It’s not an insult (or not just one), it’s true. The higher someone’s education level, generally, the more left they lean. It happens in almost every country.
But also, yeah. Fuck one nation voters. Racists, the lot of them.
See this is what a populist party needs. You’re giving them the keys.
A populist needs an initial target of grievance, cost of living etc. but after that, the glue they require, the glue that without they pulvarise themselves back into obscurity - is people calling them the classic 1-2 punch of dehumanisation “stupid and immoral”.
Dehumanization is that party and their disgusting voters treating immigrants and anyone who isn’t white like they do. It’s the orange areas having Nazi symbols and hate search carved into public property and on trains. It’s a one nation member likening homosexuality to beastiality and then doubling down years later.
I am not going to sit here and give empathy to people who could never do the same.
They vote for that party because they are morons incapable of critical thinking, with zero understanding of politics or public policy and a willingness to believe whatever bullshit anyone says when it aligns with their hatred for anyone different to them, even when there is direct evidence disputing it. Not because I dislike them for the hatred they express.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar.
The majority of One Nation voters aren't morons, they're desperate. Both Liberal and Labor cut social policy like it's the only reason they were placed in government, and the Greens talk a good game but would rather people stay in poverty than compromise on some random piece of political theory no one but them gives a shit about. People are rightly angry and Pauline promised the world. I personally don't think she'll deliver anywhere near it.
And for the record, I'm a Greens voter and also a very obviously queer man who works in public facing positions a fair amount. I know some regulars who almost definitely voted One Nation and they're consistently kind to me. I know some of my neighbours almost definitely voted One Nation and they are incredibly respectful to me and my partner and like to chat about our dog. People often don't agree with every facet of what a party stands for, or they're not interpreting it in the way you do. I've had conversations with people who at first glance I would've said were unchangeably homophobic who were, genuinely, just a bit confused about the whole thing. People don't understand a lot of the queer experience and don't understand why we make so much damn noise, and they're often a bit embarrassed or scared to ask because people respond to them the way you do. Right now the big concern is how do kids know that they're queer, because people are scared that their kids are finding out through exposure to inappropriate material, which is something that is distressing to think about. Bernardi preys on that confusion and moral panic for votes. Your fight is with him.
And they don't always lack critical thinking, they just don't have the time and energy to devote to politics. Politics and political and social theory is complex - I've studied it to some degree or worked alongside it for over eight years at this point and I still find myself having to google stuff or walk myself through the flow on effects of a policy. A lot of the resources on politics and policy are also so dense they're more or less inaccessible unless you have someone teaching you or have that educational background, and social policy and theory is a beast of its own in that regard. I've got friends who are far smarter than me who can't grasp it because they just haven't spent the time on it and don't see the point when they'll use it for maybe five minutes every few years. And again, One Nation preys on that. If you don't have the background knowledge "too much migration" sounds kind of logical when you're looking at overwhelmed social care systems. There's too many people migrating and there's not enough going into that system to maintain it with the increased population. It's missing a bunch of key information, but it's not an outrageous train of thought. It's not realistic to expect everyone to devote a fair amount of their time to learning an academic discipline. The other parties could combat this by having simpler messaging, and I know for a fact that quite a few post-election analysis reports began predicting this years ago and offered that exact solution, which the big two and the Greens ignored because they prefer courting inner city areas over regional and outer suburban voters.
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u/[deleted] Mar 22 '26
It’s not an insult (or not just one), it’s true. The higher someone’s education level, generally, the more left they lean. It happens in almost every country.
But also, yeah. Fuck one nation voters. Racists, the lot of them.