Show us your citizenship: why the Tony Abbott birthers want to believe | Cam Smith

Australian left-wing conspiracy theories, just as nutty on the left and the US “birthers” on the right vis-a-vis Obama:

Why are people so willing to believe this stuff? Like the Obama birth certificate crowd, the idea that a hated politician can be brought undone without going through all the rigmarole of building a true political alternative is attractive. The proposition of Abbott facing karmic justice for the harsh nature of his government’s policies only adds to that attraction.

What is largely forgotten in the excitement is that this sort of thing can easily go both ways. If Abbott could be bundled off to the slammer for defrauding the Commonwealth in this way, why not honorary Israeli citizen Bob Hawke, or any other of the many MPs who have knowingly or unknowingly entered parliament as dual citizens over the decades.

Jello Biafra once gave some excellent advice: it’s possible to mix arthritis cream with hallucinogens and spread the resulting mixture on the doorhandles of police cars in order to dose the occupants.

He also gave some more relevant advice in 2012, at the Melbourne Festival. Appearing on a panel with The Church singer Steve Kilbey, Biafra said that rather than getting distracted by conspiracy theories about things that you couldn’t possibly hope to change, even if they were true, your time is better served by working towards more practical political goals.

Show us your citizenship: why the Tony Abbott birthers want to believe | Cam Smith | Comment is free | theguardian.com.