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> That's some emotive language, and projecting viewpoints that I don't think represent the beliefs or thoughts of most Australians or New Zealanders. But xenop

> That's some emotive language, and projecting viewpoints that I don't think represent the beliefs or thoughts of most Australians or New Zealanders. But xenophobia is literally the policy; even their own citizens aren’t able to return without great expense and difficulty. The mood of xenophobia is intrinsically connected with the idea of societal hygiene. In a very literal sense, people outside of Australia are an unclean biohazard. It’s reaching an absurd point now, Australia has their army deployed to enforce a lockdown, while 50% of the population is vaccinated. They’re going to be in for a nasty shock when they discover that the elderly still drop like flies even when they’re vaccinated.

paranoidrobot 5y ago
Enforcing quarantine during a pandemic is not xenophobia. That there's limited quarantine facilities available is hardly unique to Australia or NZ - nobody has quarantine facilities standing by to facilitate quarantine of unlimited inbound travellers. > Australia has their army deployed to enforce a lockdown This is factually incorrect. The ADF isn't enforcing a lockdown. Lockdowns are being directed and enforced by state authorities. This is more than being semantically inaccurate, it's just wrong. The ADF personnel involved are unarmed, and hold no powers. They cannot issue directives or enforce any laws any more than any other person could do so. They were deployed upon the direct request of police and emergency service authorities to help in logistics and to help with police patrols. They were also only deployed in limited areas. This is pretty standard stuff around the world where during times of crisis, civilian authorities request the support of the military.
- sonthonax 5y ago
  It’s rationalised xenophobia. And quite a common rationalisation of the outside world being unclean or diseased. Why do you think unconnected tribes kill those who approach them? One reason is that it’s still in their cultural memory that the tribes who associated with the outside world died of influenza. I know the ADF are auxiliaries, but they’re still there because the police is out in force. In a few weeks Australia will have vaccinated most of its populace, but it’s genuinely an open question if they’ll stop their lock downs.

paranoidrobot 5y ago

Enforcing quarantine during a pandemic is not xenophobia. That there's limited quarantine facilities available is hardly unique to Australia or NZ - nobody has quarantine facilities standing by to facilitate quarantine of unlimited inbound travellers. > Australia has their army deployed to enforce a lockdown This is factually incorrect. The ADF isn't enforcing a lockdown. Lockdowns are being directed and enforced by state authorities. This is more than being semantically inaccurate, it's just wrong. The ADF personnel involved are unarmed, and hold no powers. They cannot issue directives or enforce any laws any more than any other person could do so. They were deployed upon the direct request of police and emergency service authorities to help in logistics and to help with police patrols. They were also only deployed in limited areas. This is pretty standard stuff around the world where during times of crisis, civilian authorities request the support of the military.

sonthonax 5y ago
It’s rationalised xenophobia. And quite a common rationalisation of the outside world being unclean or diseased. Why do you think unconnected tribes kill those who approach them? One reason is that it’s still in their cultural memory that the tribes who associated with the outside world died of influenza. I know the ADF are auxiliaries, but they’re still there because the police is out in force. In a few weeks Australia will have vaccinated most of its populace, but it’s genuinely an open question if they’ll stop their lock downs.