What’s behind the Vitriol of Ardern’s Fangirls?

In C. S. Lewis’ The Silver Chair, the marvellous climax of the story sees the clique of bullies who’ve long ruled the “progressive” education institution, Experiment House, given a taste of their own medicine.

“Their faces changed, and all the meanness, conceit, cruelty, and sneakishness almost disappeared in one single expression of terror…in two minutes all the bullies were running like mad, crying out, ‘Murder! Fascists! Lions! It isn’t fair.’”

Could anything better describe the reaction of the petty bullies of New Zealand’s own “Experiment House”, the politicians and their media hangers-on in the Beehive, when so many long-suffering people of New Zealand rose up against them?

Especially when their beloved Saint Jacinda’s halo has slipped so far that it’s practically an ankle-bracelet?

With recent polling showing National edging ahead of Labour for the first time in two years, Jacinda Ardern‘s previously strong support has eroded rapidly since winning a remarkable outright majority at the 2020 general election.

But the dip in electoral fortunes is only part of the story. It’s probably not an overstatement to say Ardern is one of the most reviled people in Aotearoa New Zealand, attracting vitriol that violates the bounds of normal, reasoned political debate.

Note that phrase carefully: “vitriol that violates the bounds of normal, reasoned political debate”.

Then consider the following attacks:

“extreme right-wing conspiracists”

“sexist and misogynistic attitudes and beliefs, further amplified by conspiratorial mindsets.”

“sexism and misogyny inherent in these traditionalist beliefs”

“sexist and misogynist bias”

NZ Herald

How does any of that vitriol qualify as “reasoned political debate”? None of that is debate, it’s abuse. In fact, resorting to little more than ad-hominem attacks and parroting cliched, vitriolic left-wing catch-phrases is arguably the very definition of “reasoned political debate”.

We saw, of course, the same hypocrisy from the media-left during the Julia Gillard years in Australia. The same people who smashed John Howard pinatas, called Tony Abbott a “paedo” and wrote lurid fantasies about punching him in the face, screeched “misogyny!” when a placard at a demonstration merely caricatured Gillard as a witch on a broomstick.

Furthermore, a dig through the Suze Wilson’s own online history suggests that she ought to be the last person throwing stones.

There’s the de rigeur Trump Derangement Syndrome, of course. Trump is “utterly vile”, a “terrorist leader”. There’s a string of the sort of vitriol that violates the bounds of reasoned debate: “true horror”, “demagogue”, “fascist”.

Suggesting that she’s not quite the deep thinker she apparently wants to be thought as, Wilson also parrots the long-disproved lie that Trump said that, “Nazis and racists are good people and they have my support”.

Closer to home, Wilson spares not an ounce of vitriol when it comes to the Freedom Protesters in Wellington: “disgusting”, “far right fascism”, “facilitating terrorism”. An ugly, hateful cartoon defaming the protesters as “white supremacists”, she says is “bang on”.

New Zealand’s leaders are reviled with the very sort of language and conspiratorial thinking she is clutching her pearls over: David Seymour is “A trifecta of extreme sexism, racism & libertarian nonsense”. Winston Peters is “a sympathizer/enabler/collaborator of extremists”. Anyone who criticises transgender ideology must “FUCK OFF”.

Suze Wilson’s own writing and her Twitter feed indeed say more about the hater than it does her frequent targets of unhinged vitriol.