There’s a movie from around 2010 called ‘V for Vendetta’. It depicts a UK where a right-wing authoritarian regime has come to power and a vigilante (V) takes on the ruling government. The characteristics of the ruling party are: right-wing, intolerant of minorities, pro religion, and resented by the mass of the population. In reality what we see today is that the oppressive regimes are the opposite: left-wing, supportive of (quite specific) minorities, anti-religion (they are mostly Atheists) and supported by the masses.
Hitler, of course, had the support of the masses and used the Jews as a the scapegoat. The new tyrannies use white men as the scapegoat and suppression of free expression is ‘in your own interests’.
How did we get here? How did the people of the left, which purport to support freedom of ideas, become the people that impose censorship?
The left have always taken much more notice of what people say rather than what they do. Countries that sign up to climate change are applauded — even China, which is still building coal-fired power stations. Donald Trump is constantly criticised for saying inappropriate things on Twitter. No one looks at what he does anymore — what he says is important. Biden has done nothing but makes the right noises (often inarticulately). Many on the left were astounded that Hilary Clinton failed to get elected, after all in her speeches she supported minorities and immigration. In fact the main argument that many made for not voting for her was she seemed insincere. It’s as if they went a bit too far, assumed that more people would be taken in then were, and they were caught out.
In Australia the supposedly left-wing premier of the state of Victoria, Dan Andrews, has imposed draconian restrictions on the population. If these were imposed by a right-wing leader there would be revolt in the media, but generally the media is silent. He signed up a to the Chinese Belt and Road Initiative, shaking hands with a dictator who has interred opposition in concentration camps. When Donald Trump shakes hands with a dictator it is condemned in the press.
It’s like assuming that the London ‘Financial Times’ is left wing because it’s printed on pink paper
And so the masses are easily fooled by good words and fine rhetoric, but really only because they choose to be. I’ve pointed out that if opposition to the current Covid restrictions is a conspiracy then it’s a strange one because it’s hidden in plain site, as it were. Dan Andrews cooperation with China is no secret nor are their internment camps.
If you were around in Germany at the time of the rise of Hitler and you said that he was evil and was planning on killing millions of Jews, you would have been accused of being a conspiracy theorist.
It would be absurd to suggest that Dan Andrews is intent on killing millions of people who oppose him, but it is undoubtably true that if nothing else changes the restrictions on the people of Victoria will become more and more oppressive, probably culminating in Chinese-style monitoring and enforcement.
By Philip Braham on .