In Australia people think no one is watching our crimes against refugees, against indigenous people, our inaction climate. But here in Europe, everyone I’ve spoken to knows. Everyone.
A local Swiss politician I met said, “I can’t understand why Australia has concentration camps. The numbers are so small and the cruelty so enormous!”
That’s a very common reaction here: Bafflement at Australia’s cruelty. It’s hard for me to explain, not least because I’m baffled too.
Of course, the mindset of Peter Dutton, of Scott Morrison, of John Howard — there are plenty of Europeans who think the same way. They’re fascists or near-fascists. And they see Australia as an inspiration. thenation.com/article/austra…
The received wisdom is that cosmopolitan culture is no use — Peter Cook’s quip about Berlin cabaret’s doing so much to prevent the Nazis, etc. But the virus incubates in the provinces. Bavaria is rich, but support for AfD is strong there.
So I think this is one very important political function of contemporary art: to open minds and stretch imaginations. It doesn't always have to be overtly political in its content. People with open minds make open societies.
