Lone father paralyzes Sydney in rush hour protest
(AFP) – 2 hours ago
SYDNEY — A lone protester paralyzed rush-hour traffic in Australia’s largest city for hours Friday by scaling the iconic Sydney Harbour Bridge and forcing the closure of the country’s busiest roadway.
The man, who said he was “ex-military”, evaded extensive security precautions to climb the bridge at dawn and hang two banners in a protest apparently linked to a custody dispute over his children.
The stunt forced the closure of the bridge that links north Sydney with the downtown area for around two hours, causing massive back-ups and leaving thousands of motorists and train and bus commuters stranded. ….
“If I have to stuff four million people around for one morning and that gets my kids and other kids help one day sooner, I have achieved my goal,” he said before rappelling down onto the roadway to be arrested by waiting police.
“Stuffing” four million people around. Goal achieved!
Getting more contact with your kids. Goal not so much achieved as hindered, I’m guessing.
More on the protestor here. He’s apparently a “bikie” – the Australian version of a biker – and “was almost killed during an alleged bikie shootout last year.”
UPDATE: As a result of this, the protester, Michael Fox has, not surprisingly, been ordered to not contact his ex-wife or family members.
And here’s an interesting detail from the coverage:
He left a note in his car, warning police to close the bridge and not to try to bring him down by force. “If anyone attempts to climb the upper arch of the bridge during my protest, the consequences will be fatal. Do what I ask and this will start and end peacefully,” it said. “You’ve taken my kids, I’ve taken your bridge.”
Generally speaking, nonviolent protestors don’t threaten “fatal consequences” for those who try to arrest them.
UPDATE 2: Another odd detail:
He last saw [his kids] almost 70 days ago, soon after a home owned by him was engulfed by fire. His estranged wife and one young daughter were sleeping inside. Both escaped the blaze.
I mean, how is it possible for someone to have the mental fortitude to safely rappel from a bridge’s support structure without plunging to one’s doom while also being stupid enough to do it as an act of protest over a custody battle, fully expecting to gain sympathy for his cause despite achieving nothing besides holding up traffic? That’s hilarious!
It all seems a bit strange. Maybe he is a former action man looking for a cause. Only use to solving problems physically, he certainly seemed pretty elated and pleased with himself in his TV /radio interviews. If he has PTSD he deserves help. It is pretty well documented that military marriages can come under an immense amount of strain at times. Maybe neither he nor his exwife are the big evil baddie. Sometimes shit just happens.
His friends don’t seem like the sharpest pencils in the box either and aren’t doing him any favors in the press.
What IS worrying is his association with a known criminal biker gang and being named a witness into the investigation of the leader’s murder. No one just innocently hangs at the clubhouse of these groups. If he is mixed up in some biker turfwar or payback (which happens pretty regularly in Australia,) I don’t blame the courts or his wife for trying to keep the kids as far away from it as possible.
As usual the MRA keyboard warriors can make all the claims they like, they like claiming the “achievements” of others – it saves them getting of their backsides.
Sometimes the courts deny a parent contact with their children for good reason. This appears to be one of those times. In Australia under Family Law legislation, which is federal, there is an initial presumption of shared custody (only we call it residence) of children. Then the parties negotiate from there taking into account work and living commitments of the parties and the children etc. Shit, even pedophiles are known to gain supervised contact with their children. This fruit and nut job, Mick, was denied contact with his children – probably because he tried to burn down the house that his ex wife and children were living in. So this narcisstic turd decides he is the most important person in the world and nobody else matters. Because of his actions people missed out on vital medical procedures, non-refundable flights, work, a day of visiting with their own children, not to mention the stigma his own kids will no doubt suffer for his selfish actions.
I hope they throw the bum in prison.