Vaccine protesters in the wrong place at the wrong time

Neither the federal government nor the Governor-General, the target of a noisy protest on Monday, have the power to roll back state- and territory-government-imposed vaccination mandates.

And, as for the anti-vaxxer push, it doesn't make a lot of sense to take that stand in a city where 98.6 per cent of the population is double-jabbed, and citizens have proved time and time again they are prepared to mask up and to use QR codes to protect themselves, their families and their community.

This noisy mob should do themselves, and the residents of what must surely be the most highly vaccinated jurisdiction in the world, a favour by packing up their tents and stealing away into the night.

While Canberrans have always tolerated, if not welcomed, legitimate demonstrations and protests, that has not been the case with this ragtag band, who have brought a message no one has time for and a belligerence that has included harassment of teenagers working in retail and ordinary people wearing masks.

And as for those who claim they are not anti-vaxxers - just libertarians campaigning for no mandates and the freedom to choose - their arguments don't cut the mustard. Even if sincere, they are endorsing the extremists with their presence. Stalin said it best when he described communist sympathisers and fellow travellers in liberal democracies as "useful idiots". And, even worse, this latest group of "useful idiots" is being targeted by recruiters from ultra-right wing groups, who feed on discontent and whose only ambition is to spread chaos and fear.

Surely there is an inherent contradiction in blocking roads, forcing businesses to close for the safety of their staff and regular patrons, and taking over public spaces in the name of rights and freedoms.

Shouldn't people who are genuinely concerned about their own rights be the first to respect the rights of the people of Canberra to go about their lives free from interference, aggression and fear? Are the protesters the only ones who have freedoms? Are the rest of us expected to fall into line?

People who watched the live feed from outside Government House on Monday morning witnessed amazing scenes. Angry, middle-aged and mostly white males surrounded the flagpole and then raised the Eureka and Aboriginal flags and the Red Ensign.

While the AFP, who showed remarkable restraint, were able to remove the Eureka Flag, they were then met by a small sea of seated protesters who taunted them with cries of "shame, shame, shame".

Sensing it would have taken very little to turn this deluded crowd into an angry mob, they wisely stepped back to contain any damage while allowing the rising tide of emotional energy to subside.

Meanwhile the crowd united in singing choruses from an unlikely anthem: the Seekers' We are Australian, which goes "We are one, but we are many, and from all the lands on Earth we come".

This was an incongruous soundtrack to a small dog fight, a gentleman wearing a genuine tinfoil hat, and serious discussion of Ivermectin and "nano worms" on single-use face masks.

In the late 19th century, tens of thousands of Americans rallied to the banner of a political party calling itself "The Know Nothings". Given the strong Trumpian and other US-style influences in play among our unwelcome visitors, it would make sense for them to adopt that name.

It fits them perfectly.

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