Australia does not suffer from a lack of empathy. It suffers from selective empathy. And nowhere is that clearer than in the way our political and media class decide who is allowed to mourn. Andrew Brown with the story.
Thursday night at the Opera House was a masterclass in performative sorrow. Premiers, the opposition leader and the prime minister lined up, kippahs in place, voices lowered, faces solemn. Cameras rolled. Statements were delivered. Condolences stacked neatly on top of one another. This was not an isolated moment. It was the latest act in a month-long production of national grief.
Mourning Bondi. Australia’s hierarchy of grief