Bollards of the Bureaucracy
Getting kids to play outside is a tough ask for any parent in the digital age, where screen time is king. Now, the Victorian Government has emerged as the latest obstacle in their fight (literally).
Playgrounds and skate parks remain closed in Dan Andrews’ big government dystopia, but the latest move by a local council has become a symbol of the overbearing nature of the state which has reared its ugly wasteful head on a number of occasions.
Residents of Glen Iris, in Melbourne's East, were shocked to see bollards being installed at the local skate park, preventing any semblance of joy that kids could get that doesn’t involve being trapped inside the four walls of their own home.
One by one, the bollards were installed as a showing of strength by the local government who have become drunk on power and obsessed with the pursuit of COVID zero.
Perhaps an even bigger insult is the idea that council workers and contractors were paid to spend the day destroying the individual liberties of private citizens, themselves the funders of the skateparks, playgrounds and facilities that are being shutdown.
Such is the sadistic nature of COVID restrictions, where we’re stripped of our freedoms and told to be ever-thankful when they’re slowly drip-fed back to us by self-aggrandising public health experts.
This skatepark in Glen Iris has become a battleground between families and the bureaucracy
Just like any good infomercial: But wait, there’s more! Soon after their installation, the bollards were met with the inevitable graffitied messages of disapproval. “Victoria under house arrest”, “Sack Dan”, “Stop the COVID madness” they read, embodying the views and opinions of a growing portion of Australian society who are sick of the patronising rhetoric and costly restrictions.
Much the same as the teenager who thinks sweeping his dirty laundry under the bed is the fast tracked solution to a “clean room”, the same council then had the complete lack of self-awareness to paint over the anti-government messaging and re-install MORE bollards to this skate park, which has become a battleground in the fight between everyday Aussies and bureaucratic cronies.
The insanity has to stop. Childhood is a significant albeit short period of any individual’s life, we mustn’t cede it to ludicrous restrictions that will do very little to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Parents find it hard enough to encourage their kids into physical exercise without having to contend with power-hungry local councils that want to flex their muscles.