The pending executions of the Bali duo is Tony Abbott’s fault. At least that it is what a string of B Grade celebrities want you to believe.
In case you missed it, these heroes decided to do their bit. Ignoring the months of diplomatic consultations made by the Foreign Affairs department, ignoring the significant work being done behind the scenes by Australian consular officials representing the government trying, in vain, to get a better deal for the duo, these celebrities decided to spruik their moral superiority in 10 seconds on an iPhone and chuck a hashtag, #bringourboyshome, to pull on our heartstrings and lay blame on our Prime Minister. Oh hell no.
“Tony, if you had any courage and compassion you’d go to Indonesia and bring these boys home.” Brendan Cowell moans while laying in bed, clearly comfortable in his mothballed clothes. “Show some balls.” Right mate, because you’re the pinnacle of godly courage right now.
The world we live in. A few actors send a half-arsed, impromptu video message addressed to the PM and expect him to jump to his feet to intervene, and people, blinded by their celebrity worship, think it’s a worthy contribution.
Are they kidding? How desperate are these people? Is their hatred for Abbott so blind that they will shout any garbage to demonise him? What’s troubling is that social media believed it. The video might be the lowest form of ignorant, dumb moral posturing, and outright political bastardry, but how dumb are we for buying it?
How dumb are we for having no awareness of the mechanisms of diplomacy? How dumb are we for assuming that the government has not pursued every reasonable avenue at its disposal? And seriously, how mind numbingly stupid do we have to be to believe that Super Tony can fly in, smash the windows, and fly out with our innocent victims. Oh Tony, please be our mighty Batman. Fight the injustice and bring our boys home. The hashtag has called you.
The video is the product of ignorance, and ignorant people spread it. It’s a sign of the times. Social media, far from making us smarter, could just be making us dumber.
If we’re not spreading photos of obese people calling them good role models, we’re spreading lifestyle blogs in the belief that a 23 year old can look that great while suffering brain cancer. We spread satirical news stories believing them as fact, and we worship celebrities who offer no intellectual justification for their credibility. The colour of Kim Kardashian’s hair is apparently something that matters. A bloke getting a sex change operation trends more than the tragedy in Nepal. And we’re so obsessed with getting our 15 minutes that we’ll video every dumb moment in the hope that it will go viral. The Port Adelaide idiot harassing Alastair Clarkson certainly thought he had a gem, and then he was shocked when he copped his right whack in the chest. His reaction? To go to the police to press charges! Idiot.
If social media serves as a true reflection of our IQ, we have some problems. Seriously, stop being dumb.
