Every now and then, I take stock of my beliefs and ask myself ‘am I an a—hole?’ Everyone should do it occasionally. It keeps one fairly grounded. I wonder, ‘Am I’m a little too harsh on Social Justice Warriors and Champagne Socialists? Are they that bad? Should I be buying into concepts like moral relativism, gender fluidity, and other radical Neo-left politics, even if only to keep the peace? I don’t need to be an activist on the left or anything, but shouldn’t I be more like my apolitical friends who just like things like movies, or music, or surfing?
Then reality rears its ugly head and I remember that it’s nigh on impossible to just opt out of this nonsense completely. My film buff apolitical friends used to keep abreast of the Oscars until it became this. My apolitical audiophile and muso friends need a pretty solid bulls— filter to sift through rubbish like this. Even my libertarian-by-nature surfer friends can’t innocuously catch a wave, the most free, equal, least oppressive act you can imagine, without being lumped in with the evil patriarchy.
Sadly, in 2017, living on the fringes, on the sidelines is no longer an option. Those who couldn’t adapt to the ways of the progressive whites and had been living in harmony away from the trigger (warnings) of the figurative social justice fire sticks (or more popularly mace) have been scooped up and forced to live on the progressive reservations where they subsist on flour infested with virtue signalling… warming themselves with 18C-tainted blankets.
I really realise I’m not that much of an a—hole and have some beliefs that are actually quite sound at times like this. Bill Leak just passed away, and like clockwork we find ourselves lectured on morality by the vile and morally reprehensible in a tsunami-like wave so lacking in self-awareness that it rivals the likes of Meryl Streep and her fellow Hollywood sycophants.
A funny thing happens when celebrities or well-known political figures die and their ideological others pass comment. Gough Whitlam is arguably the most divisive PM Australia has ever seen. Canonised by the left, and seen as a bit of a loon by the right. But was his passing really celebrated or welcomed by anybody on the right? The worst I ever heard even from the most insensitive conservative was begrudging condolence. That was as bad as it got. Carrie Fischer was a proud Democrat and fervent anti-Trumper. But when she passed away, were there any hopes expressed by conservatives that Princess Leah would suffer a fiery fate in hell from Trump’s Alt-Right cheer squad? Not a peep. The respect was overwhelming. Politics are put aside by the reasonable when it’s time to pay respects.
Compare these reactions to Margaret Thatcher’s passing. I left social media for a time. I saw people who in ordinary circumstances wouldn’t have an unkind word to say about anyone who is on the victimhood pyramid or tows the progressive line, spewing very triggering venom like you wouldn’t believe. Friends I assumed were decent people beforehand postured about what sexual degradations should be performed on her in hell, and how they should ‘stomp the dirt of her grave with their feet’.
And now we see similar vitriol for the passing of Bill Leak. A cartoonist. A satirical doodler. A man who had the audacity to do the satirist’s job: point out the folly of the world around him. The venomous bile spewed about him before his corpse is even cold sounds eerily similar to sentiments expressed by those in the Islamic world following the massacre of a bunch of French cartoonists. Still more evidence that there isn’t a lot of difference between rabid progressives and those who walk gays off buildings and oppress women under veils. They all have contempt for Western Civilisation and wish to destroy it without any genuine conceptualised idea for an improved model that even comes close in terms of real freedom and prosperity.
Death is always sad and to be mourned. Obviously there are possible exceptions, like the 9/11 hijackers, Dylan Roofe, serial killers or abusers of children, but that’s a pretty high bar. I find Hillary Clinton and her husband Bill utterly repugnant, but when they die I feel I’d regard it more as evading natural justice than with any kind of satisfaction. Even the criticism of Castro from conservatives post-mortem was rather respectful given the fact that he was a monster.
To their credit (even though we often hold their heels to the flame) moderators at SMH, ABC, and other sites are working overtime to delete the hundreds of vile, venomous, and genuinely offensive (as opposed to the faux-offence taken at Leak’s work, which seems rather tame by comparison) comments beneath their Bill Leak posts. While many of these outlets no doubt clutched their pearls over his cartoons, they’d presumably be quite disturbed at the gleeful and hateful sentiments at the passing of a colleague.
But they are not entirely without blame. These outlets have figuratively fed a readership and viewership of baby alligators a protein-rich diet of extreme left ideology over decades of heavily partisan ‘news items’ and op-ed pieces, and today are no doubt wondering how such cute baby alligators have blossomed into ravenous snapping monsters. If they were self-aware, they might notice the irony of a public who took great offence at accurate depictions of issues in rural indigenous communities in Leak’s cartoons seemingly being A-OK with tormenting the late cartoonist’s family, much like Man Monis did to the families of deceased diggers in letters that read a lot like many of these comments. But self-awareness isn’t their strong suit.
So I’ve done a lot of soul-searching today. Am I an a—hole for asking questions like whether a garnish on our earnings will reduce global CO2 emissions, or for holding someone to the same societal standards and expectations as your average evil patriarchal waspish male? Maybe I am. But after today, I realised I’m only a mid-level a—hole drowning in a sea of Denis-Leary-level progressive a—holes. Vale Bill Leak. You must be upstairs enjoying the irony of those who seemingly feel that gross offence is justified sometimes, while simultaneously justifying the draconian legislation of 18C.
It’s your XYZ.