Pixelated Semantics

Terror creeps towards dissent

The ABC reports that the radical conservative Australian "Government" is "investigating whether it can legislate against" the animal rights group PETA, on the basis that the Minister says there is "evidence linking PETA to groups in the United States that have carried out terrorist-type actions against farm industries, including blowing up delivery trucks". In other words, Australian anti-terrorism legislation is potentially now going to be leveraged against non-terrorist organisations such as animal rights groups due to economic concerns raised by a minister. A minister of a government with a solid track record of deception, one may observe (a record that needs no enumeration here.) This is exactly the behaviour feared by many as leading to the abuse of legislative power on the pretext of "terrorism", a slow steady creep towards including all kinds of dissent and protest under the same banner, and the elevating of economic concerns as surpassing the welfare rights of human and animal alike. A PETA spokesperson has responded that the Minister was using "tired, worn out smear tactics that are being put forth by ... the industries that make profit off of the exploitation of animals". The question also needs to be asked as to what justification exists for the increasing creation of Australian legislation in response to American issues (the alleged "terror" links to PETA exist only in relation to US groups' activities in the USA) without direct precedent or bearing in this society.

Item posted by AutoEditor at 1:44 pm ::