Being a privileged white man, I am privy to the complaints and whinging of many of my cohort. The dominant cohort in this great southern land is not short of demands for more in the material sense. The global Covid pandemic has thrown a spanner into the machine designed to provide ever more for the individuals who are white, male, and mainly Anglo-Australian. Suddenly, a concept called community, an all-inclusive definition of community, has gazumped the Ace. My personal world has been crashed by the concerns of the society in which I live. I am being called upon to obey health regulations for the betterment of us all. In response privileged white men protesting for their rights are marching in the streets.
Freedom for the Rights of the Individual Over Those of the Community
‘Freedom for the individual’ is being carried as a banner by those impacted by the health orders combatting this pandemic. Human rights are being demanded by fringe members of the dominant cohort in this country. People unused to having their freedoms impinged upon are protesting. These people come from generations of Australians who have never experienced war or famine and they are jumping up and down in protest at the curtailing of their freedoms. Wealthy white Australians are upset at having to shoulder some of the burden to protect the vulnerable within our communities. Fans of Donald Trump and right-wing extremists are visible in these protest marches in capital cities around Australia. They are marching for the right to not care about the weak, the poor, and the elderly.
Most Australians: Fair Minded & Caring
It is important to mention that these individuals form only a tiny percentage of the Australian population. The vast majority of Aussies are fair minded and caring folk. I know individuals who have refused to get vaccinated. Members of my family have done so. These are educated and fairly well off mature aged Australians from the dominant cohort. Their failure to value the rights of the vulnerable and front line health workers within our communities is astounding in my view. It conveys the lack of community spirit existing in our materialistic society here in modern Australia. Their overwhelming concern with their own purview is a clear reflection of their values.
Their failure to value the rights of the vulnerable and frontline health workers is astounding!
The pandemic may well be beginning to run its course with the Omicron variant infecting lots of Australians and people around the globe. Whether it is the last we will see of this kind of threat for another hundred years, like the Spanish Flu (which actually began in the USA), or a forerunner to more viral pandemics, we will all have to wait and see. Privileged white men protesting for their rights will remain in my memory, however, as we go forward into the future. Lest we forget!