Sit down and shut up, Sydney!

So, those in the know are aware of a huge event going on in Sydney right now, some nonsense called World Youth Day, which is nothing more than a big suckup event for Catholics. Pope Hitle - errr, Benedict is going to be there and hold this huge Mass for what they say is over half a million attendees (they call them "pilgrims" - how charming). Now, in the process, the powers that be in Sydney and indeed in the Australian government have done quite a bit for what is frankly a Church-sponsored event, including spending 150 million Australian dollars in taxpayer money (something that people in the U.S. wouldn't even begin to tolerate), ripping up a perfectly good racecourse (Randwick) instead of using the Sydney 2000 Olympic stadium (something that I'm sure everyone can agree on, use this instead, duh, it seems a foregone conclusion!), disrupting the entire business district due to road closures, we could go on and on. But I've recently read something that absolutely upends all of the previous insults.

Get this. There are now new laws that have gone into effect, apparently temporary in nature, that allow Australian police to arrest and/or fine citizens for "annoying or harrassing pilgrims". That includes wearing anti-Catholic T-shirts, carrying placards or protest signs, and handing out condoms. If you should dare to do any of these actions, you'll be at the least fined nearly 5,500 Australian dollars (5,325 USD). This law is apparently supposed to run through the entire month of July.

I never thought that in 2008, I'd see laws like this enacted in any country. This law is so broad and open-ended that it would be very easy to be arrested - just think about it! If some cornfed, whey-faced "pilgrim" with a stick up their ass went to any police officer and said, "Officer, this girl is boooooothering me!", I'd be arrested, with no provocation, no warning, no bloody reason given whatsoever! The simple fact is that I was "booooothering" them! That's enough to land me in a Sydney jail! What kind of shit is this?

I'll admit that I have a potentially annoying T-shirt that I was going to wear in Sydney while I was there. I'll even maybe cop to the fact that I was thinking about wearing it in the airport when I got there - it's no secret that I disdain the Catholic religion, with its hate for women, homosexuals, people who are anything but mindless sheep thinking their way - I'll admit to that. But my God - what kind of society do you have to live in that you're afraid to even speak out for fear of being arrested and strip-searched? Yes, my friends, it goes even that far. The NSW police also, under this law, have the broad power to strip-search you! And you believe the Catholic Church when they say they had no influence over this? Suuure...and I believe that those priests didn't molest little children, either!

Say what you will about America, my friends, but we would never tolerate this abuse - ever.

Of all of my Australian friends, not one of them support this bullshit - not one. And that's a far cry from the "Australians are delighted" bullshit that the media wants to spoon-feed the public.

It is indeed a sad day for Sydney.

(Picture kindly supplied by youthagainstwyd.org)