Post Hoc Ergo Propter Hoc

 

I never intended for this blog to be a soapbox of political views (or should I say 'outrage'), however as an Australian deeply ashamed of the policies supported by my countrymen and done in my name, I see no reason why not to avail myself of this particular soapbox.

Another Liberal MP, Wilson Tuckey, said: "The minute you open loopholes, the boats will start coming again." -SMH

I love the post hoc ergo propter hoc reasoning that politicians can seem to resist employing. From around the year 2000 to 2002 we had an influx of 'boat people' or asylum seekers who arrived by boat. We instituted the god awful policy known as 'the pacific solution' and look the boats have stopped coming it has worked!

Let's not bother ourselves with the details, that 80 to 95 percent of all the 'boat people' were of Afghani or Iraqi origin who were found to be genuine refugees. You see it was around this time that the United States decided to start its crusades and bomb the hell out of these two countries, naturally boat loads of people were trying to get out of the country upon fear of death.

Damn this country that thinks it is acceptable to jail innocent people for the political purpose of deterring others. This country that thinks inflicting serious psychological harm upon innocent women and children is a small price to pay for border security. This country that is willing to pay that price as long as the people we are dehumanising aren't 'fair dinkum' Australians, that would be wrong and we'll cry in outrage against that.

The sad thing is, I believe true leadership and an enlightened education campaign would turn around most of the people who support the government's policies on asylum seekers. What about the opposition party? No. They are the one's who invented mandatory detention, and the man, Kim Beazley that runs their party can't be called a 'leader' in any sense of the word.

It is in times of fear and crisis that civil liberties are eaten away. It is in times of fear and crisis that those civil liberties matter most.