The Howling Mob
The Howling Mob. The loss of sanctuary. The disruption of an operation by sheer utter and complete stupidity. The right to sanctuary lost. They were learning a lot, this little episode, about the nature of humans, the nature of the race. They didn't much like what they saw. The country at large, too, was riven by strange beasts, riven by a loss of shelter and decency, while the woke brigade heralded the arrival of Biden in far off the US of A. It had long been true that Australians on the whole had a view about Trump, or whoever the current American president might be, but no view at all about their own politics, making them easier to manipulate. The theatre, as news was these days, gave them a simple minded view of their own nation, if they thought about it at all, and here, distressed, he waited, not knowing which way to move. The mashing of the mob, that terrible thing. They would all have to live with it now.
He had watched the wind move through those trees in that lost sanctuary; had felt at home until one howling night when the mob turned and he became the subject of derision, and that was that. He couldn't go back. He hated them for what they had done; and all he could think of was their stupid laughing faces; and that was that. All that good work undone. Sheer total and complete idiocy.
He knew he shouldn't take it personally, but he did.
He knew that many things were at stake and yet, to rise above that derision, that jeering mob, that low life of the mob, the echoes of which kept driving him. Yes, some of us had seen it all before.
Homeless again, Old Alex was distressed. Very distressed.
At times the anger bubbled to the surface, and all he could see was the sheaves of weaponised dragons, those intelligences from another place instilling images that he could understand, and while some of those weapons crashed; the roiling plot of them would not be satisfied.
They were dangerous, very dangerous indeed; and had gone to instant war footing.
And war, now, was in the offing.
The country of Australia had been destroyed in the past year, becoming nothing but a group of bickering states, with closed borders and insane self-aggrandising Premiers running around sowing fear and a kind of pestilence into the nation's soul.
Now they would reap what they had sowed.
We came here not to conquer but to inform.
We came bearing gifts.
You knew we only came at turning points in history. You knew we could be dangerous; that there were many manifestations.
They moved, stirred through the branches. And you treated us with derision.
We saw. We know.
We may not feel, but we anger.
And so, just like that, what had been a peaceful transfer went entirely awry.
All on a stupid prank. You idiots.
There would be a very different resolution now.
There would be no easy reckoning, not now.
Everyone had a right to sanctuary. The ancient right.
Now destroyed in a society destroying itself. He wasn't the only one who spoke. He wasn't the only emissary. These mad bastards were right after all; and the cover of deceit that infested these people, gone, let it be gone.
They had destroyed his home; temporary as it may have been.
Now they would destroy themselves.
THE HEADLINES
Belinda Long has two words to sum up how she feels about not being able to make it home.
Key points:
New COVID-19 testing rules for overseas travellers to Australia come into effect on Friday
National Cabinet will discuss arrivals caps but is not expected to announce major changes
Stranded Australians say they are giving up hope of getting home
"Abandonment and betrayal," she said.
"That's honestly what it feels like."
Ms Long lives in Chile, where she runs her own sandboarding tourism business.
She has spent months trying to get back to Australia but is sick of having flights cancelled and says she has not received support from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT).
"Honestly, I've given up trying to come home," she said
BIDEN TAKES OFFICE
‘At this hour democracy has prevailed’
Joe Biden has called on Americans to end the ‘uncivil war’ that has shaken and divided the nation, saying unity is the only answer to the historic challenges ahead.
By CAMERON STEWART
COMMENTARY
New leader’s bid to restore America’s soul
Where Donald Trump left the nation mired in chaos and outrage, Joe Biden seeks to resurrect dignity and respect among the citizenry.
By PAUL KELLY
COMMENTARY
Sincerity and truth in a speech for the ages
Joe Biden, who has found purpose again and again in response to personal tragedy, delivered a message of reassurance to Americans.
By TROY BRAMSTON
US-AUSTRALIA ALLIANCE
Our alliance is more vital than ever: PM
Scott Morrison vows to work with the Biden administration to combat climate change and regional security challenges in the Indo-Pacific.
By ADESHOLA ORE
US INAUGURATION
Hero centre stage as Harris sworn in
Kamala Harris and her husband made history of their own when she was sworn in as America’s vice-president.
By BEN HOYLE
EXCLUSIVE
Local jury still out on new boss
An overwhelming majority of Australians agree Trump was a terrible leader but aren’t convinced Biden is up to the job.
By SIMON BENSON
US President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris are already hard at work erasing the past and ushering in what the commander-in-chief called a “new day in America”.
Mr Biden has signed 17 executive actions, rejoining the Paris Agreement on climate change and setting up plans to ensure race, gender and LGBT equality.
The 46th president of the United States ended his predecessor Donald Trump’s controversial travel ban on Muslim and African and halted construction of the US-Mexico border wall.
Mr Biden also beefed up the United States’ COVID-19 approach, restoring the directorate for global health security and biodefence at the National Security Council that his Mr Trump disbanded, appointing Jeffrey Zients as the response coordinator and requiring social distancing and mask-wearing on all federal property. “Wearing masks isn’t a partisan issue — it’s a patriotic act that can save countless lives,” Mr Biden said, after the US passed the grim milestone of 400,000 coronavirus deaths.
Two suicide bombers have killed at least 32 people and wounded more than 100 at a Baghdad market by luring shoppers towards them before setting off the devices they were carrying.
The strike on Thursday was the first in the Iraqi capital in three years, provoking fears of a resurgence of the kind of violence the country endured in the years after the 2003 US invasion and the Islamic State era.