Sydney Watson: Firebrand conservative says ‘we are living through an incredibly dumb period of time’

Conservative commentator Sydney Watson considers the world to be “living in an incredibly silly period of time” and has expressed admiration for Tony Abbott and Pauline Hanson.

The prominent Melbourne-raised American resident recently rose to fame after being crushed between “two obese people” on a flight and complaining about it.

Watson, 29, created an online storm and made headlines around the world after she sent photos of her plight to her followers on social media.

But the extent of her fan base — 800,000 YouTube subscribers, 411,000 Twitter followers, regular TV appearances and articles — showed that she had already caused quite a stir in conservative commentary since moving to the US in 2019. .

In an exclusive interview, she told Daily Mail Australia how her childhood and early experiences in Australia helped shape her into the adult she’s become and shared her explosive views on how the world has become ‘much less intelligent’.

“My experience was split, you could say, between two very different parents: my mother is a classic American who cares a lot about individual freedom, and my father is a brash, traditional Australian from Western Australia,” she said.

‘Growing up between these two attitudes was interesting.

‘High school wasn’t for me, and I certainly wouldn’t classify myself as a ‘fit in’ kid. He was clumsy, gangly and very opinionated, and he was also going through an unfortunate ’emo’ phase where he was a sight to behold.

“I think sometimes that made me a hard pill for other students to swallow.”

Watson said Melbourne University “was a completely different beast”, where he studied criminology, thinking he would study law, but ended up with a master’s degree in journalism.

“Looking back, my experiences in Australia probably shaped my political views. Although, since I moved to the United States, I realize that politically I don’t fit in well anywhere.

She feels that many of her views are too “American” to align with Australians and vice versa. She “she puts you in this weird position where you’re always pissing someone off by never being completely on one side or the other.”

His ‘business-oriented family’ taught him the value of hard work from an early age.

Sydney Watson (pictured) said her experiences in Australia shaped her political views.

‘I have many memories of going to work with my father: he put us children to work. Being in an environment where my parents were self-employed greatly shaped my view of work, government, taxes, etc.

‘I have a lot of respect for people who are able to build something from scratch. There was also no room to complain or make excuses, and this also shaped the way I approach the world.’

Watson is grateful for her Melbourne childhood and upbringing, “because I think Australians have some really cool traits.”

“I diverge from some typical Australian beliefs now as an adult, but that’s probably because I grew up with a lot of American influence from my mother.”

Sydney Watson has expressed her respect for Pauline Hanson (pictured left) and Tony Abbott (right)

Although she wasn’t particularly keen on growing Australian politicians, there were two that stood out: former Prime Minister Tony Abbott and One Nation leader Pauline Hanson.

She said Mr Abbott is “one of the legit ones with his heart in the right place.” That’s something I know is more often missing now when it comes to politicians…

‘There is no politician who seems infallible to me… however, I have always respected the tenacity of Pauline Hanson.

“I think she’s been misrepresented on more than one occasion, and even though people don’t like her deliveries/actions, I think a lot of her initiatives are good.”

Sydney Watson created an online storm and made headlines around the world after she sent photos (pictured) of herself ‘caught between two obese people’ on a flight to her social media followers.

Watson believes that “politics is a game of staying in power, rather than trying to achieve something of remarkable importance that will improve the lives of citizens.”

“Any politician who can overcome self-serving and put the interests of the people first will always be worthy of respect as far as I’m concerned.”

He added that “that doesn’t include lunatics who do things under the guise of the greater good while making side deals to line their own pockets and further their own interests.”

Although he has a negative opinion of most politicians, Watson moved to the United States because he felt there was a greater opportunity there to “engage in political commentary and hopefully social change.”

“I realized early on that a lot of Australians are politically out of touch, not that I necessarily blame them, it can be toxic…

“America is polarized, but at least both sides of the aisle have a decent understanding of what’s going on politically and how that might affect them. Americans also have a good understanding of their rights and freedoms.

The world is becoming increasingly polarized, said commentator Sydney Watson (pictured)

Sydney Watson (pictured) has criticized what he called “blind faith in government”

“Australians have different considerations and politics is not one of them. I felt this put me at odds with some of the values ​​I see in my fellow Australians.’

In Australia, he was troubled by the view that security is more important than freedom and what he called ‘blind faith in the government and its associated entities’.

The United States, where she is a regular guest on One American News, America Tonight and America First, has provided more outlets for Watson’s conservative views than Australia.

But, as with Australian politicians, he doesn’t put American politicians on a pedestal either.

“To a large extent, I think they are in their positions to further their own interests. America has a big problem with career politicians and that’s probably what has gotten the country into so much trouble.’

However, he does have some respect for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis.

“When it comes to doing their job and representing their people, they get more points than crosses, although the bar is not very high.”

Watson said that as people have access to more and more information, “we’ve actually become a lot less intelligent.”

“We are more connected than ever, but the sad reality is that people are so disconnected from the real world.”

Watson says that as people have access to more and more information, “we’ve actually gotten a lot less intelligent.”

She doesn’t exonerate herself from being part of the problem of online connection leading to disconnection from the real world.

‘The polarisation, which I have participated in, has gotten worse and worse. I don’t see that as a net social positive. People are inundated with information, but everything has a twist.’

Watson’s view is that the world is being subjected to unnecessary fear campaigns from all sides of politics.

“Politically, it all seems like the end of the world: the fear pornography we’ve all seen in recent years is a good example of this. And the problem is that what is true, fair and accurate is no longer easily discernible.’

She said a fixation with what people read and see online has led some to “believe things that are provably false: that biology doesn’t matter, that being a woman is a ‘feeling,’ that the government knows better, that you can being obese and healthy etc

Although Sydney Watson (pictured) is happy to be living in the US now, she “always intended to come home” to Australia.

‘The institutions in which we placed our faith have lost all credibility. I think there is an observable complacency and laziness in a large part of the population that is not a good thing…

“If we are forced to deny basic reality in order to accommodate the feelings of others, then yes, I think we are living in an incredibly silly period of time.”

Although he is happy to be living in the US now, he “always intended to come home.” And she wanted to try to help the country the best she could.

“I think most Australians, when it comes down to it, think like I do about most issues, and I think they should see those values ​​reflected in them.

“It’s either that, or I’ll become the leader of the country and give them freedom, whether they like it or not,” he laughed.