Dr Liz Gordon: And it is with some relief…
And a sigh, all tasks about complete, the pantry stocked, that we sink into our little bubble.
I work from home anyway. My sister from London (who has been out here since Christmas Day), took one look at the chaos of Boris’s London and decided to weather the Covid-19 storm here.
Tucked up into our comfy house, both with paying work able to be completed from home, we are content with a month’s isolation, content indeed that it may be longer.
While other countries have been put on a war footing, urged to obey or else, given inadequate or conflicting stories all the time, we sink into our isolation having been given clear messages what our role is (to save lives) and what w have to do (stay where we are, unless we urgently need to be elsewhere).
We have been entertained by ‘Mr Opposition’, Simon Bridges, falling into line with the massed voices of support for the Government’s actions and for Jacinda’s approach. We congratulate him, and hope this is a start of a new era, beyond beneficiary-bashing and point-scoring.
We are in awe of the clarity of Jacinda’s message, and of the officials and experts that speak with one voice, telling us what needs to happen.
We notice that today, as compared to yesterday, the yoof opposition, the male disobedience, have fallen away to be replaced with a good-humoured compliance.
We are pleased that the environment will be getting some respite here and in other countries. We hope that, with a focus on basic personal wellbeing and a better atmosphere, our health will improve.
We applaud those countries that have, with excellent management skills, begun to get the virus under control. We are so angry with the economic right, Trump and Bolsonaro and that Texan git, name forgotten, who are very happy to sacrifice human lives in order to keep their corrupt economies going at full speed. This moment of clarity might lead, eventually, to meaningful political change in some of those countries.
We are concerned for, and worried about, those who are already sick and are moving towards death over the next month. To die in isolation is a terrible thing, but to submit too early to a hospice bed is also an abandonment of hope. Go well, my friends.
And best wishes to the rest of you, our TBD whānau. Bomber says we are ramping up our site to amaze and entertain you over the next few weeks. Keep in touch with your caustic comments, witty asides or even a guest blog.
Dr Liz Gordon is a researcher and a barrister, with interests in destroying neo-liberalism in all its forms and moving towards a socially just society. She usually blogs on justice, social welfare and education topics.
Thanks Liz. Bolsonaro that particularly nasty man has asked for help from Cuban doctors, who would have thought.
I see in London on the telly huge numbers of people jammed into the underground and lots of people out on the street mixing and mingling. Thank goodness we live in Aotearoa.
I also read about a couple coming into the country and hiring a camper van and travelling around. I hope these people are stopped in their tracks. and either agree to stay put or are deported.
I think we might have housed those living on the streets in Otautahi so I wonder why we couldn’t or didn’t do this before. I realise there are people who want to live on the street but frankly their numbers are tiny.
Drink much tea, Liz,… snuggle down in the confines of home and hearth and ply us with your opinions. They are welcome. They bring comfort to many during these times. I am, however, mindful of the Police and Army presence. I recall the armed Police at every mosque after the Christchurch mass murders…I was alarmed.
The armed Police at every mosque was like having a Bengal tiger chained to the fence. And elicited the same response in me.
I felt challenged, I felt danger, I felt intimidated and I felt the need for action.
I submitted to the nation wide need to comply. And so I reminded myself that these officers were on our side, they were there to keep us all safe. And I believe they were.
I believe also it is the same with this current situation. Even with the Army being ‘deputized’, I will comply. I am more than happy to.
However, if any reports come filtering through of any of these uniformed ‘civil servants’ abusing that privilege? …
I expect the full weight of the law to come down on them as it would in any other time of normal NZ life.
It is a time of both sides having to watch their P’s and Q’s.
This is not an excuse to practice for authoritarian governance. You try that shit on? You will see another less tolerant side of New Zealanders rapidly emerging.
We implemented protective measures in our rohe prior to Jacinda’s Level 3 announcement, and we will continue to follow our own epidemic control strategy.
Why? Because there is a gaping hole in the government strategy, the supermarkets where short of a miracle virus transmission will continue.
Because we are confident that our measures will work.
Because we prefer voluntary flax roots community initiatives to the imposition of a police state.
So while not exactly at cross purposes, we profoundly disagree with the line taken by Martyn Bradbury, Chris Trotter, Dr Gordon and the Daily Blog collective.
Let’s see what happens. God willing we will all be safe. But only God can save New Zealand given your present strategy.