James Morrow: In world of the woke it all comes back to power politics

To figure out the new cultural climate and why offended feelings cause far more outrage than an actual physical assault, understand that the left is all about power, writes James Morrow.

In case you haven’t noticed, we live in a world where the old rules don’t apply.

By now, most Australians are familiar with the case of Israel Folau, who was turfed by Rugby Australia for an Instagram post suggesting that gays (as well as drunks, fornicators, idolaters and assorted other sinners) would be bound for hell if they didn’t “repent” and find Jesus.

Fewer people might be familiar with the case of Stavros Economides, the KPMG senior partner who a few days ago pleaded guilty to stabbing a Tony Abbott campaign worker with a corkscrew the night before last month’s federal election.

The world of the woke. Art: Terry Pontikos

Folau, of course, made headlines around the world, with his detractors setting him up as an example of what happens if you deviate from the doctrine of ­inclusivity.

Economides’ case, on the other hand, has rated barely a mention, with no mass calls for his sacking or chin-stroking worries about Australia’s ­politics taking a dark, violent turn.

What gives?

Why is an act of physical assault in the name of politics — exactly the sort of thing that goes against our peaceful, democratic ethos — all but ignored in the public square, while a few words on social media are enough to see a talented star cast out into the outer darkness?

It all makes sense when seen through the prism of progressive politics, or “wokeness”, which has become all but a form of secular religion in many parts of Australia and the West. The saints and sinners are all there in the form of oppressed and oppressor, and the devil walks among us in the form of straight white men.

In practical terms, it means that if somebody does something to offend the politics of groupthink they are done for, while if an action pushes the right political buttons, they have a far better chance of getting away clean — or even being celebrated.

Need proof?

Just take 30 seconds to imagine what would have occurred had, say, a Tony Abbott volunteer or a One Nation poll worker assaulted a pamphleteer for Zali Stegall or someone putting up posters for the ALP.

We’d be hearing calls for a royal commission into far-right political violence from here to next Christmas. It would send the woke-o-metre right off the charts.

It’s also why the argument that Folau wasn’t axed for his religious beliefs but simply because of the potential danger to sponsor relationships doesn’t make any sense, either.

Recall that a few years ago as captain of the Queensland Bulls, Usman Khawaja refused to wear the XXXX beer logo on his uniform, citing his Islamic faith — which like Folau’s, incidentally, is not that big on drunks or fornicators either.

Yet rather than cop a pasting and be told to wear the logo or go home, Khawaja was celebrated for taking a strong, moral stance in the name of Islam.

As measured on the woke-o-metre, Islam scores highly, thanks to historical grievances against the West such as the Crusades as well as more immediate controversies around racism and immigration.

In short, while your average Muslim might see himself simply as a proud member of an ancient faith, in the world of the woke and progressive, he is just another victim with all that entails.

Meanwhile Christianity — Folau’s faith — is about as un-woke as you can get, being such a pillar of Western civilisation, which has only given us moderns a few crumbs like individual rights and an obligation to care for the poor.

This is of course also why there is such a difference between the treatment of Folau and that of the rugby league players who refused to sing Advance Australia Fair at last week’s State of Origin.

Again, it all makes sense if you just put it through your woke-o-metre.

Sure, the players who stayed silent made their protest on company time, while Folau did his on his own — though it should be said that as far as making a point goes, NSW’s Cody Walker, Latrell Mitchell and Josh Addo-Carr certainly made theirs with dignity and without the sort of take-a-knee grandstanding we’ve seen in America’s NFL.

But they were also celebrated, particularly on the ABC, even though plenty of people would have found their act — or non-act, to be more specific — offensive, and others might have thought it, like Folau’s meme, a distraction from the game.

Why?

Because in the world of the woke it all comes back to power politics.

Or as Lenin put it back in 1921, “The whole question is, who will overtake whom?” — a question later neatly shorthanded into the equation, “who, whom?”

Post-settlement Australia?

Bad, because the power dynamic went the wrong way. And anyone who wants to have a crack at it is more than welcome.

But if you can claim the cloak of victimhood, well, you can stay shtum for the anthem, offend your sponsors, or use a corkscrew for something other than its intended delicious purpose and there’s a chance you might be feted as a hero.