Egg Boy, Imperialism, and Solidarity

$69,171 usd ($99,222 australian) was recently raised to support an australian teenager who cracked an egg on a far-right politician, Fraser Anning, in response to Anning’s Islamophobic, xenophobic harangues against Muslim immigrants. The teenager has been affectionately dubbed “Egg Boy” by media outlets.

Two GoFundMe pages were started in solidarity with Egg Boy: one to help cover legal fees and the other to “help buy more eggs.” Because he was given legal aid pro bono, he decided to donate what was raised to the victims of the Christchurch shooting. Egg Boy certainly did a lovely thing with his donation.

This outpouring of support intended to go to a young white man is disproportionate compared to the ongoing struggles of oppressed people.

There was no solidarity fundraiser for Ibrahim Abu Thuraya when israel took his legs.

There was no fundraiser for Ibrahim Abu Thuraya’s family when israel murdered him..There are no such wildly successful fundraising campaigns for the hundreds of Palestinians israel murders every year or the many thousands they grievously injure.

The same goes for climate and labor activists throughout the Third World.

In the first world, there are examples of fundraisers for the most oppressed. Like fundraisers for Mutulu Shakur, but the donations are not nearly as high as they were for Egg Boy. As one can imagine, Shakur has much higher legal fees than Egg Boy. In May 2012, $29,783.40 was raised for the Justice for Trayvon Martin Foundation, the advocacy organization by his parents. The hurdles facing the family of Trayvon Martin were far greater than the hurdles facing the young man who tossed an egg.

Politics can be a hobby for many folks in the first world. The cause that Egg Boy represents or solidarity with the family of a murdered child are not highly controversial. Good people in the first world can make a moral decision to aid good people in need of help. Countless animal fundraisers demonstrate that numerous people in the first world have both the moral capacity and financial resources to help people. However, those in the first world ignore the political causes of Third World activists, not just far-left causes, but even the most basic kinds of humanitarian support as well. Tens of thousands were raised under the comical banner to “buy more eggs.” As amusing as that is, we must also consider the disproportional support given to Egg Boy compared to other activists.