People are losing their minds.
In the last 24 hours I've looked on as otherwise sensible Australians have derided American voters as idiots, morons, “rapey”, hateful, misogynistic, racist, transphobic, homophobic, creeps and “pussy grabbers”.
They don’t deserve democracy, the theme continues.
An ABC presenter covering the election was even caught on a mic she didn't know was broadcasting saying Trump voters should have IQ tests before being allowed to vote.
The hate spewed at Trump himself was even worse.
I guarantee, if you open up any social media feed right now, you will find one of your friends or followers calling for his assassination.
Last night I was told to “go f**k” myself for pointing out the execution of people with whom you disagree had no place in a democracy.
I've never in my life seen highwire hypocrisy this breathtaking.
Those who bleated interminably on Twitter about the injustice of Trump saying Clinton should be in prison for her mishandling of classified information now seriously call for his murder.
Those who justifiably pilloried Trump for his lewd comments about women, now want the vote taken off those who supported him anyway.
Imagine the outrage if this boiling anger was turned against them?
“Surely it won’t be long until someone shoots Hillary.” Imagine the social media outcry (I changed the “Trump” in an actual post to “Hillary”, by the way).
But what the keyboard experts are really venting is the confused anger that they could be so wrong about the world; the ideological scales have fallen from their eyes, as someone wise put it to me last night.
Real people have rejected the fantasies they have nurtured behind the digital walls of their social media accounts. Americans who – unlike them – have not seen the benefits of globalisation and free trade they were promised, have rejected more of the same. People who can’t afford the latest Apple device, who don’t have a government-funded NGO job, who now have worse health care because of Obamacare.
More importantly for us, people who aren’t Australians. Just a reminder: Donald Trump is not our president. We didn’t do this.
So calm down, social media, and quit it with the hypocrisy.
Nathan Hondros
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
Senior Journalist for the Mandurah Mail, Australian Community Media, and Fairfax Media.
