Why are you even here? We all know that 90% of these articles exist solely for a catchy headline. Now that you are, let me lure you into subscribing to my monthly newsletter that you’ll never open anyways!
No but seriously, this is a tactic used by gun right advocates in the US. And it works. News cycles on dramatic events obviously ramp up clicks on a topic when something occurs. Stalling at these times leads to less talk about an issue.
But in this case, that won’t really work. And you know, what. In this case, I may actually agree with people yammering on about this not being the right time to talk about these things.
Climate change is LIKELY to be behind why our bushfire seasons are getting worse. For those nerds out there, like me, who paid attention in high school geography class, yes, El Nino effects – mass changes which occur in Ocean Currents that lead to seasons of terrible drought and increased fire-risks – can affect the Eastern Coast of Australia. They occur periodically, in cycles. But right now, we’re not in an El Nino cycle. Climate change is very likely a reason why we’re currently in one of the worst fire season, despite us being in November (that’s STILL SPRING in Australia!), in decades.
But right now, we’re getting people talking about climate change constantly. Protests are helping do that, for sure. But this, in an emergency, where news is rightly focusing on updating people on fires, and how to stay safe, and in an issue which isn’t as obviously caused by an issue to most reasonable people’s eyes, may not be the best time to talk about it.
But also right now, politicians are racing to see who can grab the most attention out of this. People have been blaming the Greens (a left leaning environmentalist party) for not supporting backburning, a practice where you deprive potential future fires of fuel by controlled burning of bush brush. That’s not true. And though I’d say it’s a stretch for a Greens senator to retaliate by calling coalition politicians “arsonists,” what ex power-broker of the right-leaning coalition party, Barnaby Joyce said next went WAY too far.
2 people died in fires yesterday. And this person, who was once in the running to be our PM, insinuated that their political affiliation led to their death.
HOW THE HELL IS THIS EVER OKAY TO SAY?
Why is THIS not something that should ever be said?
What are your thoughts on the matter? I’d love to know. Check out my other satirical posts/stories of funny things that kept me smiling during hospital. And yeah, if you’d actually like to join that email list to get word of my next post – you can do so here.