How on earth can an unwanted gate-crashing by ugly neo-Nazis of a rally so derail the message of the rally and have its participants so tainted to have someone expelled from a parliamentary party?
It seems surreal, but it is happening right here in Australia. Courtesy of the bulk of the mainstream media engaging in tribalism as opposed to professional reporting, aided and abetted by a leader unwilling to defend his own in the face of a media onslaught. Loyalty should be a two-way street.
Tribalism allows members to justify the unjustifiable. If you are in the tribe, any indiscretion will be overlooked, whereas the exact same indiscretion by a member of an opposing tribe is attacked and relentlessly pursued, with the hypocrisy of the position taken completely ignored.
Tribalism is unhealthy and corrosive of good order, especially when dealing with public figures, issues and reporting by the media.
Virtues and values need to be applied equally to your own tribe as to every other tribe. Consistency in the application of standards is essential for integrity in a civil society.
This double standard was put on open display by the media’s handling of two very serious allegations against public figures in relatively recent times.
Allegations of rape are serious. Rape is a horrendous crime that leaves lifelong scarring.
So when such an allegation is made, it needs to be taken seriously, very seriously, while always abiding by the foundational principle which protects us all—innocent until proven guilty.
When former Attorney-General Christian Porter was confronted with allegations from third-hand accusers, the feeding frenzy by the media was intense.
The fact the alleged victim recanted and didn’t want to pursue the matter was largely disregarded.
On the other hand, when a former leader of the Labor Party was confronted with the same allegation as the alleged victim wishing to pursue prosecution for the matter, the media took a lot more subdued interest.
Attention Shifted from Women’s Rights to Neo-Nazis
Fast forward to recent events in the City of Melbourne, and the same unacceptable approach was being featured.A perfectly orderly rally was expressing views about the conflicting rights and responsibilities of people who identify as transgender across a group who saw issues with such self-identification in terms of fairness and safety. This was gate crashed by a group of self-styled neo-Nazis whose clear game was disruption and to gain notoriety for themselves.
Such unbecoming conduct should have excited media condemnation of the gate crashers, not deter from the message the rally was seeking to express.
The problem was that rally’s purpose was not in line with the prevalent cheering and groupthink of the media.
So the presence (completely unwanted) of neo-Nazis at the event somehow allowed for the condemnation of the whole rally in the tortured rationalising of the media.
The mentality does not bear contemplation.
Would the Liberal leader resign if, at a public meeting he attended, an uninvited attendee rose to his feet and undertook an offensive nazi salute (a tautology if ever there was one)? Surely not.
One trusts an explanation would be given, stating that this was not what he was attending, and he cannot be held responsible for other people’s actions, especially ones completely outside of his control.
So why the move to expel before an opportunity for a full explanation can be offered? It’s called natural justice. It’s called fairness.
But these virtues and foundational principles are jettisoned by the woke if you happen to support an agenda different to their own, which exposes the hollowness of their position.
Surely the hijacking of the rally by the neo-Nazis should’ve been the point of condemnation, not being present when there was the unanticipated arrival of highly unwanted attendees.
The Road to ‘Mob Rule’
In Sydney, things aren’t much better with the ugliness after a public meeting dealing with religious freedom and belief.In that incident, provocative demonstrators became the butt of the attention of some rallygoers. Unacceptable and to be condemned.
The behaviour by some became the story rather than the purpose of the rally giving expression to community concerns.
In Hobart, a rally expressing similar concerns was drowned out by counterdemonstrators who were able to suck all the oxygen out of the rally’s message with the assistance of tribal media.
The idea that another demonstration or counter-rally could be held elsewhere to avoid conflict and enable a fair hearing for both sides highlights the civility within our community and the respect each group is held in by the other. But this is completely ignored.
These recent events are, in fact, menacing steps to anarchy and mob rule by intimidation. Such activity, if not universally condemned, will allow for dictatorial groupings to gain a foothold.
The standards we wish for ourselves need to be the ones we robustly defend for our opponents. That is one of the defining features of a decent human being and a civilised society.
An elementary feature of a genuine democracy is living in harmony with those with whom we disagree because we are all members of one human tribe.
