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Why are so many Australians so invested in the MInutia of US politics?

 
 
 
Patooka said:
2) There is a *HUGE* amount of "monkey see monkey do" in Australian politics. If an idea is floated and talked about in US political circles, it will most likely be echoed by an Australian MP or Senator within a couple of weeks, especially with regards to national security. This is further exacerbated by how much of Australian media is owned by News Ltd, so there is one hell of an echo chamber with very little effort required.
[...]
So basically watching what a bunch of right wing cunts say in the US will give me a head start on what right wing cunts will say here in a few days time.
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Aaah. Thanks for that insight.
 
barbos said:
Clearly Australians are actually Russian trolls, and time zone is similar which helps :D
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Oh, come on. Russia spans so many time zones they could have trolls everywhere in the hemisphere.

(Hmm...)
 
Rhea said:
I don’t mean the big things, the foreign policy, etc. I think world citizens are right and justified to pay attention to those things, both proactively and reactively.
And I don’t mean the fascination with it, because that also makes sense - when someone does something unusual to you, you are interested in it.

But I find it unexpected the tribalism about the little stuff. The taking of sides. The efforts to bring up fighting topics and put on a jersey.
The most recent one is the Pelosi haircut thing. Another is the partisan goading on the presidential polls thread. Another is the BLM protests and the COVID rules.

So what makes so many people get so invested in the haircuts and ice cream of third tier politicians in other countries? Or the mask policies in a state that you’ll never be in?

Strange stuff. But I’m actually curious.

Again, not the investment in what will shape policy that affects your native country, but the degree of taking sides in the stuff that won’t affect you?
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It's an English speaking people geographically very far away from the centre of action. Perhaps they just want to feel like they're part of the club?
 
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Reactions: WAB
DrZoidberg said:
It's an English speaking people geographically very far away from the centre of action. Perhaps they just want to feel like they're part of the club?
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You're not wrong. Australian media loses its shit everytime someone overseas mentions us. It was worse during the 80's and 90's, however.
 
The Colourful Jester said:
Is it only the land down under? Not others as well?
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Good point, there are others who seem to invest more than I would expect from someone not immersed in the state and local levels of the shit show.

Let me me clear for everyone, by the way, and I want to say this in big letters because I really mean it and I sense it needs to be clarified:

I have no objection to, and indeed a welcome for, comments, insights, observations and commentary from non-Americans. It’s one of the things I like about this place and I value what I learn when y’all contribute. So thank you.

This thread is truly and only about a curiosity that I could not get my mind around, about what motivates people to discuss certain things and in certain ways. I have NO OBJECTION to people doing it, I just felt that I was looking through greased glasses at the action and didn’t understand their opinion as much as I ought and I wanted to understand better.
 
Rhea said:
I just get surprised when folks like Metaphor and Angelo really pull on the Jersey and go in the ring for Moscow Mitch and Rush Limbaugh and Lindsay Graham. Not US policies, but the side-taking over things like whether Pelosi is a hypocrite about ice cream or AOC is a dumb bartender or something. That’s the part that seems so unexpected.
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I suspect Angelo gets baited into it on Facebook.
 
Resurrecting this thread

@Patooka in post no. 20 you mentioned the clip about MP Fraser Anning getting egged. No doubt you thought it was a big hoot at the time. I know people who said he deserved and it was only an egg.

At that time I thought but "what if it were not an egg next time"?

That next time has arrived with the attack of independent MP Helen Haines, and here

We should have taken the attack on Anning more seriously then.
 
Tigers! said:
Resurrecting this thread

@Patooka in post no. 20 you mentioned the clip about MP Fraser Anning getting egged. No doubt you thought it was a big hoot at the time. I know people who said he deserved and it was only an egg.

At that time I thought but "what if it were not an egg next time"?

That next time has arrived with the attack of independent MP Helen Haines, and here

We should have taken the attack on Anning more seriously then.
Click to expand...
Throwing eggs at politicians is a time honored tradition in Australia. Technically it's the reason we have the Federal Police. The two scenarios aren't even remotely comparable. I noticed how you left out how excessive the reaction of Anning's security detail was to that 15 year old kid as well.
 
Patooka said:
Tigers! said:
Resurrecting this thread

@Patooka in post no. 20 you mentioned the clip about MP Fraser Anning getting egged. No doubt you thought it was a big hoot at the time. I know people who said he deserved and it was only an egg.

At that time I thought but "what if it were not an egg next time"?

That next time has arrived with the attack of independent MP Helen Haines, and here

We should have taken the attack on Anning more seriously then.
Click to expand...
Throwing eggs at politicians is a time honored tradition in Australia. Technically it's the reason we have the Federal Police. The two scenarios aren't even remotely comparable. I noticed how you left out how excessive the reaction of Anning's security detail was to that 15 year old kid as well.
Click to expand...

You approve of 15 year olds throwing things at people in public? What if it had been a rock? He was being a brat.

Of course they are comparable. A pollie going about their lives in public was wantonly attacked. Yet now it not eggs that have been thrown. Who will be next?
I supposed you think the fellow being dragged out the car after the attack on Haines was outrageously treated? He should sue for assault. </s>
 
Tigers! said:
Patooka said:
Tigers! said:
Resurrecting this thread

@Patooka in post no. 20 you mentioned the clip about MP Fraser Anning getting egged. No doubt you thought it was a big hoot at the time. I know people who said he deserved and it was only an egg.

At that time I thought but "what if it were not an egg next time"?

That next time has arrived with the attack of independent MP Helen Haines, and here

We should have taken the attack on Anning more seriously then.
Click to expand...
Throwing eggs at politicians is a time honored tradition in Australia. Technically it's the reason we have the Federal Police. The two scenarios aren't even remotely comparable. I noticed how you left out how excessive the reaction of Anning's security detail was to that 15 year old kid as well.
Click to expand...

You approve of 15 year olds throwing things at people in public? What if it had been a rock? He was being a brat.

Of course they are comparable. A pollie going about their lives in public was wantonly attacked. Yet now it not eggs that have been thrown. Who will be next?
I supposed you think the fellow being dragged out the car after the attack on Haines was outrageously treated? He should sue for assault. </s>
Click to expand...
Nope, because I know the difference between egg throwing and attempted vehicular murder.
 
I think this might need a thread of its own.

I doubt that Brendan Nugent's actions had anything to do with US politics.

Would bet that he's mentally ill. At the least that he has existing anger and self control issues. Hardly a rational statement of his political stance.

I hear she's lost a leg and they're fighting to save the other.
 
Rhea said:
I don’t mean the big things, the foreign policy, etc. I think world citizens are right and justified to pay attention to those things, both proactively and reactively.
And I don’t mean the fascination with it, because that also makes sense - when someone does something unusual to you, you are interested in it.

But I find it unexpected the tribalism about the little stuff. The taking of sides. The efforts to bring up fighting topics and put on a jersey.
The most recent one is the Pelosi haircut thing. Another is the partisan goading on the presidential polls thread. Another is the BLM protests and the COVID rules.

So what makes so many people get so invested in the haircuts and ice cream of third tier politicians in other countries? Or the mask policies in a state that you’ll never be in?

Strange stuff. But I’m actually curious.

Again, not the investment in what will shape policy that affects your native country, but the degree of taking sides in the stuff that won’t affect you?
Click to expand...
Can only speak for myself.

I wouldn't know about those small events if I didn't spend time here.

When I see you guys discussing some issue I know nothing about, I often have to Google it. Many times only a name is mentioned in the thread as there is an assumption that anyone reading it will get the reference to prior events.

Others doing the same, I suspect, will express an opinion. Since they've gone to the trouble of finding out what you're talking about.

So my answer is that Aussies interest in the minutiae of US politics is directly related to the fact that peoples' haircuts get discussed here.
 
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