Novak Djokovic - A Human Rights Hero.

Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.“ Novak Djokovic has lived all 3.

[Note: When I wrote this I got a lot of venom shot my way. My family included. There was a personal cost. But like Djokovic, I stuck to my guns, and his own example, helped me remain steadfast in my own decisions about my own health. [See my post - The Fight For Our Bodies or a related update Stupid Laws]

I’m an athlete. Not former, I don’t think you can ever retire from something you gave so much of your life to - it lives in you. As an athlete, I think I understand a little more deeply the Novak Djokovic story. I’d like to share some of my perspectives on the current Australian Open debacle surrounding his participation. I’ll try to be brief.

“To deny people their human rights is to challenge their very humanity.” - Mandela

For me, no matter “your science” or position about the pandemic - the real issue is one of human rights. Individual human rights vs that of the group. Yes, if body bags were being hoisted onto pick-up trucks daily on my street - I’d be the first to say “vaccine or die”. But that has never been anywhere near the case. Nowhere near.

Yet, through fear, isolation, controlled messaging, societies have drifted into a state of mass psychosis. Everyone could kill you! The lie of asymptomatic transmission was one of the first marketing dominoes to fall in this process of getting everyone to get the unneeded jab. And it simply is not true. Listen as it is explained here - about viral load and symptomology … Nobody is a danger to you if they don’t have symptoms - that’s the truth and immunology 101 Ruth.

Just a man that wants to make his own decisions about his medical care.

I use this preamble to illustrate the background to the whole saga behind Novak Djokovic’s entry into Australia. The issue arises because for some reason the Aussie government believes he is a health threat to their nation. He isn’t. It’s laughable.

Novak, love him or hate him, he’s an advocate. He’s stood up for millions on many issues. He’s been there for every young professional tennis player. He will speak his mind when the clouds pass and thank god financially, he is in a position to speak his mind against injustice.

And what is the injustice? Well, like for so many in this world, it is the injustice of mandating an emergency, not time-tested, medical treatment for healthy, at very low-risk individuals. Even children - I stress that. And for Djokovic, it just isn’t an option.

As a high-level athlete, you know and are keenly aware of everything you put in your body. You just are. I never bought into the stories from drug cheats saying, “Well, I just didn’t know!”. And for Djokovic, he knows that there are serious potential side effects, especially with your blood and heart. So the risk does not equal the reward. Especially too, given the poor effectiveness of vaccines - if you got to give it every month to maintain its effectiveness - it is a dud. Who knows what so much of this treatment might do?

Djokovic also has natural immunity from prior infection with Covid. No matter what lies you’ve been told - it is the gold standard. That alone should throw this whole scandal out the window and let us talk about the sport and tennis alone.

"You can only protect your liberties in this world by protecting the other man's freedom. You can only be free if I am free." - Clarence Darrow

This saga, this story also highlights the issue of what I consider another human freedom - the freedom of movement. Useless, restrictive policies controlling our movements. Between cities, regions, countries. It’s showing how the pandemic is being used as a political tool to control immigration, restrict peoples’ freedom of movement. Hell, you can’t even go into a bar without a QR code on your phone saying you can. Holy shit.

Also, this story highlights how mandates transgress international and national laws like the Nuremberg Code, The Universal Declaration of Human Rights and even Australia’s own Human Rights Commissions Act 1986. Schedule 2, Article 7 of that Act states:

“No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. In particular, no one shall be subjected without his free consent to medical or scientific experimentation.”

Dr. Suneel Dhand, one of the sanest voices in the social media of Covid debate, makes some additional good points about the issue of Djokovic being a “health threat”. Very much worth the watch.

The whole debacle is one of political gamesmanship and control. [see the transcript of his conversation with the border control officer below]. And that has been the case for the whole of this pandemic. I’m sure Djokovic has all his ducks in a row, papers, tests etc … the judge even agreed. The exemption was given blindly, he qualified. However, politicians want to keep moving the goal posts, making up new rules and using peoples’ emotions to their own popularity effect.

Don’t get me wrong - I sympathize with all the Australians who sat at home while the police roamed the streets with loudspeakers. I’m with the citizens who did what they thought best at the time - get the jab, you’ll save the nation, you’ll save your neighbors.

But alas, we do know more of the story. Two wrongs don’t make a right - Djokovic should remain and play in the Australian Open. He’s earned this. He’s of no harm to any hair on any chinny chin-chin in Australia.

Should he not be allowed to play - Novak will rightfully become the rallying board for the whole cockamamie charade of “we’re all gonna die unless we vaccinate”. And like Kyrgios says - I wouldn’t want a fired-up competitor like Djokovic in that court of public opinion. He’ll win. And we’ll all win.

Last comment. I’ve gleaned all the media for more on this story (so much I didn’t mention). Big media, just labels Djokovic as a “Once revered, now scorned.” It’s all negative. You’d think no tennis competitors support him, but almost all do. They simply do. They respect Djokovic. We all should too. And we all should cry out against the horrible censorship this story only highlights as truly “pandemic”.

The transcript of Djokovic’s conversation with the border patrol officer.