Things are different Down Under in a lot of ways. In Australia, our summer is their winter, they drive on the left side of the street and the Liberal Party is like our GOP. They are a Democracy, much like us, with freedom of speech and expression.
But when someone is arrested for a t-shirt that is mildly offensive, we must take note. Much like the U.S.'s Koch Brothers-Teaparty Congress, Australia is showing signs of the repression that accompanies an authoritarian regime. The slippery slope to dangerous nationalism flows with the help of a Corporatocracy. After seeing what a fascist, corporatist government can devolve into, we must not repeat the history of the 1930's in Germany.
As you may know, Rupert Murdoch owns 70% of the media in Australia. It is thanks to him that one of the most idiotic, climate-science denying theocrats in the nation's history holds the office of Prime Minister. Tony Abbott's Liberal party was threatened so much by a man wearing an I'm With Stupid t-shirt, they felt the need to arrest him in Brisbane where he was simply standing among campaigners for 2015 provincial elections.
The Courier Mail reports:
The Queensland campaign has been marred by its first arrest, with police taking a man wearing an “I’m with stupid” T-shirt into custody for allegedly being a “public nuisance”. The arrest occurred Thursday morning on the Corner of Martin and Brunswick Streets in Fortitude Valley, where campaign teams from the Labor and Liberal parties had set up on opposite sides of the road.
Much like the way protesters are treated any time polite, 'white' society feels threatened, Abbott's regime is cracking down on dissent. It's reminiscent of the University of California protesters being maced for merely sitting on campus. It has certainly not done much for Abbott's popularity as his party is facing some tough elections on the horizon. With the media on his side, much like it is here with Republicans, things will not always work out in concordance with a true, free society.
