Ethics of a Bunnings bully: you don’t always have to give the people what they want

By now most people will have heard of the antics of the person who berated staff at Bunnings when they insisted she wear a mask to enter the store.

As is common these days, the altercation was filmed and uploaded to social media. It also captured the attention of mainstream media. What would normally have been an incident of minor importance soon became a topic of national conversation, bringing fame (or infamy) to the antagonist.

I do not want to add to this person’s unwarranted celebrity, in part because I do not think people should be rewarded for being rude and aggressive and in part because I do not want to fuel further interest in ideas that are not just wrong, but dangerous.