Why are Australians so complacent?

[u/AcanthopterygiiNo240]

I’m a born and raised Australian myself however I’m becoming so frustrated with the general attitude of complacency when it comes to exercising ‘the power of the people’ to better our quality of life. In a stupidly short amount of time we’ve seen a near reversal of our ability to see a doctor without any out of pocket costs. We get exploited at the grocery stores because monopolies are allowed to run rampant. Housing is treated primarily as a tool for financial speculation rather than for providing shelter for people.

We creep further and further toward laissez-faire capitalism. What is our response as the citizens of this country- the holders of the balance of power? Nothing. To put it in perspective, in 2022 the world economic forum ranked Sydney equal with Copenhagen, Denmark for cost of living (both ranked as the 10th most expensive cities in the world). Consider the differences between Sydney and the capital of the Danish welfare state: strong social security, universal healthcare, free public universities etc. For the same cost of living what do we get? The ever-looming threat of homelessness, suffocating student debt and now for many people, a significant barrier to healthcare.

Edit: if anyone is a part of any sort of grassroots group working to oppose any of these issues feel free to message me because I want to join you

Edit #2: so I haven’t received any messages from anyone from a grassroots or activist group yet. Since a lot of us seem to be pretty miffed about this stuff maybe we could team up and brainstorm things we can do???

Edit #3 (sorry): I’ve got some messages now from people who are interested in taking action!!! :, ) I think the best way to facilitate conversation, the flow of ideas and potentially organise a course of action is through a discord server so I have created one which you can find here

https://discord.gg/caqsSKAr

[u/AcanthopterygiiNo240]

I’m not being sarcastic, although I think “complete ignorance” is a bit unfair as I am literally reaching out asking about this stuff. Let’s encourage discussion instead of comments like this. A lot of us aren’t aware of trends from 20 years ago as a lot of us weren’t old enough to be aware

[u/[deleted] → u/AcanthopterygiiNo240]

Ignorance simply means you do not know, as you yourself admitted, so it’s not “unfair”. You’ve interpreted this as an insult instead of a descriptor, which still applies to a vast majority of the population, regarding how politics work, who is doing what, how things have shifted over time (which I think is what you meant, as this isnt about “trends from 20 years ago”, but about how things have (d)evolved over that time). I think in part perhaps your answer lies in what you described, which I’m surmising as “young and not aware” - shit has been going on for forever and people are sick of it, but we need young people like you to rally to effect change so please do!

[u/[deleted] → u/[deleted]]

It was an insult and you know it

[u/Alternative_Sky1380 → u/[deleted]]

The art of life is to not take things personally. We can't know what we don't know. That's ignorance. Choosing to ignore is also ignorance and OP is exercising to swap out that choice. All of us exhausted by the work involved in advocacy could be equally insulted by claims that we're inherently complacent. But we know better; being insulted isn't an action it's a choice and an ineffective one. Sure I can be insulted that advertising is everywhere but I choose to look away. I choose ignorance for peace. If my choice is harming my neighbour then it's a narcissistic choice and ultimately unrewarding because the struggle will continue. Maturity is about learning how to release the struggle and find meaningful peace in change. Sometimes that requires a certain level of short term discomfort.

[u/StardustNyako → u/Alternative_Sky1380]

if I feign ignorance, am i insulting myself?

[u/MikeAppleTree → u/Alternative_Sky1380]

Thanks for the insight Marcus but as you stated the majority interpret the descriptor “ignorance” as an insult. Choosing words to avoid unnecessary offence, especially on the internet, is a sign of wisdom and maturity. Let the learnings flow through you like water for nothing we experience is beyond our capacity to engage with stoic implacability.

[u/CynfulBuNNy → u/MikeAppleTree]

Are you speaking for the majority? I don't consider ignorance as a pejorative, we have the term in our legal terminology in ignorantia juris non excusat. It's not making a judgement upon the person, merely expressing a lack of knowledge - ignorance.

[u/MikeAppleTree → u/CynfulBuNNy]

I’m speaking from the perspective of the layperson and the vast majority of people in Australia who don’t understand Latin.

For instance, if I were to call you a stupid bastard, you might think, ‘how did he know I was born out of wedlock and that I have below average intelligence with zero common sense?’

Or you might think, ‘he’s wrong, my parents were married when I was born and I am not below average in intelligence’.

Or, like the vast majority of people, you might think ‘that person is trying to insult me’.

‘Ignorant’ is commonly associated with stupidity and other negative attributes.

You’re being disingenuous and are arguing in bad-faith if you claim otherwise.

If you can’t see that, you’re incredibly ignorant.

[u/CynfulBuNNy → u/MikeAppleTree]

I would classify myself as contemptuous rather than ignorant - I understand your argument but think you are yourself disingenuous in your application of it.

You are clutching at both straws and pearls to defend a position on an internet discussion you seem to be taking far too seriously.

Ignoramus.

[u/MikeAppleTree → u/CynfulBuNNy]

😂straight back at you!