(Image: AAP//Mick Tsikas)

It’s somewhat of a grim gift when you’re writing a column on bullshit and you’re given a ghastly cluster of the stuff.

Sky News delivered in spades.

As anti-lockdown protesters were planning to take to Australian streets with ludicrous claims and to post fiendishly selfish selfies with placards about “freedoms”, the pundits at Sky slathered on their own version of the anti-science messaging.

Host Rowan Dean took the lead: “We’re not only a fortress, we’re a laughing stock. The rest of the world is looking at us and shaking their heads in disbelief.”

The “rest of the world”, mostly composed of people who are not dastardly arseholes, is not laughing at us. A better description would be that, when they think about us, their jaws are dropping. Because of our lockdowns, yes, but because those lockdowns are necessary after we nailed the first stage of this pandemic only to be crucified in the second. Because our vaccination rates are so pitiful.

Next up, Dean starts making ridiculous comparisons to other places that are “living with” the virus. He highlighted Florida (which is recording more COVID cases than any other US state) and Sweden (which has been battered by waves of the virus but has finally reached low levels, with three in four adults having had at least one jab).  

“Why are we locking down?” Rowan asked.

“Why we are destroying the lives of millions of small businesses, families, kids who can’t go to school, is a complete mystery.”

He says there’s anger amongst those whose lives are being “decimated” … “for no reason”.

A complete mystery? For no reason? The health authorities (and the governmental authorities) are doing the only thing they can in the absence of enough vaccinations.

Studies show again, and again, (and again, and again and a couple more here) that lockdowns work.

International research published in BMJ Global Health this week found that lockdowns, as a cure, are not worse than the disease. James Cook University and University of Queensland researcher Dr Lea Merone, part of the international team, said they set out to look at whether the (proven) benefits of staying home were outweighed by negative impacts on the economy, social structure, education and mental and physical health.

While there has been a surge in mental health issues, they found there were not increased deaths from suicide, and pointed to the fact that outbreaks can also cause depression and anxiety.

“What we should be doing is flatten the curve,” Dean says, harkening back to those halcyon days where we were only dealing with the Alpha, not the Delta variant.

Guest Prue MacSween chimed in, under the apparent misapprehension that Australia is swimming in vaccinations.

“Is it time they protected themselves?” she said.

“I’ve had enough. I think the average Joe, the average Sheila has had enough. Frankly, if you don’t want to get vaccinated, if you’re that dumb, … then take your chances, don’t penalise me.”

It’d be nice to ignore the panel of poppycock. But considering Prime Minister Scott Morrison defended (usual suspect) George Christensen’s anti-lockdown protest after consistently encouraging NSW to resist stay-at-home orders, it’s hard. Even harder after Sydney’s streets were awash at the weekend with those COVIDiots who are singing from the same bullshit song-sheet — and risking a super-spreader event.

How heinous, that those spouting the “pro-freedom” narrative are also those whose imagined outcomes would deny us freedom from both lockdowns and disease.