Angry protesters

Watching the news last night, there was footage of Tony Abbot and Julia Gillard facing protestors at various town hall type meetings. In both cases these protesters exercised their democratic right to question the policy position taken by either politician. Both protestors offering critiques were middle aged women, both of them spoke their minds freely and spoke directly to the relevant politicians.

The difference between the two was that while the woman criticising the prime minister was allowed to have her say and then walk away, the woman criticising the leader of the opposition was shouted down by anti-carbon tax protesters. She was then heckled and shoved, and followed down the street and taunted by a middle aged man who was close to twice her size. The footage ended with the man standing over her, smirking, while she cowered, calling for help on her phone, saying “I’m scared”. The police were eventually called to prevent the situation going any further.

To me, this little tableau was representative of the extreme political (or ideological) polarisation that is becoming increasingly the norm in Australia. Arguably, we haven’t seen such political antagonism since 1975. That’s a fairly large call to make, but, as highlighted by Michelle Grattan in today’s SMH, is there anyone who doesn’t think that the Libs would block supply if they had the numbers?  I think that the antagonism over carbon pricing has escalated to such a point that this is now an outcome that could quite realistically occur (if they had the numbers).

I’m personally struggling with this polarisation. I’ve been brought up toward the “left” side of the spectrum and I try to constantly consider how this shapes the way I interpret facts. I know that the people on the “other side” of the fence have been similarly raised according to a particular ideological world-view, and that they honestly believe that they are doing what they think is right. And yet, when I see footage like that described above, I can’t help yelling at the TV screen and reducing all those who have a different opinion to me on this issue to mindless, bullying “baddies”.

Perhaps it would be best if something similar to the dismissal were to occur. A mass cathartic expression of the political stresses that otherwise manifest in these futile little displays of antagonism. Problem is, I don’t know whether my programming would let me sit idly by and let it happen, or whether I’d be out there, taking a swing at all those old bullying fucks who think it’s OK to shove and intimidate a middle aged lady who has a different set of opinions to their own.