Chapter 19 “lessons learnt from COVID-19: civil rights on hold”
Historians looked back on the COVID-19 days and remarked about the abrogation of civil rights of course justified by the violating governments under the guise of emergency orders all about protecting the greater civil good and “public safety”. Strange of the incredible increase of wealth that happened to the 1% during the COVIDs. It almost seemed like a plot to destroy small and medium sized businesses.
Freedom of assembly was tossed aide under the moniker of social distancing. Quarantine and isolation under the wheels of “public health”. Union busting under the guise of flexibility in managing the healthcare system. Fines, imprisonment and public shaming under the moniker of the public good. Surveillance of citizens by “contact tracing” justified under the guise of public health. And the poor deluded population voluntarily surrendering even more rights by downloading tracing apps on their beloved mobiles. Give anti-libertarians an inch and they will take a mile. Millennials and their fucking phones gladly waving good-bye to democracy by downloading intrusive tracing apps to the applause of the politicos.
What was temporary lasted far longer than necessary and left the sweet feeling of power like Hawaiian garlands looped around the necks of politician-violators.
Those who resisted were labelled as thugs, looters and just selfish. The masses seemed to have been trumped under the mass propaganda campaign focused on public good. Perhaps there was justification in this but aide from the violation of civil rights what was more disturbing was the sheep like obedience of millions of people. Unfortunately, those protesting the violation of civil rights were most often right wing open carry Trumpists or skateboarding, bun headed, tattooed youth whose knowledge of politics was more focused on fascism or anarchism than on democracy. And of course, the far-right Christians moaning about the closing of their churches. There were so few civil rights in China almost all of the population felt no pain and, in this regard, suddenly Western democracies fell within the same ambit as totalitarianism exhibited in China. How quickly can “democracy” resemble totalitarianism!
Let a dog kill and maim and it often develops a taste for the same.
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