Niceness oppression

July 31, 2026

There is a broader issue that is expressed in Screw Nice (2026) by Amy Remeikis – the politics of civility that is invoked to shut up and suppress dissent. Federal and state Labor governments have, for instance, opposed freedom of assembly and free speech by those opposed to Israel’s apartheid and ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians. Instead, we have the equivalent of Senator Joe McCarthy’s Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations – a Royal Commission on Antisemitism and Social Cohesion. McCarthy was on a crusade to expose communism. Our Royal Commission is on a crusade to support Israel and Zionism and expose opposition to apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide. The essence of Amy’s book is that those in power use the demand of civility from opponents of oppression e.g. don’t protest in the streets, don’t support Palestine and don’t accuse Israel of apartheid and ethnic cleansing and genocide – don’t be impolite and don’t speak truth to power.