With the events of just the last few days coming to mind - the disgraceful attack by LNP MP Angie Bell on Ann Aly “suggesting” Aly “be stoned in the square” .. plus the toxic reframing by One Nation of Jacqui Lambies’s health condition as a very public sick joke - which Pauline Hanson later described as “satirical” and that Lambie should “just get over it” - many of us have recoiled with disgust at the depth of controversy and outrage that some politicians are determined to stir up to grab a bite of notoriety. There seems to be no depth that can’t be plumbed to rage bait, divide and desensitise the masses towards misogyny, racism, prejudice and hatred. Eventually there comes a point where the consequences outweigh the provocations. Many would now be asking themselves questions about the unconscionable attack on Independent MP, Helen Haines outside her electorate office today that has left her in a critical condition and her family and supporters in shock. How could something like this happen to somebody like Helen Haines, one of the most uncontroversial, one of the most hardworking and one of the most stable MPs in our federal parliament? When do we start to see the consequences of many different actions over a period of time and draw reasonable conclusions as to what aids and abets displays of hate and violence in our communities? The old adage “sticks and stones will break your bones but words will never harm us” - doesn’t take into account the power of our modern mass communications, our media - the influence they hold and the malignant intentions of those behind the power of the spoken and the written word. What is said by politicians, what is said in the media and what we are exposed to online does affect us - very often negatively - especially those who are more susceptible and more likely to be primed and triggered by rage baiting, misinformation, AI lies, gaslighting, culture wars and punching down on vulnerable groups of people. When do we look at the negative consequences of multiple actions from multiple sources and decide that enough really is enough? PM Anthony Albanese has called to “turn down the temperature” in Australian politics following the attack on Helen Haines. It’s good advice and those with a modicum of commonsense are listening and understanding - but what about those protagonists who continue to capitalise on the same outrage, anger, division and hatred that has drip fed us into these outcomes? Do you think they’ll collectively pull their heads out of their festering orifices to smell the roses and tone it down? No… because these are the outcomes that they work towards. They aren’t surprised. They aren’t shocked. Like Jacqui Lambie says - “nastiness is pushing us towards anarchy”. …Which given the escalating tensions around the world provided by using similar populist strategies - may have an element of truth regarding an anarchical outcome. See it for what it is. This kind of violence is not acceptable. It is also not inevitable. Governments and people do have to stand up to the drivers of populist politics. The world cannot survive continued violence. There is no happy ending that can be born out of hate.