by Simon O'Connor

Imagine being so assured that your views on anything and everything, that you expect everyone to agree with you without compromise.

Imagine being so assured that your perspective is without error, that you need only emotion and theatrics to justify your position. No need for reason, logic, or consideration. Just lots of facial expressions.

Imagine being so assured your knowledge is correct, that even an entire Parliament – its Members, its Speaker, and Clerks – must all bend to your view.

Imagine being right in all things, that rules don’t apply to you.

And finally, imagine being so self-righteously assured of your own opinions today, that even the entirety of history will judge you correct.

Some might describe this as delusional. Some might suggest it’s narcissism. Others might use simpler words such as arrogance, contemptuous, petulant, and overconfident.

All these words apply, but the best two words to describe above are Chlöe Swarbick, co-leader of the Green Party.

Over the course of 48 hours of extraordinary politics, nominally around the situation in Gaza, she has demonstrated an extraordinary confidence in her own viewpoint that she believes that no one should question it and that an entire democratic parliament must bend to her will. No rules applies to her – in fact, despite being told she was ‘out of order’ by the Speaker of the House she was insistent that any engagement with him would not be for dialogue but only to impress upon him how wrong he was.

Another sad part of this spectacle is it confirms that the likes of Chlöe and the Greens are not actually prioritising the cause of the Palestinian people. The show in parliament over recent days was all about her. Sure, she and others will say it is on behalf of Gazans but her actions today loudly say otherwise. It was the ‘Chlöe show’ and deliberately designed to be so, with a fawning media in tow ready to report her progress at every step. Add to this the increasingly ridiculous scarves, you have a costume based theatrical production to indulge the wearers.

All of this points back to one very simple point – they are revolutionaries. The rules do not apply to them, and any rules in society must be brought down to create their new utopia. Agree with them, or else.

Originally published at On Point.