the vaccine, you may lose your job or not be able to go to concerts and sporting events. The U.S. has not yet reached the point where they strap you down and forcibly inject the vaccine into your arm. It sounds like Austria is moving that direction, which is a frightening step for a country that played no small part in the Nazi’s war effort and what they dubbed the Final Solution. You think they would shy away from something that sounds frighteningly like forced medical experiments.
The Tide Turns in the U.S.
Because millions of people in the U.S. have resisted the president’s vaccine mandate, a number of companies are reversing their plans to lay people off. They can’t run a factory without employees, staff an airline without pilots, or provide service without employees.
Then the courts stepped in twice and have halted the OSHA rule requiring employees and companies with more than 100 people to be vaccinated. In addition, states like Florida have passed legislation counteracting the mandate. This gives companies like Disney cover to drop their mandates and, in some cases, re-hire terminated employees.
It appears common sense still exists in a few states. Maybe they can export some of it to Washington, D.C.
