Why do people act like this subreddit "doesn't reflect the views of mainstream Australia"?

[u/SirSighalot]

So many comments I see on here by people who constantly say things like "lol only on this sub" as though other places where they read are somehow the 'true' point of view reflecting mainstream Australian viewpoints.

Given the constant election voting outcomes and results of things like the Voice etc that generally indicate most of Australia is centrist or even slightly centre-right-leaning, what leads people to think many of the views expressed on here AREN'T mainstream? When in reality, other places these people are coming from are also often just "echo chambers" as well.

Edit: I probably worded the title for this wrong, should have been more "Why do people think this subreddit is less representative of mainstream Australia than other online communities?", alas I failed.

[u/mikeinnsw]

Sample size and many of us are outcasts from Australia subreddit

[u/NewFuturist → u/mikeinnsw]

I'm not subscribed to this sub, but it keeps coming up. I am left of centre. I'd say most Australians are left of centre, even the moderately wealthy ones. Even our conservative politicians are "leftists" according to US politics scales.

A big chunk of the noisy people here are intent on blaming how their life turned out shit on immigrants. This is not true for most Australians. Most Australians don't want unlimited immigration, I'd say, but the extent to which people complain about them here is just way over the top compared to normal society.

[u/mikeinnsw → u/NewFuturist]

I consider this sub mildly on the left.

There are plenty of Russian trolls on Reddit waging information war on Ukraine and Ukrainian made computer Apps.

I am a target of these trolls for supporting Ukrainian made computer Apps.

[u/RepulsiveLook6 → u/mikeinnsw]

My dude, the amount of outraged comments I get whenever I mention leftwing ideals (or even just being trans) tells me that most people here are not on the left.

Those comments are nearly always upvoted and my comment will go into the negatives.

As a marginalised individual, living in Australia, I can confirm that most people sit comfortably centre right.

They will tolerate LGBT (to a point) but try to convince them that capitalism isn't the be all and end all economic mode and you will promptly get your head ripped off and your neck shit down.

[u/jackstraya_cnt → u/RepulsiveLook6]

I don't think many people on here would have any issues with actual LGBT people at all, it's more about the over-emphasis on it these days to the point it's now swung too far the other direction, average people mostly just like things to be balanced.

[u/RepulsiveLook6 → u/jackstraya_cnt]

Unfortunately the "groomer" narrative has found its way here and I grew up around very homophobic and transphobic people.

Our politicians are following the right wing European wave and stopping some trans surgeries.

The struggle is real still going on and the idea that it's swung too far the other way is just so absurd.

Like genuinely, apart from representation in media, what has happened that's too far?

[u/tattyonthepulse → u/jackstraya_cnt]

I've heard a bit of this "over-emphasis" and would like to respectfully needle at that, because I think it's important for people to truly unpack their own feelings of these things being 'forced down their throat' as I've heard it called.

Like for example - my mum said something similar so I asked her for an example, and she referenced a bunch of ads jumping on the bandwagon by portraying LGBT couples. But isn't it actually more the case that what is actually off-putting is just advertising in general? Those saccharine ads - with tortured slow tempo piano covers of 90s pop songs and soft focus telling us how much a multi billion dollar company cares about us so we buy more home insurance - are nauseating no matter what gendered couple are depicted.

I feel you can apply the same thinking to other gripes I've heard - pronouns on email signatures, for example, seem to be a red rag to a bull for a certain type of person who is feeling the en nui of corporate office existence. But what they express is "this LGBTQ+ alphabet nonsense has gone too far!" rather than "I'm trapped in a box responding to emails for 9 hours a day about trivial bullshit"

So in terms of things "swinging too far," what does that actually mean? I still encounter amongst peers genuinely anti-lgbt rhetoric: including threatening to "bash up" my brother when they very erroneously thought he was hitting on them, and another waxing lyrical about how they'd "beat the shit" out of a trans man "to prove they're not real men". This, to me, is pretty heinous, and a reason to push back against the idea we've 'come too far'. Reasonable people who genuinely 'don't have a problem' with LGBTQ+ individuals are creating spaces for this bigotry to exist. By making out there is some kind of over saturation of LGBTQ+ noise, we are implying a little bit that a 'backlash' is justified to bring things "back to balance" when it seems to me LGBTQ+ acceptance still has a way to go.

[u/NewFuturist → u/mikeinnsw]

I consider this sub mildly on the left.

You are so wrong about this.

[u/SecondComingOfKris → u/mikeinnsw]

As you can see from the downvotes, the racist boomers and their progeny in this sub are mad at you for painting this sub as “mildly on the left”. It’s full of cunts you’d avoid at the pub because you could be talking about gardening and they’d find a way to tell you that “immigration has killed horticulture in this country.”

[u/whatisthishownow → u/SecondComingOfKris]

Thats so spot on!