Rita Panahi: In tough times, rely on the Greens for a laugh
The Greens trying to turn the coronavirus crisis into a gender issue has at least provided the rest of us with a reason to laugh, even if we’re also shaking our heads, writes Rita Panahi.
Rita Panahi
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Trust the Greens to provide some comic relief at a time when the world is reeling from a once-in-a-lifetime catastrophe. Of course the laughs are unintended and due to the Greens’ reliable reserves of idiocy. The identity politics-obsessed far-Left party won’t allow a little thing like a global pandemic to get in the way of its hobby horses: toxic racial politics, intersectional feminism and anything that divides us into distinct groups based on factors beyond any individual’s control.
And, of course, they are shamelessly using the coronavirus crisis to promote insane socialist and environmental policies that would cripple the economy long term. This week Greens Senator Mehreen Faruqi gave a speech in parliament that initially went unnoticed but is now being mocked internationally.
Perhaps Faruqi expected plaudits on Left-leaning Twitter when she shared excerpts a couple of days after addressing the Upper House; but instead she’s been met with ridicule and howls of incredulous laughter. Faruqi said: “Let us not forget that COVID-19 is a gendered crisis. Nurses, nurse aids, teachers, child carers and early childhood educators, aged-care workers and cleaners are mostly women. They are on the front line of this public health crisis and carry a disproportionate risk of being exposed to the virus.”
Never mind the folly of injecting gender politics into an issue that should be above politics but the reality is the overwhelming majority of those who have died from coronavirus, about 70 per cent, are male. That was something Faruqi failed to mention in a speech where she also said: “A stimulus that does not have at its heart a green new deal for all does not come close to passing the humanity test.”
The Greens preoccupation with race, gender, sexuality and the politics of envy mean they’re not above using a global tragedy to push tired narratives, even if the facts contradict them. In Italy, where the coronavirus mortality rate is hovering around 10 per cent, men make up about 60 per cent of confirmed infections and more than 70 per cent of fatalities.
In South Korea, which has one of the lowest mortality rates, women make up 61 per cent of confirmed cases but men are still more likely to die: 54 per cent of deaths from the virus.
As thousands pointed out to Faruqi on social media, it’s a bit rich to say women are disproportionally affected when men are dying in greater numbers. When looking at confirmed coronavirus cases globally, the infection has been fatal for 4.7 per cent of men and 2.8 per cent of women, according to World Health Organisation figures released this month. From day one, woke point scoring has coloured coverage of this crisis locally and internationally. Journalists, commentators, academics and politicians have tried to insert race into an issue that has nothing to do with race. The hysterical criticism of Western governments for imposing travel bans against China exposed the depth of this malaise. Even medical journals weren’t immune. Last month The Lancet published a piece from 16 health law scholars who claimed travel restrictions against China were not only unlawful but driven by “fear, misinformation, racism and xenophobia” rather than science.
New York City is the epicentre of the virus in the US. More than half of US infections have come from the NYC metro area. Of course overcrowded trains and close living conditions have added to the crisis but public health officials in NY were more concerned with virtue signalling about diversity and the stigma of the virus than warning people of the dangers.
Everyone from Mayor Bill de Blasio to NYC health commissioner Oxiris Barbot to Chair of the NYC Council health committee Mark Levine urged New Yorkers to “get on the town despite coronavirus”. In Australia people were scolded as ignorant for not frequenting Chinese restaurants even though most of the patrons staying away were Asian Australians.
Meanwhile, this month the Greens celebrated the state parliament voting “yes” for their motion for an inquiry into how Victoria could replace all gas and coal and become 100 per cent dependent on renewable energy. But right now we are getting a taste of what life under the Greens would look like: no flights, no jobs and industry crippled. Indeed some environmental crusaders, including coronavirus infected actor Idris Elba, suggested the virus was earth’s revenge against the human race. And this month the Sydney Morning Herald published a piece on “things to love about COVID-19” including: “Lower emissions. With Chinese factories closed and transportation cut, there has been 40 per cent decline in output, cutting CO2 emissions in half at least for the past month.” Diabolical.
Rita Panahi is a Herald Sun columnist.