Home Opinion 'Egg Boy' becomes 'Poster Boy' for youth this election
'Egg Boy' becomes 'Poster Boy' for youth this election
MONIQUE ALEXANDRA NICHOLLS
Screen grab of Fraser Anning being egged by 17-year-old Will Connolly ('egg boy')
It will likely go down as one of the most famous moments in Australia's embarrassing, as of late, political history.
All you have to do is google 'Egg Boy' to see a slew of footage showing 17-year-old Will Connolly slamming an egg into Senator Fraser Anning's head, or an entire page of Egg Boy memes.
SBS has called Connolly "The internet's political hero".
Connolly's actions echoed the sentiments of much of Australia's youth, with an influx of over 200,000 new followers on his social media accounts and a GoFundMe page that has raised more than $50,000. Connolly says he is donating the money to victims of the New Zealand mosque attacks as another reaction to Senator Anning's Islamophobic remarks.
The egging seems to be the culmination of political tomfoolery that began when Julia Gillard stole the PM title from Kevin Rudd in 2013. The role's been hand-balled a few times since then.
Australia's youth is demanding more from their politicians – they want these representatives to actually care about policies and understand that young people are being affected by them. Connolly is like the poster boy of a generation whose opinions don't seem to be getting heard in Canberra.
Here's how I changed them: And, sadly, Egg Boy's actions might not have been needed if white supremacists hadn't been allowed in political roles. We live in a time when an Australian politician can be expelled for having dual citizenship but stays in office after xenophobic comments.
With Australia-wide rallies for climate change by school students, and many young vegans protesting for an end to animal cruelty, youth are at the forefront of political debate in this country.
Following the egging, I spoke to a mother from Connolly's school whose view, she said, mirrored that of the students and parents; he was a hero, just as SBS said, and they hope that the school does not reprimand him for his actions. The imbecilic action of smacking an egg into someone's head speaks volumes about the state of our current political woes.
While PM Scott Morrison has called a May 18 election, the process itself seems purely ritualistic in a landscape where the Australian electorate can no longer trust that who they vote for will last full term.
auspol
Federal Election
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