New top story on Hacker News: What Is Happening to Australia?

What Is Happening to Australia?
5 by throwawayfear | 0 comments on Hacker News.
Covid is bad and all but why are there troops and police on the streets enforcing lockdowns? How did this happen? Why are they arresting people for Facebook posts against these lockdowns? I am not convinced that covid is this dangerous. The numbers do not justify this response. I am catching up on Australia and I read this article which was written last September. https://ift.tt/3jIo7As How could Australia, a democracy, get to the point where someone's facebook post is the cause for this kind of arrest? Or how about how an entire apartment complex was shut down and the people living there were told they were not allowed to exit for any reason? Here is the link. https://ift.tt/31UAmEv > "Unlike other Melburnians, residents of the nine towers cannot leave for any reason - they are subject to a police guard." And this article from earlier this month just reads so wrong. Who could actually fall for this kind of propaganda? https://ift.tt/3iuV6KK > "A citywide lockdown will last until at least 28 August. But unlike other Sydneysiders, these residents have been told to wear masks even outdoors. They cannot travel more than 5km (three miles) when leaving home for essential reasons, less than the 10km afforded to others. There are also stricter limits on who can work. > New South Wales (NSW) authorities say these measures are designed to stop infections in the worst-hit areas, with the virus spreading from workplaces to large households. > Police Minister David Elliott told local media a small minority of Sydney residents thought the rules "didn't apply to them"." Why are people trusting this? Who are we listening to so much and why? How do we know they're trustworthy and why do these trends seem to be pointing to a dystopia? Does anybody else get 20th century vibes from this situation? What is happening to Australia? Am I even allowed to ask someone these questions?