The images from Melbourne are horrific. Water cannons, rubber bullets, swarms of riot police. In Sydney, hordes of cops descend on a shopping mall to harass shoppers for no reason, asking to see their papers (we have all seen countless SS officers bark in World War II movies: “Ihre papiere, bitte”) The language is English but the methods are the same. Germany, Argentina, Spain, Russia, China and many others. The world is aghast - but let’s face it, it shouldn’t be. A country that declares total war (“totaler Krieg” in Goebbels’ words) on an enemy that cannot be vanquished is certain to see blood on its streets. Zero Covid amounts exactly to such an enemy and such a war. The only sub-microscopic particle dangerous to humans we have ever tamed is the smallpox virus, and it took years of epidemics and experimentation and suffering to achieve. The hubris is takes to imagine that we can subdue a new respiratory virus within weeks, or months, is difficult to fathom. And yet, New Zealand and Australia, emulating their comrades in the Communist Party of China, have attempted just that. Perhaps they thought the virus was just another unwanted foreigner they could keep away from the door. That hasn’t panned out. Unlike humans, viruses won’t stay in off-shore interment camps - though it’s quite possible that those internment camps will now be put to good use as the Australian government starts to purge the unclean.
Although I am as horrified as anyone else at what’s taking place, I am slightly less surprised perhaps. I’ve always been somewhat of a skeptic when it came to the “good of the human nature”. According to rabbinic Judaism, God created two conflicting impulses in man’s nature, two different sources of energy called “yetzer ha-tov” and “yetzer ha-ra” - an impulse for good and an impulse for evil. While the impulse for good, guided and guarded by our conscience, develops around puberty, the impulse for evil is a lot murkier and seems to dwell in the psyche from birth. Not being a Rabbi, I have no idea whether this is why the evil impulse becomes so immediately apparent as soon as the mask of civilization is pulled back (side note: I used “mask” instead of “veneer” intentionally) But it does indeed reveal itself very quickly. The land of Goethe, Schiller, Bach, Mozart and Beethoven turned into a barbaric Hades almost overnight in 1933. Later on, the civilized countries of Central Europe adopted Communist doctrines with zeal. If one counts both employees and informants, the East German secret police, Stasi, had a ratio of one snitch per six citizens - estimated to be five times more than the Gestapo. The atrocities going on in Iran - throughout the centuries one of the most civilized and refined regions humanity has ever known - are revolting. So there is no reason to maintain an illusion that a civilized country, operating on the principles of English common law, cannot become a viable outlet for the “yetzer ha-ra”
When the Australian government promised “Zero Covid”, despite witnessing what was going on around the world, it simply promised too much. It knew that it could never deliver on that promise. And since it won’t admit this fatal mistake, a majority of the population keeps on believing that the Zero Covid result WILL be delivered. To those folks, it’s those anti-social rebels in the streets that are preventing or delaying the arrival of a virus-free paradise. And so, there is now blood in the streets because a minority understands this will never happen and they must take matters into their own hands, or the enslavement will be complete.
Sending battalions of police, complete with drones and military units to quell a popular uprising in a formerly democratic country is unbelievable to many. But it’s not just unbelievable. It’s an admission of defeat. Admission of total defeat. In essence, the government is saying: we have lost this fight. There will never be Zero Covid. But since we still have many people believing we can deliver, we must kill the voices that say we can’t - before we lose everybody. We’ve seen this movie before.
I will admit that until I settled in the United States ten years ago, I had not been a big fan of the Second Amendment. What the hell do we need guns for, I thought - like millions of others who fail to comprehend the genius of the Fathers of the Constitution. Once Covid happened, I understood almost immediately. The fascism that began to creep in in March 2020 scared the crap out of me. And now, with Melbourne burning, there is no bigger champion of the Second Amendment than me. It’s so blindingly obvious! I don’t need a gun just to defend myself against trespassers (though it’s handy!) I need a gun to defend myself against a government in which the “yetzer ha-ra” has taken over and which aims to destroy me, my way of life and my freedom.
Please let us all help any way we can those incredibly brave heroes in Melbourne because there but for the grace of God - and the rifle in he garage - go we!