Fraser Anning is egged by 17-year-old William Connolly. Photo / Supplied
Fraser Anning is egged by 17-year-old William Connolly. Photo / Supplied
COMMENT
We need to talk about Egg Boy. Right now, much of the internet thinks 17-year-old William Connolly is a hero.
In the wake of the Christchurch terrorist attack, which claimed the lives of 50 worshippers on Friday, Senator Fraser Anning put out a despicable, victim-blaming press release saying the "real cause of bloodshed on New Zealand streets today is the immigration program which allowed Muslim fanatics to migrate to New Zealand in the first place".
On Saturday, Connolly, armed with only his smartphone and a free range 70g beauty (I'm guessing), smashed the egg over the back of the controversial politician's head during a press conference in Melbourne. Anning then threw two angry slaps at the teenager before two of the senator's supporters, both wearing their Saturday best thongs'n'shorts combo, violently wrestled Connolly to the ground, holding him in a headlock.
(Connolly was briefly taken into custody by police but released without charge.)
Later, in a video posted by ABC journalist Rashida Yosufzai, Connolly, who appears to have black eyes said: "Don't egg politicians, you get tackled by 30 bogans at the same time, I learnt the hard way. F**k."
Footage and photos of the attack went viral almost immediately, and social media hailed Egg Boy as a modern-day champion. Since then, a funding page to help pay for any legal fees the teen might incur, has reached nearly $40,000, far surpassing the $4000 goal.
Much of the public consensus seems to be that Egg Boy is the hero we need for our meme-able times. That he is one man standing up for what is right in the face of a racist man spewing hate during a time of global mourning.
However, what Egg Boy did was the wrong way to express a nation's righteous anger towards this man.
Senator Anning's comments about the Muslim community and the violence in Christchurch (and the fact he then attended a gun show yesterday) are vile and repugnant. Senators Mathias Cormann and Penny Wong plan to lead a censure motion when parliament resumes and rightly so. Senator Anning's brand of hatred has no place in Canberra.
All that said, is what legally might constitute an assault the right way to go about expressing your disagreement? Nope.
Egg Boy's heart was in the right place, and given the opportunity, I would love to smash an egg or a pie to make a huge, gloopy, embarrassing mess all over Senator Anning's noggin.
But just because I want to does not mean I should do it.
In the United States, political discourse has taken a battering in the wake of Donald Trump's election. The vitriol and partisan nature of their government debate has created an environment that is nasty and petty beyond belief.
In the United Kingdom, as the nation teeters on the brink of Brexit, the opposing sides have only grown more antagonistic and aggressive the closer we get to March 29.
Please don't let that happen in Australia.
We might have two major parties right now with all the charisma and vision of floppy white bread but our national political conversation remains robust and civil.
That's the way we need it to stay, not to devolve into some stunt-led parody.
This isn't university student elections — you can't just resort to a dozen eggs every time someone voices an opinion you disagree with, no matter how satisfying that might be on occasion.
Fraser Anning is egged by 17-year-old William Connolly. Photo / Supplied
There will always be idiots in positions of power who will have national platforms to voice their disgraceful ideas. That's the downside of democracy. (The upside: Democracy sausages!) But the way to confront that and address these sorts of figures and their horrid beliefs isn't by stocking up on baking supplies and taking things into your own hands.
So, William Connolly, my advice would be this: Bide your time. Turn 18. Register to vote and stand in the next election because boy, oh boy, you will romp it in. And then you will really be able to smash a few eggs — metaphorically speaking of course.
