Tory Shepherd: The usual conspiracy theorists were there, with their strange QAnon fictions
Have faith in vapid influencers, right wing stirrers, Qanon nuts and religious crusaders blaming the mess they make on others, writes Tory Shepherd.
Opinion
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I pondered the meaning of freedom this morning as I wove a wonky path between steaming piles of dog poo, little minefields dropped randomly in the wet grass.
Do the people who leave these stinking parcels marvel at their freedom to do so? Do they think about the rights of others to stroll through the parklands free from the revolting job of cleaning faeces out of the soles of their shoes?
Later, as a Lycra-clad fiend whizzed past with nary a tinkle nor friendly warning, I wondered whether they embraced the freedom to have their aerodynamics unsullied by the presence of a bell. Whether that liberty was more important, in their mind, than my liberty to take a walk without heart-thundering near misses.
Freedom, a cornerstone of human rights, has always come with limits. It has to. You can have all the freedom you like – until it breaches the freedoms of others. In some pockets of society, freedom has been warped and twisted to mean the freedom to do whatever the hell you want.
The notion of freedom is being used as a catchcry to excuse sheer selfishness. Take the so-called “freedom rallies” that snaked through city streets last weekend, and are set to do so again this weekend.
The usual conspiracy theorists were there, with their strange QAnon fictions or beliefs they are “sovereign citizens”, free to opt out of Australian laws (while retaining the benefits of citizenry).
Vapid influencers took part, melding their “wellness” messages with whatever other handy ones will up their follower counts. There are reports that global far-right movements were part of the inspiration for the marches. Surely there were many who were just confused, misled, or angry. Aggrieved people who needed to vent.
The recurrent theme throughout all the marches, and all the groups, was “freedom”. Freedom from lockdowns, while their actions increased the chances of longer, tougher lockdowns.
Freedom from masks, as though the slight inconvenience of a face covering was worse than coughing a deadly disease over the vulnerable. Freedom from vaccines, the very things that will hopefully bring more freedom. (“We don’t need ur (sic) vax we want our freedom,” read one sign, in blithe ignorance of how pandemics are actually beaten).
A handful of right-wing politicians jumped on the faux-freedom bandwagon.
Queensland Nationals MP George Christensen blathered about “fake news” frightening the public and questioned the efficacy of vaccinations.
“A 90-plus woman dying is not news,” he said, of one Covid-19 death.
“Civil disobedience is going to have to be done.”
And Prime Minister Scott Morrison’s response to such dangerous agitprop? He defended it in the name of freedom, of course.
“(For) other parts of the country that aren’t in lockdown, well, there’s such a thing as free speech,” he said.
There is indeed such a “thing” as free speech.
But under Australia’s laws it comes with limits. Limits such as inciting crime or violence. And threatening national security or damaging someone’s reputation. Or protecting public health – by limiting cigarette promotion, maybe.
Amid the freedom slurry there was one more. It was hard to work out how religious freedom was connected to the pandemic (although one woman claimed she was protected by having Jesus’ blood in her veins). But there it was.
The old “religious freedom” push, which is sure to be revived when the federal government introduces its Religious Discrimination Bill by the end of the year. And which was invoked here in South Australia by former Labor MPs Jack Snelling and Tom Kenyon.
As with all the other freedom furphies, it’s not some noble fight for liberty. It’s a battle to prioritise their rights over others.
Most of the time, when “religious freedom” is wheeled out, it’s by people who want to discriminate against other people. Or people who are whipping up a fear of some hazy future threat.
All these warped interpretations of freedom seem to be confusing liberty with libertarianism. They’re putting the desires of the few over the good of the many.
They want the freedom to dump a steaming pile of crap wherever and whenever they like. And you can bet they’ll holler if they end up stepping in it themselves.
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