As Australia reels from the shocking death of Wilson Gavin, the young, gay conservative bullied into taking his own life by social media ‘rainbow’ thugs, outgoing Tasmanian premier Will Hodgman has indicated that social media bullying played no small part in his decision to quit. Especially when the bullies are targeting his kids.
Social media’s dark side is a new consideration for politicians with children, says Tasmania’s outgoing premier, Will Hodgman, revealing his own kids had been “roped into” “unpleasant” online political attacks.
The political left like to preen themselves as the sole arbiters of ‘kindness’ in politics, but they are too often the worst bullies imaginable. Politicians’ families, children especially, were once strictly off-limits. But, as Barron and Melania Trump know, such rules of politesse and kindness don’t apply to them. As Wilson Gavin found out in the worst possible way, social media is a cesspit of foaming hatred.
The premier of six years […]today suggested social media had become an added consideration for people pursuing a political career.
“There’s no doubt that these days, with social media that is pervasive, which our kids are very connected to and involved with, there can be impacts through what I do, how it’s reported,” Mr Hodgman told local radio […]He confirmed his children — Will, James and Lily — had been impacted by social media attacks on him and also directly targeted themselves.
“There are circumstances where they get roped into stuff on social media — it can be unpleasant and it can be damaging to kids right across our state,” he said.
Hodgman has seen for himself how the rules have been re-written in the sewers of Twitter and Facebook.
Mr Hodgman, 50, also grew up in a political household; his late father Michael being a Fraser government minister and later state MP and party leader, his uncle Peter also a state MP during some of his formative years.
While there were pressures then, social media had added a new dimension, he suggested. “I make no complaints at all but the point I was making is that I grew up in an entirely different environment,” he said.
theaustralian.com.au/nation/politics/outgoing-tasmania-premier-will-hodgman-admits-his-children-targeted-on-social-media/
We all like to mock and belittle our politicians – and, frankly, too many of them deserve it – but seriously: who’d envy a politician these days?
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