Guerrilla Bragging
Honestly, I don’t see the hardship and pain caused by the preparations for the APEC summit in Sydney. Living in a big international city means there’s bound to be big international events, and that means disruptions to the regular flow of the city. From afar, it seems those disruptions would be a welcome highlight, an interesting distraction from the regular rhythm of working in a big city office.
I know a guy in Perth who complains about things as a way of advertising to anybody in earshot about activities that he’s quite clearly excited about. I guess it’s a kind of guerrilla-style bragging: “it’s so terrible, I have to work hard for this exciting opportunity.” He doesn’t tend to get much sympathy, but then he’s not really looking for it — he’s advertising his excitement.
I wonder if Charles is guilty of that.
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September 5th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
In a word, no.
The Olympics were fun. The chaos when a few million people all descended on the harbour at once to see the QEII was fun. The mess that is New Years and Australia Day is fun. The helicopters that hover near my bedroom window regularly on Sunday mornings are less fun, but you learn to laugh about them.
Even the day of the Harbour Bridge anniversary, when they played the same five-minute musical piece in a continuous loop from 6am to 10pm, even audible when I closed all my windows and turned on the TV, is funny in retrospect.
Closing down major arterial roads during peak hour so some visiting dignitary doesn’t have to deal with traffic lights makes me glad I don’t drive.
Putting a fence across the city that you have to show ID to cross, feeling nervous whenever you pull out a camera in case it gets you marked down as a potential terrorist, or putting my apartment in the middle of an “if you look wrong at anyone official, we can lock you up without charge or access to a lawyer” zone is, to me, crossing the line.
September 5th, 2007 at 12:14 pm
There’s a common theme there: in the present it’s annoying, but once it moves into the past it’s “funny in retrospect”. You’re not going to feel the same way about APEC?
Do you *really* feel nervous about taking photos in public? I’ve been in controlled areas and taken photos before, it’s not that big a deal.
September 5th, 2007 at 9:06 pm
I don’t see it that way. I think the common theme is more “things that are for the public benefit” vs “one gigantic boondoggle for a bunch of despots that’s being paid for with $300m of my state’s taxes”.
And yes, I really do feel nervous, ever since I was hassled by security guards who felt my trying to take photos in a train station was not acceptable “because of terrorism”. Or ask the German tourists who were ordered by police to delete the photos they took of the security fence, in case they were anarchists looking for weak spots.
It’s highly unlikely that some gigantic misunderstanding will land me in custody without even the right to tell anyone where I am, but it’s now sanctioned by law as a way of dealing with people who do things considered suspicious.
I have a general philosophy that when you grant the government the power to do something, you are also accepting the risk that they will apply that power to you by mistake. It’s one of the more practical reasons I’m against the death penalty.
September 9th, 2007 at 7:59 am
Case in point: Man crosses road at wrong time, ends up spending 22 hours in prison without the right to contact a lawyer, or even tell his family where he is.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/apec/jailed-for-jaywalking/2007/09/08/1188783554892.html
September 10th, 2007 at 9:30 am
So you’re complaining about the signs that were erected to warn people about APEC, but then they’re still not enough — this guy didn’t realise he was walking a restricted security area. I’m not suggesting that he was treated particularly fairly by the police, but how could he not have known he was in a sensitive area?
September 18th, 2007 at 9:15 am
I absolutely LOVE the term “Guerrilla Bragging” that is just fantastic and made me laugh out loud! Hope you are having a great day! Much love, xoxo-pm