This is not a drill.

On the collapse of unipolar power relations, forming of new alliances & paths for a way forward.

My take? White colonial hegemony is over. Religious nationalism & patriarchal supremacy are flourishing. As successive iterations of climate catastrophe bite, borders will harden further. Any social licence to do this rests on normalising the ‘othering’ of people who are ‘not like (the men who rule) us’. Cultivating hate IS, & will continue to be, the strategy.

What role does Australia choose to play here? Whose interests does our (two party roundabout, media enthralled, policy avoidant, team-sport-distraction running 🎪🤡🎡) government exist to serve? (Hint is in the brackets ⛏️ ⛏️ ⛏️ 😎)

What role do we choose to play, as people? For me, refusing to get sucked into black & white narratives & the demonisation of others, is the start.

Your take may be different from mine & that’s fine - but we’re all in this together. Let’s pay attention, friends.

Who do we want to be?

#NewGlobalOrder #AusPol #ManOfFeathers #FollowTheMoney #ClimateCatastrophe #immigration #FossilFuels #StateCapture #misinformation #polarisation

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/02/dark-era-trump-creating-new-approach-global-politics?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The thread through all this? A feeling of aggrieved entitlement.

When we don’t have the critical thinking skills needed to listen to claims, identify who is making them, assess the evidence they’re based on & notice whose interests are served by the arguments presented, we are Very Vulnerable to manipulation through this feeling.

No wonder political parties of the white patriarchal supremacist right have been systematically defunding the institutions & disciplines that teach these skills.

People are not our enemy. Ignorance is.

#education #history #sociology #philosopy #ethics #CriticalThinking #schools #universities #NeoLiberalism #strategy #manipulation #polarisation #plunder #profit

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2026/apr/18/the-families-torn-apart-by-older-relatives-going-far-right?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

The CfP for our DN34 International Conference on #Discourse, #Identity and #Polarisation is now open. It will be held 10–12 November 2026 at #Vilnius University and online. The call for papers and panel proposals is open until 15 May 2026. This conference provides an interdisciplinary space for examining how individual and group identities are discursively constructed in today’s increasingly polarised societies, and how discourse both reflects and shapes emerging social divisions.

For more information visit: https://discourseanalysis.net/DN34

#DiscourseAnalysis #DiscourseStudies

RE: https://mastodon.social/@why_not/116313985692399808

The role of media in the #polarisation of society

#alttext: "Matt Wuerker political cartoon for Politico August 2018 showing media's preferred coverage of #hategroups"

Interesting take from Alex Feinstein.

Our communities are not polarised. We want a government that governs.

#AusPol #governance #polarisation

Polarisation is a Myth - by Alex Fein https://redbridgeintel.substack.com/p/polarisation-is-a-myth?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

Encore une bonne idée de #la_gauche espagnole. ♥

//

Pedro Sánchez annonce le lancement d'une "empreinte de la haine" pour mesurer la #polarisation sur les #réseaux_sociaux

https://www.rtve.es/noticias/20260311/sanchez-inaugura-madrid-primera-cumbre-internacional-contra-odio-acoso-digital/16974960.shtml?ebu_news_id=16974960&ebu_news_org=RTVE&ebu_news_language=fr#ebu_s_id0000

> Ce nouvel instrument, appelé "#Hodio", permettra, par l'intermédiaire de l'Observatoire espagnol du racisme et de la xénophobie, de mesurer systématiquement la présence, l'évolution et la portée des discours de #haine sur les #plateformes #numériques.

Via #YepNews
#laGauche

Wenn politische Systeme ihre Mitte verlieren
Warum Polarisierung den Raum des Kompromisses zerstört.
👉 https://whisper7.substack.com/p/wenn-politische-systeme-ihre-mitte

#Politik #Philosophie #Gesellschaft #Demokratie #Polarisierung

When Political Systems Lose Their Centre
Why polarisation destroys the space of compromise.
👉 https://whisper7.substack.com/p/when-political-systems-lose-their

#Politics #Philosophy #Society #Democracy #Polarisation

As A/Professor Josh Roose points out, none of this is happening in a vacuum.

While culture wars are incited & weaponised for partisan advantage we cannot begin to change direction.

The question becomes: how do we circumvent this kind of grubby politics?

Leadership from an elected government, working cooperatively with all others who wish to promote understanding rather than hatred, would be a great start.

If only. #AusPol #polarisation #hate

The horrific bashing of LGBTQ+ teens is a sign of a dangerous Islamic State resurgence https://theconversation.com/the-horrific-bashing-of-lgbtq-teens-is-a-sign-of-a-dangerous-islamic-state-resurgence-276953?utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20February%2027%202026%20-%203688337710&utm_content=Latest%20from%20The%20Conversation%20for%20February%2027%202026%20-%203688337710+CID_38ef2514d80e08978c5c4d7a5d289d77&utm_source=campaign_monitor&utm_term=The%20horrific%20bashing%20of%20LGBTQ%20teens%20is%20a%20sign%20of%20a%20dangerous%20Islamic%20State%20resurgence