It's only a few words on a forum, there could be so much more to it that I don't know about, but on the face of it, saying "We are now at WAR I despise you" is really a terrible thing to say. It's a terrible thing to say on a personal level, very aggressive, angry and uncalled for. It's the sort of thing that your Mum or Dad would (or should) be upset to hear you say if you were 10 years old. They'd have a way of making you calm down, and then have a good talk to you about what made you so angry, and find a way to untangle the knot of rage that you got yourself tied up in.
It's also a terrible thing to say on a collective, community level, when we have so much conflict in our public-facing lives, amplified by social media and its algorithms which encourage anger and conflict to drive engagement and glue your eyeballs to the screen. Anger and conflict are also encouraged by forces who set out to sow unrest for its own sake or to manipulate people for their own political ends, e.g. grievance politics, culture wars etc..
Black Cat, take a leaf out of Peter Dutton's book... his concession speech was a masterclass in human decency, acknowledging at the most fundamental level the humanity of the two people who had just vanquished him in such a comprehensive way - Anthony Albanese and Ali France, in the latter case even acknowledging the loss of her son. It is the absolute opposite of "despising" a fellow human being. The election might have been the end of his legacy in one way, but that speech had the potential to be the start.
So Black Cat, I don't "despise" you and your pals. Obviously it's not been a good election result for you. I don't care what the fringe figures of your Murdoch press and the amateur rage-merchants of social media might say about left wing edge-lords like me, if I meet you down at Wimbie Beach throwing a stick for your dog I'll be only too happy to have a chat and find common ground.
Yes, kindness is an important issue, I welcome its resurgence.
Now back to my hotcopper retirement.
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