12-29-2021, 06:35 PM
@"Bally002" -
I know nothing of the Australian government other than what I hear here, so thanks for the education.
Australia sounds like it operates the way the US was supposed to - weak Federal government that oversees primarily foreign affairs and disputes between states, and strong states which are pretty much autonomous in everything else.
I think part of the problem in understanding, particularly for Americans, is that our Federal government has been slowly encroaching on state responsibilities for well over 100 years now, to the point that "the government" has become synonymous for all practical purposes with "Federal government". People tend to see everything else through the lens of their own experience. That is ours, and so we color what we see coming out of Australia with that experience, which appears to not really apply for there, leading to confusion and misunderstanding of the situation.
I have heard other Australians, mostly truckers, complaining about having to comply with new covid restrictions every time they cross a border, what we here would call a "state line", and your explanation of Australian civics sheds light on that for us when we hear such things.
So really what we are seeing, it seems, is reaction to particular restrictions in a single place or state, and then we are applying that nationwide in our own minds, erroneously. If I have been guilty of that, then I apologize, and resolve to do better in the future.
I understand what you are saying about folks bullshitting and claiming a medical exemption they are not entitled to regarding the masks, and then not having to produce any evidence that they are entitled to an exemption. The same situation applied here in Virginia, where the governor issued a mask mandate, but in the executive order made allowance for medical exemptions and specified that (due to HIPPA rules) no one could be forced to produce medical documentation that they were entitled to one. That led to a lot of folks doing just as you described.
Grace could produce such documentation if required to do so (which isn't allowed) because she has been diagnosed with COPD. I have not, mostly because I avoid doctors like they were Mengele himself, but I can say that 10 yards of hill climbing with a mere load of groceries leaves me practically flopping like a fish on dry land, gasping for air, even without a mask, and that a mask further impedes my air intake, Whether I have COPD or not, they leave me unable to breathe after just a few minutes in one.
I have a military gas mask that I can breathe better in than one of those cloth monstrosities, because it has intake valves at the filters to allow free air flow... but, because it has those valves, it is not approved for covid protection. Let that sink in - a military gas mask, designed to protect from all manner of biological and chemical nasties, is not up to snuff for covid restrictions - but a cloth bandanna is. There is something wrong there.
So I go without a mask in most situations, and if I do have to put one on, it will only be for a short period of time, because I've gotten attached to breathing over the years. With that said, I also minimize getting onto situations where one might be required, to avoid such unpleasantness. I've never had to claim a medical exemption due to that avoidance behavior. I just don't go where one might be required, and I don't miss going.
But in the matter of the perceptions of what is going on in Australia by outsiders, I think it's down to interpreting reports coming out of there through the lens of folks' own experience of government in their own home turf. Clarifying the way things work there goes a long way in dispelling such misconceptions, and I thank you for it.
.
I know nothing of the Australian government other than what I hear here, so thanks for the education.
Australia sounds like it operates the way the US was supposed to - weak Federal government that oversees primarily foreign affairs and disputes between states, and strong states which are pretty much autonomous in everything else.
I think part of the problem in understanding, particularly for Americans, is that our Federal government has been slowly encroaching on state responsibilities for well over 100 years now, to the point that "the government" has become synonymous for all practical purposes with "Federal government". People tend to see everything else through the lens of their own experience. That is ours, and so we color what we see coming out of Australia with that experience, which appears to not really apply for there, leading to confusion and misunderstanding of the situation.
I have heard other Australians, mostly truckers, complaining about having to comply with new covid restrictions every time they cross a border, what we here would call a "state line", and your explanation of Australian civics sheds light on that for us when we hear such things.
So really what we are seeing, it seems, is reaction to particular restrictions in a single place or state, and then we are applying that nationwide in our own minds, erroneously. If I have been guilty of that, then I apologize, and resolve to do better in the future.
I understand what you are saying about folks bullshitting and claiming a medical exemption they are not entitled to regarding the masks, and then not having to produce any evidence that they are entitled to an exemption. The same situation applied here in Virginia, where the governor issued a mask mandate, but in the executive order made allowance for medical exemptions and specified that (due to HIPPA rules) no one could be forced to produce medical documentation that they were entitled to one. That led to a lot of folks doing just as you described.
Grace could produce such documentation if required to do so (which isn't allowed) because she has been diagnosed with COPD. I have not, mostly because I avoid doctors like they were Mengele himself, but I can say that 10 yards of hill climbing with a mere load of groceries leaves me practically flopping like a fish on dry land, gasping for air, even without a mask, and that a mask further impedes my air intake, Whether I have COPD or not, they leave me unable to breathe after just a few minutes in one.
I have a military gas mask that I can breathe better in than one of those cloth monstrosities, because it has intake valves at the filters to allow free air flow... but, because it has those valves, it is not approved for covid protection. Let that sink in - a military gas mask, designed to protect from all manner of biological and chemical nasties, is not up to snuff for covid restrictions - but a cloth bandanna is. There is something wrong there.
So I go without a mask in most situations, and if I do have to put one on, it will only be for a short period of time, because I've gotten attached to breathing over the years. With that said, I also minimize getting onto situations where one might be required, to avoid such unpleasantness. I've never had to claim a medical exemption due to that avoidance behavior. I just don't go where one might be required, and I don't miss going.
But in the matter of the perceptions of what is going on in Australia by outsiders, I think it's down to interpreting reports coming out of there through the lens of folks' own experience of government in their own home turf. Clarifying the way things work there goes a long way in dispelling such misconceptions, and I thank you for it.
.
Diogenes was eating bread and lentils for supper. He was seen by the philosopher Aristippus, who lived comfortably by flattering the king.
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’
Said Aristippus, ‘If you would learn to be subservient to the king you would not have to live on lentils.’ Said Diogenes, ‘Learn to live on lentils and you will not have to be subservient to the king.’