Mad as a March in March hare

For once I'd like to write about something other than the appalling state of politics. Yeah, Gina Rinehart openly wants Thatcherism in Australia and condemns our age of entitlement even though she inherited her wealth and her industry gets billions in fuel subsidies. Perhaps when she kicks the bucket she'll have incurred such goodwill with the people that like Thatcher, people will be dancing in the streets at her demise.

On entitlements – education is one such right that we have in this country. If like Pyne however you think that rich kids are entitled to a better education and if you fear the general population developing critical thinking skills (an easily swayed into fear voter is a liberal voter), then it's goodbye to a fair go Gonski deal for students.

And Malcolm, we had such high hopes that you would save us all from the real mad one. You have dismantled the NBN though and permit and encourage the questioning of funding to public broadcasters SBS and ABC. Smugly ignoring the numerous independent professional reports, some that you asked for. Which state that both broadcasters provide extraordinary value for money and are making such significant contributions to our nation that they deserve more funding. Yet because Murdoch who got nearly a billion dollars of entitlement of public money wants to further his monopoly of propaganda you parrot Tony's hypocrisy. Who will stand up for what is right in your party if not even one member of cabinet shows that it can be done? Have they broken you Malcolm?

Oh Tony, I expect nothing less than tearing apart the forestry peace agreement that took decades to implement so that your ultimate conservationists can cut down more trees. And then you want your 'half the minimum wage slave wages Green Army' to go and plant more. I don't have a major problem with forestry workers but I do have a problem with the language you use that causes divisions in our society. On top of that we are set to lose thousands of jobs. And we are losing support for renewable energy. We are turning away from the strides forward we made in facing the greatest moral challenge of our time in curbing our greenhouse emissions. Oh, and not forgetting the cutting of foreign aid. Thanks for nothing Tony.

And then there is the great Scott ignoring all the internal and international criticism of our human rights abuses. Atrocities are now being committed in our name in offshore concentration camps. We have the horror of murder and people blinded and having their throats cut and of children being present in it all. And in response we have a government who is proud of its policy. Still, I can't just be mad at the government. We have a populace where they have much support. I am angry at you Australia with Scott Ludlam the only politician in the last week to provide me any real light in this dark vaccuum void of reason and humanity.

So whether the issue is that you think the attack on Unions is more for political pointscoring than any real attempt to make Unions a fairer, more effective and translucent operation. Whether it's that we are now curbing the right to protest or ignoring the gay marriage debate, while more than half the western world leaves us floundering in their wake like a dinosaur in mud. Whether those listed above or other reasons, get mad as a march hare – at least for this weekend.

I really wanted to write about something other than the appalling state of politics we find ourselves in. I was going to write just a couple of examples of appallingness and then write about something not politically related like my love for fantasy footy or that I finally start a new job next week after months of rejection. But the list just kept growing. I'd like to write about something else but everything else seems trite in comparison.

That's why I'll be marching tomorrow through the streets of Sydney as a vote of no confidence in our Government, I hope you'll consider getting along to your local march too, it'll be one heck of an experience. I'm hoping that being sourrounded by thousands of Australians that are as fed up as me will go some way to restoring my faith in Australia. Maybe I'll be able to find a place of peace to be able write about something else.

Going Viral - Kony 2012

Is the Internet Kony 2012 phenomenon a more popular story in itself than the story of what has been happening in Central Africa for decades? Not that it's more important but I'm finding it very interesting nonetheless. The story of Joseph Kony has been around for a long time but wide public awareness of it is only happening now because of this viral campaign that has spilled from the social networks these last few days and into more traditional media.

Seeing the social network used as a place that is getting people to think, talk and act on issues outside of themselves is encouraging. And as it's providing people with a platform to have a voice, that has persuaded me to add mine for what it's worth (which is probably nought outside of figuring it out for myself).

How is it that a viral campaign has been magnitudes more successful at raising awareness than traditional media? Well for one thing, reputable broadcasters who make documentaries about stuff that matters probably wouldn't get away with making a similar doco. The use of children to pull at the heart strings and making the documentary as much about the journey of the documenter as the subject he wants addressed would be frowned upon. By golly it's effective though. It is very well produced, it meets a young market perfectly who have been trained by the more unreputable side of our media to get emotionally involved in a story.

I don't mind so much this time with that being the case because at least the rage they are trying to manufacture from us is something worth being angry about. After watching the video I did have concerns such as:

• As effective as it was, was it right to use his son who has been seen now by nearly 50 million people alone on YouTube? Should we question this method? Should we be listening to our children more to be getting a clearer perspective?

• Is making an evil warlord famous a good idea? If someone craves power so much is creating a new form of celebrity feeding the monster? Will more monster's come out of the woodwork as copycat's wanting immortality through being infamous?

• Was the chanting in unison of young people a bit brainwashy or militant?

• Do I really want to wear Kony's name on my person? How about a bracelet with Invisible Children on it instead? That's where I'd rather focus my thoughts but obviously they chose the angle of wanting to make Kony the focus.

• Should you choose to be the voice of the invisible children? How about instead of speaking for them, provide them the opportunity to speak for themselves?

• I cringed when Jacob was interviewed and we ended up with a white man offering sympathy and promising to fix everything. White man's history of fixing everything has left a lot to be desired for. I would have rather have seen empathy. Rather than coming in as the rescuer the West should be supporting the oppressed to free themselves from oppression and tyranny.

And I must acknowledge that Invisible Children are doing just that as well. The early warning radio network is a great initiative. Supporting the Ugandan Army in its efforts to bring Joseph Kony to justice is indicative of that approach too.

I personally cannot in good conscience though support an organisation that advocates for a military solution from an army that has a questionable human rights record. I do not want blood on my hands and I will not be swayed by the argument that if I do not join this movement then I will have blood on my hands anyway for not acting. I also will not play the righteous card if someone feels that they do want to support military action. Leaving the people to fend for themselves is not an option but we should tread very carefully where we advocate something that will result in deaths.

So while I may be uncomfortable with much of the methodology that IC incorporates I still applaud them and those that support for them for caring enough to try something. I might like to see more happen on the ground and it's yet to be seen how this raised level of awareness will affect that. I don't like the promise to fix everything but I admire that the documenter is trying to keep that promise. Previous efforts have been largely unsuccesful, maybe it's time to give this way a shot.

It is an interesting experiment that raises much internal conflict and many questions.

• What if the hype dies down and nothing happens?

• What if it doesn't work and we are left with a generation of jaded young people?

• What if they get Kony and nothing of consequence really changes?

• What if it works and it sets a new precedent for how we deal with injustices in the future?

• What if the internet and social networking becomes societies protector?

• What if someone tries to use the power of social networking for evil? I would hope that the social networking community is capable of the self regulation to stop this from happening.

And seeing the sheer quantity of people and of young people in particular coming out in support of this cause does give me hope that as they said at the end of the documentary that 'the better world we want is coming, it's just waiting for us to stop at nothing.'

Am I going to stand in the way as the new wave of social activism tries to find its feet, hell no! Maybe the time for this idea has come. Go for it people, believe, do, and I hope you succeed cos I could do with seeing a win to restore some more hope in humanity.

Speech Clouds

Speech clouds and thought bubbles, you see them at the base of an online news story. They often have a number indicating how many people have commented on the story. Some sites will even list the most commented stories into a popularity table. I'm not sure that turning journalism into a popularity contest is good for journalism. I'm not sure that a comments section provides a forum for healthy public debate but what the public wants, well in this case the public has got. Can you blame the news sites? I'd like to, I'd hope that the media was about truth and leadership and not about the simple greed of getting the most hits to satisfy the advertisers. Then again comments sections can be seen as truth too, albeit a predominantly ugly one.

I have often been dumbfounded by some of the comments people leave like when referring to a story about boat people someone suggested that our policy should be more like North Korea's where they definitely wouldn't help these illegal immigrants. Needless to say I was angry, I wanted to reply that I would never want Australia's values to be tarnished by taking on the values of a hardline dictatorship like North Korea, as if we would be better off for doing that you expletive expletive. I seethed and said nothing.

There are opinions out there that I agree with and opinions that are so far removed from my perspective on life that I wonder how those holding them can even sleep at night. So I find that these comments sections are very devisive and polarise issues, much like politics. Is it all that black and white? is there no grey area? And I'm not convinced that the sites which push public commentary compared to those that hold back from it a bit more give us an accurate picture of where we stand on particular issues due to the patronage of said sites. Is there a use though for this public forum other than spreading hate around?

Anger is not hate and sometimes it is appropriate to express anger. I can get angry looking at just about any comments section. The ammount of hate,bigotry, prejudice, xenophobia and sheer self interest can make me ashamed to be Australian, even to be human. The truth is that it is a representation of human nature and I myself am not above being human. When it comes to human nature I often despair where I want to hope. How can we be anything other than opinionated though?

An opinion comes from a person's belief and we all have beliefs and therefore we all have opinions. Have I have ever witnessed an attack on someone's opinion where that person then replied with anything along the lines of 'you know what, you might be onto something there, I think you may be right where I was wrong.' No. Attacking someone's opinion is as much attacking what they believe and what we believe is what we structure the rest of our lives around.

If we are sharing our opinion becaue we hope that it will make a difference then how do we do that? Would challenging an opinion or a belief generally require you to encourage the other to question their standpoint. In that if they are to change, they need to own it, you can't make them. I would also think that generally (generalising again) someone is only prepared to listen and question themselves when they have a relationship with that person or they see that person as an authority they trust. So when Joe screams abuse at John who condescends to Jill who puts down Jeff and none of them know eachother...what is achieved other than people getting angry and more instilled into whatever trench they have dug for themselves.

For starting a blog am I not a hypocrite? Well...yes I am in many ways and this blog is no exception. I have a high ideal of what I want this blog to be for - to be amongst all the angry opinions an opinion that often will stem from anger but that hopefully will be expressed in a more constructive way, if I don't succeed and at times I will not then I am a hypocrite. If I am not trying to engage the better part of me though then I may as well give up and just hurl feasces at anyone that doesn't agree with me. Is this my first blog littered with opinions that fall on deaf ears because I am inadequate at expressing a thought constructively, probably. Hopefully I have made an ok start in representing myself.

So wether it is news sites, other public forums, facebook or even in the offline world it would

seem best to either stear clear of strong opinions and comment sections to save yourself the stress or if you feel compelled to comment (which is why I have begun blogging and which I may regret) then I encourage you to be the person that asks questions, that develops relationships, that listens and that shares opinions wisely. Oh! and don't feed the trolls. comments welcome :P