PPS - while my concerns regarding Gaza still stand, and have been confirmed by the conversations I'm having on Mastodon, a comment by an Indigenous woman there is very apt regarding the Voice referendum - at least as regards Indigenous affairs:
"What matters is what you do tomorrow to support us, and the next day, and the next."
Tomorrow I fear both my nation and the world as a whole will change for the worse.
The polling looks poor for the Voice tomorrow, but I am continuing working for success as much as I can, and polling has been wrong before.
If it succeeds, the damage done at the instigation of someone who I now consider Australia’s most evil politician (Dutton), will sour victory - much as the transphobia and anti-LGBTQIASB+ hate shown during the Equal Marriage postal vote did, and Australia will have to deal with a legacy of white supremacist haters who have been whipped up into a rabid frenzy over the last few weeks and will do their utmost to sabotage everything aimed at giving Indigenous people a fair go in what is their land more than it is settlers’.
If the Voice fails:
- the rabidly frenzied white supremacists will be even more emboldened,and we will start to see the sort of violence that happens in the USA;
- race relations in this nation will be set back to the 1950s or earlier, with a decline in life span and health and every other parameter of the lives of Indigenous people; and
- advocacy for people of colour will be FORCED to be more militant and aggressive.
It is also possible that the AEC will be shown up for its gross inadequacies and ineptness in the context of a modern election with social media and rampant trumpism with the associated blatant lies - especially the AEC's complete and utter uselessness when it comes to managing violence and intimidation at polling places (which has been an issue for at least a couple of elections now).
The only solution to that, in my opinion, will be a move to online or at least FAR more postal voting.
It is likely that truth-in-political-advertising laws will try to be pushed by the ALP, but that should have happened back in January. Attempting to introduce that now, when the trumpists and fascists have been emboldened will be a massive battle, and there is no confidence whatsoever that it will get passed. If it does, I consider that Act of Parliament will certainly be changed should Dutton or one of his successors get voted into power.
Mind you, it is also possible that these events will be combined with the neoliberal social dinosaur parties going out of existence - which would be a good thing, but the minority extremist parties will still be around.
There is also a possibility that referendums will go out of existence ...
The other fear I - and many others have - is that the world is about to allow a genocide to occur in Gaza.
To think that a million people can move in a day is simple, utter stupidity - or evil malice.
What was done to Israel is appalling; so is the counter reaction, and many Israelis are clearly saying they think so as well - which I have posted about over at my political blog (e.g., here, here, and here).
Of course it is possible that Israel may delay its imminent ground invasion long enough for able bodied civilians to flee, but that will leave the elderly, infirm, wounded, etc to be killed along with any remaining violent extremists.
And all of these problems could have been prevented had voters acted with integrity - like mature, conscientious, deliberative adults, rather than immature spoiled little brats.
And there is where the real problem ultimately lies: with us.
PS - see this, for someone with a similar view: "Michael Pascoe: Shame! Dutton’s cynical ’No’ campaign has scarred our nation’s soul" https://thenewdaily.com.au/news/politics/australian-politics/2023/10/14/michael-pascoe-voice-dutton-australia-vote/
If you appreciated this post, please consider promoting it - there are some links below, and there’s also Instagram and Mastodon.
Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, and to mind our Mӕgan.
