Flight Facilities raised quite a few eyebrows over the weekend after they took to Facebook to share their thoughts about the result of the recent US presidential election. Their post inspired ire in many, who accused the duo of harbouring a “privileged” view.
In the post, the duo called the election “one of the greatest reality checks of our time” and blamed the result on the online echo chamber culture in which people are seldom exposed to differing opinions and “delete, ignore, insult or pigeonhole” them when they are.
“Instead of kicking, screaming and insulting, maybe it’s time to stop, look around, and look inward as to exactly how this has happened,” they wrote. Protesting and rioting in response to a democratically held election, undermines the fabric on which a great country was built.”
The controversial post led many to slam the ARIA Award winners for having an “uninformed and incredibly privileged take” that disregarded the fears and concerns of minority groups in the US. Some even accused the pair of hypocrisy.
“Democracy also gave us Mike Baird but you’ve happily supported the Keep Sydney Open protests,” one commenter wrote. “Why are the Sydney lockout laws somehow more important than the rights of millions of American women, POC, and LGBTQ people?”
Flight Facilities have since responded to the backlash in a statement made to triple j. “Our intention was never to imply that people don’t have the right to protest, nor should should they simply have to get over the results of this election,” they write.
“Merely that the results of a democratically held election cannot be flipped. Those, including many of our friends and fans, who have joined the protest, have an absolute right and obligation to do so, where they see necessity for change or justice,” they continue.
“We never, for even a second, doubt the injustice and hate against minorities, both in the USA and around the world. We only want people to have open discussion with those they disagree with, without an assumption that each and every one of the millions of voters who participated, possesses an ignorantly hateful characteristic.”
“Perhaps they do? But our intention is to believe and hope that there is more to all these people, than simplifying every single individual down to a tag or insult. And if we can’t reach out compassionately to those, who would otherwise be so easy to block out and ignore, what hope is there of progress?”
You can read Flight Facilities’ original post in its entirety below.
