COVID19 - Melbourne Protest Should've Been Cancelled Until a Safer Time [Poll]

I don't have anything against peoples right to protest. but there is a level of stupidity about protesting in the middle of a pandemic. Considering the whole country has been in a level of lockdown for months and the protesters where urged 'not to protest' if they could keep social distancing, until things got 100% clear the state government needs to be held accountable and the organizers of this protest need to at least given heavy fines.

Coronavirus live updates: Black Lives Matter protester in Victoria tests positive for coronavirus

What are peoples thoughts?

Poll Options

  • 1415
    I agree the protest should have been cancelled till a safer time
  • 199
    I disagree i think the protests timing was no issue

Comments

  • +52

    Here's hoping there is no second wave.

    • -1

      It's almost as if it this was the plan all along…

      • the 'canary in the cave' ?

    • +1

      Or from the huge crowds of people I witness not social distancing at the grocery store on Thursday and Saterday evenings.

  • +185

    level of stupidity about protesting in the middle of a pandemic….

    Well, protesting in the middle of the pandemic would have been one thing.

    Importing a protest in the middle of a pandemic…

    Sir, the level of stupidity is far greater than you can comprehend.

      • +7

        If seizing the momentum was actually a thung, we would have protests everyday all year round. It would be like a protest gyroscope.

        • -1

          I thought Australia was the lucky country. What could people have to protest about "everyday all year round"?

          • +31

            @[Deactivated]: I'm sure the professional protesters will be able to come up with something.

            • @brendanm: Ozprotest.com.au ?

            • +2

              @brendanm: Most people probably don't know about Leon Trotsky, which is a bit unfortunate when such people (professional protestors) are essentially Trotskyites. I don't claim to know much about the whole Lenin-succession story, but the contrast and result between the two (Trotsky and Stalin) is useful to know.

              In Russia, a willingness to protest and 'pull it all down' was useful until the 'right people' had power - then the choice was between the ideology and power: Stalin was happy to take the power; Trotsky ended up out, then exiled, then assassinated.

              Thus the problem of being a 'useful idiot' (naive acolyte) is something we should all be careful about when we choose to align ourselves with a particular group.

          • +48

            @[Deactivated]: A poorly trained cop, perhaps a bad person, unlawfully kills a serial criminal halfway across the globe and we imported seized momentum protesting incarceration rates of Aboriginals in Australia. I'm sure we can come up with another 364 reasons.

            Personally, I would like to see a protest against protesting 364 days a year but some ash hole will probably seize that momentum to protest me by protesting against protests 363 days a year.

            • +7

              @[Deactivated]: I don't like your comment.

              I protest.

              • +10

                @iDroid: Well, we just have another 361 days to fill.

            • -1

              @[Deactivated]: If you are not into protests against the needless loss of lives maybe you should move to Washington D.C. I hear Trump is going to need a few more voters.

              • @buwa99: If you are not interest in effective discord, maybe you should move to South Africa where their leader needs simple mob mentality to maintain rule.

          • +3

            @[Deactivated]: Regarding the phrase "the lucky country": "Horne's intent in writing the book was to portray Australia's climb to power and wealth based almost entirely on luck rather than the strength of its political or economic system, which Horne believed was "second rate"." - wiki

  • +37

    This is why we still have the borders closed.

      • +11

        It has everything to do with cases - as it should; no need for me to prove it as it will become abundantly clear when certain states start opening up only to specific other states…

      • +6

        Not at all. When certain states still have cases going, and allow things like this, we shouldn't be spreading it around.

        • +7

          I love how all the people having a cry about wanting borders open are from the states that still have community transmission. You can keep your infections to yourself. I'll stay nice and safe here where the only cases we have are people who have returned from overseas and are safely in quarantine. No local community transmission here for weeks and hopefully we keep it that way.

      • Your name explains your comment clear…

  • +86

    The problem with the left wingers is you simply can reason with them…

    They essentially either get offend or call rascism/sexism/bigotism etc at any logical argument

    I Hope there is no 2nd wave but zero sympathy for anyone at the protest who gets COVID19

    • +59

      The problem with people who get COVID-19 is that they may attend a protest and pass it on to a whole lot of other people…

      … nvm, they already did that.

      Ps. Add a third poll option - "Stop protesting as a hobby you filthy hippies."

      • 4th option? - don't care

      • +13

        Hey I'm a filthy hippy but hate protests…

        Oh shit I just realised that I'm no hippy, I'm just filthy.

    • +31

      Have you got any logical arguments about aboriginal deaths in custody?

      • +7

        The logical ones get you doxed or outcast.

      • +59

        28% of the prison population is aboriginal. 22% of deaths in custody are aboriginal. You are more likely to die in custody if you are not aboriginal.

        • +23

          No, that's very much an incorrect conclusion because you are assuming the arrest rate (people taken into custody) for aboriginals vs non-aboriginals is equivalent to the prison population (which it is not).

          Imagine for a whole year, only one aboriginal person was arrested and they died in custody.
          In the same year, 99 white people died while in custody.
          So that means you're 99x more likely to die in custody if you're white, right? Never mind that 100% of aboriginal arrests made in that hypothetical year resulted in death…

          • +8

            @ssquid: You're welcome to find me some stats on number of arrests for aboriginal and non-aboriginal people if you like?

            • +1

              @brendanm: You're just as welcome to provide evidence that actually backs up your assertion.

              • +12

                @ssquid: I already did.

                • @brendanm: Prison != custody. What's your source that says 28% of all arrests involve aboriginal people?

                  • +1

                    @ssquid: Where's yours that says it doesn't? You made the claim, back it up.

                    • +6

                      @brendanm: It was your claim. I'm asking you for evidence. Lack of contrary evidence does not substitute.

                      • +1

                        @ssquid: So I take it you have no evidence at all then? Just like all the rest, assuming and making claims you can't back up with actual facts?

                        • +3

                          @brendanm: Yes, that's exactly what you did.

                          • +5

                            @ssquid: Please see above for my peer reviews statistics. I fail to see any from you supporting your claim that mine are incorrect.

        • +21

          Not how statistics work. If you want to compare chance of death black vs. white. You need to look at the percentage of black deaths in the black population vs. the percentage of white deaths in the white population.

          And they ask why teach maths in high school…

          • +5

            @Tech5: The population has nothing to do with the number of people in prison. Aborigines are overrepresented on a percentage basis in prisons.

            If you aren't in custody, you can't die in custody.

            Lol mafs am I rite guys?

            • +5

              @brendanm: You have changed the point you are talking about, so I assume you are confused. Let me break it down for you. Anyone with some level of skill in comprehension, will understand that my use of the term "population" refers to the prison population. Anyone who can understand the basic maths and statistics, will have worked that out. Since you were lead astray, I assume you don't understands those basic principles

              You use 2 stats as proof that you are more likely to die in custody if you are not aboriginal. But here's the thing: "more likely" is relative and is calculated as a % chance. I.e. If you are black, you have a 30% chance of dying in jail. If you are white, you have a 20% chance.

              The only way to calculate that chance is dividing the number of black deaths by the incarcerated black population. 10 black people in jail, 2 die = 20% chance of death. There are a lot more factors in the statistics and this is just a broad but relatively accurate assumption.

              You cannot calculate chance of death or relative chance based on the two stats you have given.

              Lol mafs.

              • +19

                @Tech5:

                Anyone with some level of skill in comprehension, will understand that my use of the term "population" refers to the prison population. Anyone who can understand the basic maths and statistics, will have worked that out. Since you were lead astray, I assume you don't understands those basic principles

                I literally stated "they make up 28% of the prison population".

                The equation you have just given is what I gave in my original post above. 28% of the prison population is aboriginal, 22% of the total deaths in custody were aboriginal.

                You literally have your numbers for amount of Aborigines in prison, and the number that died in custody, right there.

                • +11

                  @brendanm: I apologise, you are right there. I misread your original post

                  • +5

                    @Tech5: All good 👍 I was pretty sure you were a statistician, but was also pretty sure I'd got it right haha.

          • +1

            @Tech5: I have to laugh at the people still giving this + votes who obviously haven't seen the post further down. Lots of people not very good at maths.

        • +1

          I love how this is used as a defence…

          Even if your point were true (and it's not), should we be happy that white people die in custody?

          I've never understood the defence of "cops also kill white people". How about cops don't kill anybody?

          • +10

            @p1 ama:

            I've never understood the defence of "cops also kill white people". How about cops don't kill anybody?

            How about you start working as a police officer and take on the risks & danger, take on armed offenders who have zero regard for your life, then talk?
            Enjoy being spat on and assaulted four times by a feral

            Let's see if Mr.ACCC can react 'professionally' while doing that gig.

            • +2

              @payton: It is by their choice that they have become a police officer. I respect what they do, but it is their choice. You don't see Doctors complain about being exposed to infectious diseases in their line of work.

              • +2

                @Tech5: bit different in that doctors attend to people that want to be treated and they don't attempt to harm the doctor, spit or kick them in the groin and call them white dogs.

                • +16

                  @payton: If you have any nurse/doctor/paramedic friends/family, have a chat with them regarding the abuse they receive. Including attempting to harm them, spit on them, kick them, stab them, strangle them with HIV positive sharps etc etc. And if lucky and in particular parts of the country, are called white dogs.

                • +6

                  @payton:

                  bit different in that doctors attend to people that want to be treated and they don't attempt to harm the doctor, spit or kick them in the groin and call them white dogs.

                  Calm down.

                  Have you ever considered the fact that the overwhelming majority of people do not attempt to harm cops, nor spit on them, nor kick them in the groin, nor call them white dogs?

                  And yes, the overwhelming majority of cops are great people doing a fantastic job and we'll never hear about them because the news only ever reports on the worst of the worst.

                  If you have any nurse/doctor/paramedic friends/family, have a chat with them regarding the abuse they receive. Including attempting to harm them, spit on them, kick them, stab them, strangle them with HIV positive sharps etc etc. And if lucky and in particular parts of the country, are called white dogs

                  It's just crazy how polarised we are and somehow use the marginal fringes of each group to justify criticising the entirety of another group. Insane. For the record, my uncle used to be a traffic cop. I talked to him about all of this. He tells me the worst he's seen is people running their mouth or throwing a tantrum after getting a ticket. Never been spat on, never been "abused", never been kicked, never been stabbed or strangled. This idea that somehow cops deal with these things on a regular basis is just insane and untrue.

                  • @p1 ama: What? I'm referring to doctors, nurses and paramedics. Have you read my post?

                  • @p1 ama:

                    This idea that somehow cops deal with these things on a regular basis is just insane and untrue.

                    Fantastic anecdotal evidence there. I know a Highway Patrol Sergeant that has been spat on, bitten twice, punched, kicked and also stabbed. He still has his bloody and ripped shirt. And this is in Australia. He is the nicest person and a credit to the police. So based on my anecdotal evidence, it happens on a regular basis.

                    Even if we are to argue semantics, isn't once one too many?

            • +8

              @payton: Let's cut a deal shall we?

              Let's punish people who abuse cops properly and with the full force of the law. But let's also punish cops who abuse people properly and with the full force of the law too.

              Can we agree? For the record, "Mr. ACCC" sure, I've volunteered for the CFA and SES, I understand the challenges faced by those in emergency services and completely get that cops deal with much worse than this. My uncle used to be a cop.

              It's crazy how polarised we've become. Overwhelming majority of cops are good people, the bad cops hurt the good cops as much as they hurt the communities they should be policing.

              • +9

                @p1 ama: How often do cops in Australia abuse people mate? You are getting brainwashed by bullshit from America.

                What you say would be completely fair though.

                • +6

                  @brendanm:

                  How often do cops in Australia abuse people mate?

                  Not often. My experiences with cops have been good. Most cops I've spoken to seem to be great guys.

                  I don't want to see them, their job, their trust and their integrity tarnished by thugs who want a legally sanctioned way to bully people.

                  You are getting brainwashed by bullshit from America.

                  I think we've become so polarised that this is just batshit crazy. I never even said that it was common or a systemic problem. Is it really that hard to quit being tribal for a moment and just agree on the basic principle that if someone kills someone else, regardless of who they are, they will need to stand a fair trial prosecuted by a neutral prosecutor and judged by a fair jury.

                  You know, just the basis of our society?

                  • +8

                    @p1 ama: What cases can you point to where a cop has been let off when they've done the wrong thing?

                    People tend to get misled by the vocal minority (with an agenda to push) and the media (with ads to sell and hype to make). Even this latest thing with George Floyd, if you check out the latest video (I posted it in the other thread), he was resisting arrest, was high on meth, and had a potentially lethal dose of fentanyl in his system. He also had a known heart condition. The autopsy found no bruising of the throat. It's highly likely he died from his heart condition, combined with a shitload of drugs, and the cop holding him was the straw that broke the camels back. Could you honestly convict a guy for murder knowing all that?

                    • @brendanm: I'm sure his lawyers will raise all of this in his trial but what chance do you think the guy who kneeled on Floyd has of getting a fair trial? Anything short of the death penalty and its civil war over there.

                • @brendanm: How often would be acceptable to you?

                  • @buwa99: How many what? Cops bashing someone, or drug addicts dying?

          • +10

            @p1 ama: People die in custody from all sorts of reasons, doesn't mean the cops or prison officers killed them.

            Edit - missed where you said my point wasn't true, you might want to inform the abs, as well as a number of peer reviewed studies.

          • +2

            @p1 ama: Most people die in custody from natural causes. The second highest reason is hanging. Very few it seems die from "cops killing people".

            There are good and bad cops just as there are good and bad people but lets not label all as bad, as most I am sure are just trying to do their job to the best of their ability.

        • brendanm 2 hours 47 min ago
          28% of the prison population is aboriginal. 22% of deaths in custody are aboriginal. You are more likely to die in custody if you are not aboriginal.

          Source?

          https://theconversation.com/factcheck-qanda-are-indigenous-a…

          Indigenous Australians are “the most incarcerated people on the planet Earth” when considering Indigenous Australian incarceration rates alongside incarceration rates in countries listed by the World Prison Brief.

          Here's my source

          • +14

            @[Deactivated]: https://aic.gov.au/publications/sr/sr21

            I don't doubt they could be "one of the most incarcerated". The point however, is that comparing the number of aboriginal deaths in custody, to the number of Aborigines in custody, the rate is actually lower than for non-aboriginals.

            What the virtue signalling morons and pointless BLM protests don't address, is the actual percentage of Aborigines in custody compared to the general population. This is what should be bei g addressed, not chanting stupid things they don't even understand. The number of Aborigines in custody is astronomical, but this is in the too hard basket for anyone. Until people actually get into the reasons for this, and find ways to bring this number in line with the non-aboriginal population, there is always going to be a massive problem.

            • +3

              @brendanm: They are not just protesting the deaths in custody. They are also protesting the racism and discrimination that they face everyday.

              • +20

                @[Deactivated]: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KLqS6Wp0HzQ

                We have endless affirmative action for Aborigines. People need to put in the effort themselves as well.

                • +2

                  @brendanm: Have you seen Meyne Wyatt giving an account of his day-to-day on Q&A?

                  People need to put in the effort themselves as well.

                  What more do you want him to do? What more can he do other than stand up for his rights?

                  • +14

                    @[Deactivated]: Well my wife (who has aboriginal heritage, and grew up in shithole western Sydney) chose to actually just get on with life and not the "woe is me" route.

                    As soon as any of the higher ups where she works learn she has aboriginal heritage, they literally throw jobs at her.

                    I'll watch your video later, but at a guess, he could just do what every other person does?

                    • @brendanm: He is a "successful Australian Actor". So he does have a job , if that's what you meant.

                      Wyatt graduated from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 2010 and appeared in several theatre productions around the country. For his performance in Silent Disco, Wyatt was named Best Newcomer at the 2011 Sydney Theatre Awards. In 2012, he played a supporting role in the musical comedy film The Sapphires and also made his debut with the Bell Shakespeare company. The following year, Wyatt appeared in The Broken Shore and The Turning. His appearance in the second season of Redfern Now earned him nominations for Most Outstanding Newcomer at the 2014 Logie Awards and Best Lead Actor in a Television Drama at the 3rd AACTA Awards. From 2014 to 2016, Wyatt played the ongoing role of Nate Kinski in Neighbours.

                      • +10

                        @[Deactivated]: Yeah the issue here is not deaths in custody - it's the incarceration rates; so why are more indigenous people committing crimes and being incarcerated? If we take the indigenous population of NZ as an example as we have stats around race and incarceration dating back to the mid 19th century we see a trend where the incarceration rates spike from representative of the population percentage to much much higher during the 1950's. Some researchers attribute this to de-tribalisation and urbanisation and I can definitely see that a lack of community as tribes moved towards urban areas could cause a whole raft of issues. What I don't think logically follows is an uptick in systemic racism; if anything I imagine racism was at it's height before this period. Of course it existed, but a sudden increase?

                        If we were actually serious about helping our fellow human beings we wouldn't be misrepresenting numbers like the deaths in custody value as if they were the core issue that needs resolving. If we didn't jail any indigenous people, there would be no deaths in custody but it wouldn't really solve anything

                        • -2

                          @sakurashu:

                          Yeah the issue here is not deaths in custody - it's the incarceration rates;

                          No, the bigger issue here is the racism and discrimination that many Australians face on a daily basis.

                          • +25

                            @[Deactivated]: Alleged racism. I know plenty of Aborigines who are living great lives and not facing "discrimination on a daily basis". People will always be the victim if they want to be the victim, or if it's constantly pushed on them that they are victims.

                          • +15

                            @[Deactivated]: That's not an issue that you have any supporting evidence for other than people's feelings and individual cases of wrongdoing - if we start basing policy off of individual tragedies and not supported theories for general societal improvement we end up with extreme and emotional politics that doesn't represent anyone's best interests and certainly not the majority that the democracy is supposed to represent.

                            Because it's not a concrete issue there also isn't a concrete solution - so what exactly are we protesting for? It's meaningless if a bunch of people just pat each other on the back and say yeah black lives matter racism is bad cheers.

                            You know what other groups make up a larger percentage of incarcerations? The poor and the homeless and the lesser educated. These are all concrete issues that we can help address and that directly correlate to a contribution towards increased incarcerations rates for indigenous peoples but you'd rather claim it is systematic racism and achieve nothing or even worse, less than nothing as you alienate the general public in your bids to be virtuous?

                            Can you start to see why people think this is crazy?

                              • +8

                                @[Deactivated]: Where do you draw the line between natural human bias and generalisations based on accurate and existing prior knowledge and racism? If indigenous Australians commit more crimes and are incarcerated much more frequently, who do you expect to be committing crimes? While that could feed into this particular study I also think the stark sad reality of our history could just as easily feed into such results. Do I feel sadder seeing aboriginal children knowing about the stolen generation than I do on seeing caucasian children? Sure. It's also a flawed study if it doesn't take into account the emotional response of people seeing faces that are more like theirs - there are heaps of studies to show that if you see people that look like you that you trust them more and like them more.

                                Are any of these a representation of systemic racism? Maybe the first with its unfortunate circular feedback loop.
                                Do I think that's cause for protest or do I think it would be any different if it were any other easily distinguishable minority in the same situation? No - what can you change to achieve a difference there other than actually lowering the crimes and incarcerations committed by indigenous peoples? Even a number of trained Artificial Intelligence models have been found to have similar biases based on the data they have been fed

                                • @sakurashu:

                                  do I think it would be any different if it were any other easily distinguishable minority in the same situation?

                                  How would you feel if you were part of a minority? Assuming you're caucasian, this is likely to happen within the next 50 years. In the US, for instance,

                                  The new statistics project that the nation will become “minority white” in 2045. During that year, whites will comprise 49.7 percent of the population.

                                  Source

                                  • +8

                                    @[Deactivated]: I'm in the majority for sex for my profession and being seen less favourable than minorities due to affirmative action approaches and of course it annoys me - If I was treated badly without real cause of course I would be annoyed; what's your point? I'm not saying people shouldn't be angry, I'm saying they shouldn't be stupid

                              • @[Deactivated]: n=? I know the answer, just seeing if you do.

                                • @brendanm:

                                  ANU researchers analysed responses from over 11,000 people since 2009.

                                  • @[Deactivated]: 0.05% of the population. They sure speak for me /s

                                    • +5

                                      @brendanm: That is how studies work. You test a sample and extrapolate the data.

                                      • @[Deactivated]: Yep, are studies always accurate? Have you read the paper as to how he participants were selected?

                  • +9

                    @[Deactivated]: It's funny that you mention Meyne and his recent appearance on Q&A. You keep asking what people can do? His heartfelt appearance on Q&A has done more good for the argument against discrimination to the indigenous peoples than the entirety of the protests and he didn't have to risk anyone's life to do it to boot.

                    If you support the protests I hope you'd be willing to stand beside your convictions and apologise to the families of anyone who dies if we get increased covid cases as a result; that's how serious flouting the health regulations at this time could be, whether you realise it or not.

                    • -2

                      @sakurashu: Why would the protesters be blamed when Scomo could, and can still, stop the protest if he will only listen to the people and is choosing not to?

                      • +10

                        @[Deactivated]: What is it exactly that you propose he do? Hand out (more) money? Free uni? Free house? That isn't going to fix anything.

                        • +4

                          @brendanm: That the government implements the Royal Commission's recommendations made almost 30 years ago and the numerous expert report recommendations that have been made since.
                          Sitting down with the First Nations and listening to their grievances would be a start that most people would be happy with.

                      • +10

                        @[Deactivated]: Listen to the people how? What are the demands? Are they reasonable and actionable? Should our Prime Minister immediately bend to a minority of protestors as an elected official in a democracy where the entire concept is that the majority vote wins?

                        I received a list here in Brisbane of the local BLM movements demands and I'd rather move to China than implement most of them; they were some of the most literally insane things I'd ever read. In contrast I read some news from NZ where a Maori representative said they wanted to discourage the rollout of an armed police trial (firearms) - perfectly reasonable

                        • @sakurashu: I've already answered that here.

                          I received a list here in Brisbane of the local BLM movements demands and I'd rather move to China than implement most of them; they were some of the most literally insane things I'd ever read.

                          what were those demands that you object to?

                          • +8

                            @[Deactivated]:

                            • Dismantling the police and justice systems
                            • Defunding the police
                            • Release of all children from youth detention
                            • Anti-racism training in schools and a compulsory first year university course of the same for all university students
                            • Charging all police officers with murder and carrying these charges to convictions (I assume they mean for ones who have killed people, but they also don't get to decide over a jury re: convictions)
                            • Complete aboriginal control of aboriginal affairs

                            Some others were reasonable

          • +4

            @[Deactivated]: . Indigenous Australians are “the most incarcerated people on the planet Earth”

            Does this mean they are the highest percentage of criminals?

            • +2

              @bmerigan: Not necessarily. The implicit bias against them has a lot to with it too.

            • +2

              @bmerigan: Yes, which is the problem that needs addressing. Pretending this isn't happening is not helping anyone.

        • -1

          @brendanm wouldnt that mean aboriginals have 78% chance of dying in custody?
          22% of total population death but that translates to 78% of aboriginals in custody? Surely it can't be that high?

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