Alrighty, then. Seems Razer was mistaken. So too, your Rundle. In the same wintry week, Crikey’s Cassandras delivered the same prophecy: the Yes vote would fail in Australia.
Well, it didn’t, did it? What failed, in fact, were our near-identical analyses, in which we applied, I guess, a fear that this survey would unfold like a tiny Trump; instead, what we saw was a mini-Macron.
I’ll make this comparison clear in a bit. But, first, a content warning: this will involve brief description of Western political economies. I understand many prefer to think of this moment as detached from politics; as arising purely from “love”, a quality, it is now broadly agreed, that “always wins”.
The rest of you miserablists — those who believe mass political decisions are formed not only by the human heart but by social conditions — can return with me to November 2016.
Although the elevation to power of Trump is understood by some to be the work of the “Russians”, many political economists see his victory as part of a trend. For some decades, Western governments have busied themselves redistributing wealth to those who need it the least. This regime, often called neoliberalism, imposed austerity on the mass, or simply let the banks do it. Voters did not enjoy neoliberal inconveniences such as death, and could only hear so many expert promises about prosperity before they gave experts the flick.
Across Europe, we have seen the re-emergence of both economic leftists and wacko fascists. In mainstream publications, such parties or persons are often called “populist”, which I never thought was an apt word for UK Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, a man who preserves his own fruit. Whatever the case, those afflicted by poverty, or an impending sense of it can go, to quote the old slogan, one of two ways: barbarism or socialism.
Trump is not the West’s only successful barbarian. He’s not even the worst. Stick a pin anywhere in Europe and watch racist excess gush. Mainstream press, are tragically incapable of critiquing the right, other than to say, “Those guys are lame-o”. They’re aligned with the experts of the centre and incapable of taking a non-racist socialist alternative seriously. Condescension or derision toward these rising forces are preferred by most Western journalists. This works well for those who do not face or fear poverty; they agree that the “sensible centre” is our best bet. Those who do face or fear poverty often choose to do the opposite of what is sensibly prescribed.
This was my fear: the sensible prescriptions of The Guardian et al would prompt voters to revolt. I mean, shit. This editorial might’ve been a nice positioning statement for the loving publication, but its hoity-toity in-group tone (we will not entertain the very idea of NO!) seemed such a faithful copy of all the uncritical pro-Clinton muck that ultimately served Trump. Actually, we had a Macron moment. Centrism had a victory, a moment of apparent progress, still concealing its ongoing descent.
This is not to malign queer people by calling all their concerns “centrist” — certainly, the fact of elder poverty is not a matter that the sensible centre would bother to address. It is to suggest that the LGBT category, through little fault of its own, has begun to function as an indicator of Western advancement. Press were at peculiar pains yesterday to point out those clashing with our “civilisation” on electoral maps yesterday. They said it was “multicultural” voters behind the times.
I voted Yes and am happy that a few folks get to enjoy something, even if it is no real extension of rights and mostly the imprimatur of the state. But I am not happy that liberal press continues its program of radical disdain for those who face other kinds of hardship and continues to publish apolitical inanity, such as this by David Marr. Ignoring our political economies is just too much of a risk.
Back in love with his country, is David. “Here’s a last truth about (Australia) we demonstrated today: we always come good in the end.”
Love wins every time. Which I am sure will be a great relief to the chaps on Manus Island, and all those who live with the denial of their basic liberties that used to be called the Emergency Response, but changed its name to Happy Pathways, or whatever.
Don’t worry, the centrists say. It will always come good in the end. And they will keep saying this and keep utilising their approved “diverse” category of that moment, even if it at the expense of another.
Next week: Helen Razer begins Up Yours a new occasional series of interviews with Australian insurgents, iconoclasts and ratbags.
After agreeing with you at the book launch in Sydney I now take it back.
You are a miserable curmudgeon and I never ever doubted the love and kindness of the great Australian voting public.
Bullshit. I am stunned that we actually managed to stop Shelton, Abbott, Dutton & the rest of their motley crew as they attempted to recreate 1317 Rome in Australia in 2017
It would seem we also undermisetimated Tony’s cunning plan. http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/national-news/tony-abbott-backpedals-marriage-equality/163875
Yes. We’re all adorable. Well done us.
Just don’t look over there.
Don’t look anywhere but the face of that young gay lad who killed himself recently after a short life of torment, l was ambivalent on the vote until I saw that photo in the papers. It moved me more than all the arguments by both camps. Discrimination is evil.
Neither a tiny trump or a mini-macron, Helen. Just the innate fairness and sense of justice of the majority of the Australian population. On this issue Abbott and his cohorts have been on the losing side for years but Turnbull didn’t have the balls to call him on it.
Yep, the Tony Abbotts of this world just don’t seem to realise they are part of an Australia that existed in the 1940s.
Like we show in our ardent defence of Aboriginal peoples in the Territory, now in their eleventh year of brutal rule? Love our fairness, us.
You have entirely missed the point of the article. Where is the innate justice for Aboriginal communities, Manus, those on DSP, the long term unemployed etc.
Yes, Leslie. Thanks for reading. Although I am ardently supportive of LGBT rights (which intersect with human rights, anyhow; the most pressing problems are health and housing ) I recognise, to use the phrase of an academic, that marriage equality has become a test of “civilisational aptitude”. You get this thing, and your nation is seen as “progressive”, in the West. Many conservative governments have passed it into law. Many neoliberals are supportive of it. Which does not mean I am opposed to it (although I think state-sanctioned marriage is a bit weird) but it does mean I see it as something, especially in the Australian case, as essentially small. It makes us look good, but does not really extend the rights of LGBT people. Sure, those in couples will be able to produce a marriage certificate if required. But, why are married people given this privilege? I am not married. I never intend to get married. That is my “choice”, but it is also a social disadvantage. (It hasn’t been a legal disadvantage for same- or opposite-sex unmarried couples since 2009.) In short, why in heck do I need to fill in a form, spend some money etc to have the same rights as others? And, why can’t I select any partner(s) with which to share benefits or rights? Must I have a romantic relationship in order to get the things that people in romantic relationships do?
Apart from the fact that marriage legally confers certain privilege on certain kinds of relationships (why can’t we all have a certificate that says “in case of need, this person is my go-to”?) and should maybe not be celebrated as the freeing test of civilisational aptitude, FFS.
How can we say we have progressed? The housing market has been permitted to rule our lives and swallow our incomes. Wealth inequality is approaching record levels. The middle-class has shrunk. Education is more expensive. Aboriginal peoples were basically laughed at in parliament for daring to ask for a treaty, per the Uluru consensus. Cruel treatment of asylum seekers has got to a level of brutality I cannot believe. We are continuing to pursue a globalised agenda that is alienating people into supporting whacko parties like One Nation. Racism is visible everywhere I turn. The NBN is a fricking joke. Our disabled and elderly comrades are treated like poor quality dirt. But, hey. Glitter. Love.
FFS. Can we not see that this is an appearance of progress, rather than its reality? I cannot stomach the congratulations people are awarding themselves. And I would like to know where all these straight allies were when our comrades were actually dying in the ’90s.
Yes. Yes. Yes. Thank you Helen I feel less alone……
PS David Marr can do inanity in on sorts of topics
Fair enough Lesley, but I was trying to stick to the subject at hand as the Yes campaign has been asking us to do.
An excellent article, but for the record, the article of mine linked to didn’t predict that the ‘yes’ vote would fail. It suggested that some early ‘yes’ activities – like the Guardian editor saying she couldn’t imagine a cogent argument for the ‘no’ case, and a UK based millionaire songwriter dumping on the country as homophobic – were counterproductive. I didn’t make any prediction, anywhere on the vote – it seemed to me it would tell us something about the current cultural character of Australia. And it has.
We’ll give you the benefit of doubting that you’d read it
I know, G. I just couldn’t resist calling you Cassandra.
Yes. It has demonstrated where we are. Happy to throw brown people under the bus if it means we look lovely.
FFS. The homonationalusm. All these instant “allies” so eager to trash Western Sydney.
Well hopefully we’ll move onto the rest of inequality next, Helen. There’s so much of it. We won’t, of course. It’s a simple black/white issue- not as pretty as a rainbow. Watch us get bogged down in 50 million shades of grey instead, each shade an individual issue, so tightly focused on each no one notices the big picture at all.
Still, it’s a start. As long as it’s seen as just the start we might be ok, we might get somewhere for the majority, but I fear we’ll be too busy patting ourselves on the back and showing off our participation ribbon to finish the race. I hope I’m wrong. With every fibre of my being, I hope I’m wrong.
You know it’s not a start.
It’s false progressivism. People who didn’t give a hoot about LGBT rights when we could have done with a hand now becoming defenders of Western values. Rather like the Islamophobe who gets all feminist when convenient.
Yeah. I do know. I wish I didn’t, but I do.
We do I admit, all have really big firm boners for the result. And that is nice.
But there’s still plenty of time to f*ck this goat.
We don’t always come good in the end, and we’re not there yet – so don’t let Bernardi into the petting zoo just yet. At least not where we keep the goat.
And stop trying to hack the Defence Industry Minister – he’s NOT into the bare-backinest, hard-dickinest, ball-slappinest rough trade this side of Goatse! Some mean person hacked into his browser history and inserted* some fake entries* into it!
*(Uh…huh huh… insert…)