Australia has overwhelmingly rejected Labor’s proposal for an ‘Indigenous Voice to Parliament’. Had the referendum been successful, it would have given the government a mandate to amend the constitution and create a body exclusively for Aboriginal Australians to advise parliament. After a long and divisive campaign, 60 per cent of Australians voted No to the initiative.

The emotional response displayed by the cultural elites on social media came from a deep place. The Yes supporters’ image of themselves was suddenly at stake. These are people who pride themselves on having the judgement and wisdom to diagnose social ills and prescribe solutions. The No result was as much a rejection of them and their worldview as it was of the Voice proposal itself. …

Their answer came as a rude shock to the Australians living in the coastal, metropolitan Tesla zone. Their narrow circle of acquaintances had lulled them into thinking that only a handful of dimwits or right-wing nut jobs thought any differently to them. For people who have led such sheltered lives, the referendum result left them lost for words.

[The question they *should* be asking themselves is how they got so out of touch with people to think that this was a good idea. That’s a problem elites have anyway; we sometimes call it the Pauline Kael Syndrome here. Rather than accept that they erred, though, the elites always fall back on blaming everyone else for having the arrogance to have a different opinion. — Ed]