So... I'm not sure if this is better fit here in the COVID thread, or in the daily news thread, but I'm so happy with Australia right now for kicking Novak Djokovic out of the country. Fuck him. Some of his supporters will argue that his vaccination status shouldn't matter because he was granted an exemption. I'm glad the government found a way to reverse it. He lied about his test positivity and travel history, which has some significant penalties in Australia. He's lucky to merely be deported. I think he should be banned from re-entry for a period of time.
Apologists for him will argue that he was deported for political reasons, but there are problems with that argument. Politics ultimately is about the process of making decisions in groups that are effected by those decisions. Initially accepting him was equally political by that measure. A looming election might have sharpened the State's reaction, but it's still the right one. I'm so fucking tired of everyone thinking they're special and don't have to follow the same rules. How many Australians have sacrificed over the lock-down periods? They live off tourism to a larger degree than many other nations, but they shut it down in the best interests of the community, and have embraced science based decisions on infection control, including one of the highest vaccination rates. So, it's their country, and their people generally don't want to accept some selfish ass-hole looking for ways to skirt the rules they've all agreed to accept.
I'm putting Australia on my list of post pandemic travel destinations.
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