So Soon After Valentine’s Day Our Hearts Are Broken: George Christensen Just Left Twitter

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Lefty keyboard warriors are mourning the passing of a legend.

Gradually, they are realising, it has finally happened. In the quiet and rational void, ‘gutless green grubs’, ‘eco-terrorists’, and ‘pathetic black arm band brigadiers’ are coming to terms with a cold new dawn.

George Christensen has left Twitter.

 

The Member for Dawson; the National Party’s Deputy whip; the Reclaim rally-rouser; the man who blew the whistle on the (halal) “terror in the tuckerbox”; and the valiant defender of billionaire Gautam Adani from “extreme green racism”.

Christensen was many things online. Through the ages, tweeters will remember him. They’ll remember a man who used the platform to criticise a movement encouraging solidarity between Muslim and non-Muslim Australians. They’ll remember him as a Federal MP who inexplicably had time to pick fights in a world of hashtags and handles not always forgiving of those of his political ilk.

It wasn’t always good times for George, they’ll remember, like the time he found himself on the receiving end of a Graham Perrett special.

Graham-Perrett-tweet

In a small consolation, Christensen’s blog and Facebook profiles have survived the social media purge. In recent postings, the Queensland MP appears increasingly withdrawn.

Last week, his usually confrontational manner gave way. In the past, when he was on Twitter, Christensen would have taken on “vicious attackers” at the Mackay Conservation Conservation Group, Australian Marine Conservation Group, and Whitsunday Residents Against Dumping.

Before they smashed his @GChristensenMP handle, George might have once again used his position on a Parliamentary Inquiry to threaten financial suffocation. Now, he is trying to avoid even afternoon tea with these “gutless green grubs”.

In a blog post on February 11, Christensen told the “enemies of jobs, enemies of progress, and avowed enemies of myself and the government” that they were not invited to afternoon tea with Malcolm Turnbull.

On his only remaining social media platform, Christensen posted a self-image to Facebook, in which he plays a burly security guard.

Christensen Facebook Post

But it wouldn’t be fair to blame the Mackay Conservation Group for Christensen’s retreat.

Earlier this year, the member for Dawson – who supports banning the burqa, believes halal funds terrorism, and speaks at Reclaim Australia rallies – denounced the “racist whispering campaign” against Adani, the Indian company trying to build Australia’s largest ever coal mine.

In late January, he declared that “The extreme green racism needs to stop!” Regretfully, we at New Matilda responded that so too does George Christensen’s access to unfiltered media channels.

We’re sorry, George. We didn’t mean it. Whoever within the National or Liberal Party took George’s Twitter account off him we implore you. Please, give it back.

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Launched in 2004, New Matilda is one of Australia's oldest online independent publications. It's focus is on investigative journalism and analysis, with occasional smart arsery thrown in for reasons of sanity. New Matilda is owned and edited by Walkley Award and Human Rights Award winning journalist Chris Graham.

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