One of the most enduring myths of Australian politics is that the Australian populace is, by and large, inherently and unmovingly conservative.

This idea drives so much of our political and media commentary. However, it simply isn't true. A 🧵.

#auspol #ausvotes This myth has underpinned the current election campaign. The ALP's 'small target' strategy is based on a belief that Australians will reject bold progressive policies. Katherine Deves' anti-trans comments are part of a strategy to appeal to a core conservatism within the country.

It is really clear that having a sense of community and belonging was central to so many involved in the #ConvoyToCanberra. #auspol

It's not surprising, but it is interesting, and can tell us a lot about what happened/will continue to happen. 1/24 In my PhD I am studying online manosphere groups as an example of an "intimate public".

Intimate publics are groups who bond over a shared world-view and "emotional knowledge". Connection is not just about ideology, but also a joint feeling about their position in the world. 2/

Wandering along to the #ConvoyToCanberra protest today. People are streaming into Commonwealth Park. Commonwealth Bridge is closed and there are a lot of people here. #ConvoyToCanberra

We often think about conspiracy theories as being the purview of the far-right (i.e. QAnon). COVID-19 however has shown that elements of the left can be just as good at it.

Here are a bunch of receipts from Aus, and some thoughts on implications of this. Thread. #covid19aus Conspiracy theories succeed through tapping into, often healthy, distrust of institutions, and turning that toward a belief in a shadowy plot of elites working against the general populace.

Incoming: long thread about the #melbourneprotests. TLDR: the institutional left are massively failing in the response, and in doing so I really worry are going to push even more people to the far-right. #tradiesprotest #covid19aus Before I begin, a note about what I mean by the institutional left, because I always get in trouble about this. I’m specifically referring to those in powerful mainstream orgs – the ALP, elements of the Greens, unions, left-wing think tanks and some progressive NGOs.

Nope, this is a seriously stupid idea. #auspol dailytelegraph.com.au/news/nsw/nsw-p… It's not just that this is unromantic, it's that it fundamentally misunderstands sexual relationships. Relationships are not transactions in which one person (a man) asks an other party (a woman) for sex, who then, reluctantly, agrees.

This proposal (and the responses to it) are a perfect example of the serious challenges we face in the regulation/moderation of discourse on the web. Thread. 1/15 #Twitter #Birdwatch #SocialMedia

https://twitter.com/TwitterSupport/status/1353766523664531459

It is clear that Twitter has, rightfully, concluded that they want to remove themselves somewhat from the process of moderation. They, alongside other companies, have faced significant backlash over their approaches and are searching for ways to outsource the process. 2/15

TLDR: social media bans may reduce extremist content on a platform, but they push the issue somewhere else. They make it "someone else's problem".

https://twitter.com/PolicyR/status/1348936675150409730

One thing to note is that this research is about relatively low-profile bans on Reddit. The ban of Donald Trump is much more serious and is leading to literally hundreds of thousands of people moving to platforms like Gab. It moves these platforms away from the fringes.

This video is a good example of a lot of the things I find frustrating about #masculinity discourse, particularly in gay circles. 1/10 Initially it's an interesting discussion. Jacob Michael talks about the issues with masculine norms and I agree that gay men can be good at challenging these. When you break one norm (around sexuality) it can become easier to break them around gender. 2/10

Some, not entirely complete, thoughts over the suicide of Wilson Gavin after the drag protest earlier this week.

First, as I said yesterday, this whole this is absolutely awful. Their protest was awful, and his suicide is awful too. The whole thing is awful. 1/10 Similar to the thread I retweeted from @maevemarsden, I am extraordinarily uncomfortable with people trying to diagnose why Gavin committed suicide.

We don't know why he did it, and attempts to describe why based off the little information we have is unhelpful. 2/10

Inside at the Lauren Southern and Stefan Molyneux event. Will keep all thoughts on this thread. First thing I noticed was how many people of colour were working on tickets and security for the event. All smiling and doing an amazing job. Rather awkward really.