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Morwellian

1. Morwellian. noun. A term used to describe the way the Australian authorities treated the citizens of the town of Morwell in East Gippsland, the state of Victoria, following an out-of-control fire in the Hazelwood Open Cut Mine.

The mine supplies brown coal to the nearby Hazelwood Power Station. Following the fires, the town of Morwell and its surrounding villages were subjected to a thick cloud of smoke, which contained dangerous amounts of small particles. The local residents and brave fire fighters tackling the blaze were forced to inhale this smoke for days whilst the government authorities repeatedly lied to the public and the press - refusing to declare a state of emergency & instead stage managing the disaster and using it for political grandstanding.

2. Morwellian. verb. A term used to describe a government when they frequently lie to the public about the health risks and dangers of an event, such as a open-cut coal-mine fire, refusing to evacuate residents from the presence of danger and instead using the suffering of the people as an opportunity for political grandstanding.
1. Dr Rosemary Lester gave an Morwellian speech to the press & media in hope of deliberately misleading the public to the dangers smoke from the fire at the Hazelwood Open-Cut Mine for the residents Morwell & other local towns and villages. “This is not an evacuation,” she said. “It is an advice for a temporary relocation until the air quality improves.”

The following are examples of the desperate outcries given by members of the public following Morwellian behaviour from the governing authorities:

"We are in the dark, we don't know what's going on,"

"No one knows what it's going to do to our long-term health."

“We can’t sleep, we can’t go outside, we can’t breathe,”

“There’s people in the street wearing masks every day."

“You can’t continue to allow this to happen.”

2. Dennis Napthine was feeling a little Morwellian after his visit to the town of Morwell.

"Mr Napthine wasn't always a very nice man. On days when he was feeling Morwellian he would call press conferences and lie to the public." - from Mark Twain's 'It's all gone Morwell'

"If you want a picture of the future imagine a boot stamping on a human face, forever." - George Orwells response to the Morwellian treatment of the residents of Morwell.

"He who controls the past controls the future, he who controls the present controls the past." - George Orwell summarising the Morwellian behaviour of the Australian Media as they speculated about the possible date the fire in the Hazelwood Mine would end.
by Anonymous_Au March 9, 2014
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Orwellian

This is Great Britain summed up in a single word, currently competing with the likes of North Korea. In Britain there are increasingly pathetic authoritarian laws being introduced to rid the country of expressive freedom.

Freedom of speech, not that complete freedom of speech ever existed here, is now almost completely gone.

You'll be afraid to speak up about the current invasion of foreigners, you'll be afraid to say certain words, you'll be under surveillance, you'll be under control, you'll be fearful of arrest.
Edward from the UK: I was getting verbally abused and threatened online today. I hit them with a torrent of offensive words in return, and like a week later, the police turned up at my house and arrested me for hurting somebody's feelings with word bullets!

Edward's friend, Rob from the USA: Man.. You can get arrested for such petty shit today, whatever happened to sticks and stones? Also, why were you arrested and treated like a criminal when the others started it and got away with it? They even threatened you and got away with that too? That's bullshit beyond logic.

Edward from the UK: People have been arrested for far less mate. It's a law called Malicious Communications. Everything in the UK is ass-backwards. That's why Boris Johnson was allowed to party it up with his mates during lockdown with police on guard. Then a pensioner was sentenced for selling mince pies during the pandemic. Britain is truly broken beyond belief. A disgustingly oppressive country, it's do as I say, not as I do.

Edward's friend, Rob from the USA: Holy shit dude, that's Orwellian alright! If I lived there I'd be out like a bullet!
by Fight 4 Freedom January 27, 2023
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Orwellian Irony

Orwellian irony is irony that is explicitly political in nature.

Orwellian irony shows the poverty of the philosophy and history undergirding what some people use as the justifying narrative for their political commitment and it can also be used to categorize people's arguments for or against freedom, liberty, etc. that are disconnected from history, legality, etc.

Orwellian irony is often situational.

Examples include:

A person unaware that the foundations of their self-chosen political identity are based on a misunderstanding of historical events refusing to investigate counter-claims made in an online debate.

A person at a protest claiming to be against government encroachment of rights that then runs away when police start violating their counter-protestors constitutional rights rather than helping.

When an AnCap tries to delegitimize a Socialist's criticisms of the economy by saying: "Well you wrote that on a smartphone, which was made by capitalism" this is an example of Orwellian irony because Leonid Kupriyanovich, a Soviet, invented much of the technology prior to the U.S., but also as much of the technology developed to make this was done by Federally funded research grants.
That a propaganda outlet, TeleSUR, which is managed by a state that has exploited a crisis to silence free press outlets like El Nacional, decided to use a private media outlet, Jacobin, to obfuscate the truth surrounding their brief unpublishing on Facebook and to call for increased government regulation is one of the most perfect examples of Orwellian irony ever.
by AVoyager August 28, 2018
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Orwellian

1: A situation that resembles the themes of George Orwell's book 1984, which include but are not limited to: authoritarianism, oppression, poverty, and brainwashing.

2: A perfect name for your slightly overweight cat.
1:

P1: my college exams were Orwellian. you had to miss lunch to study and the professors were yelling at me when i dropped a pencil.

P2: that sucks

2:
P1: dude i got this super fat cat what should i name him

P2: i think Orwellian would be perfect.
by amnesiafranky July 21, 2017
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Orwellian

George Orwell, early writer of science fiction.
A narrative or prophesy of events caused by political manipulation, characterised by impersonality and suspicion, and especially by an almost savagely comical dissembling that prevents serious challenge to them on logical grounds.
"The minister's intent, while not exactly Machiavellian, is at least Orwellian.
I might describe it as Gibsonian, but this scheme would result in troubles that would not be mere circumstance, but the work of beaurocratic design."
by Lostgallifreyan January 11, 2005
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Orwellian.

A bureaucracy that has become stupid and turns on its citizens to protect its stupidity.

Also used to describe coded language and terms with multiple meanings used by governments or media.
That is Orwellian.
by zos12345 December 17, 2013
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Orwellian

Often confused with totalitarian, Orwellian describes deceptive and manipulative use of the English language.
An asshole political leader describing something as Orwellian, when what they mean is totalitarian, is in itself Orwellian.
by FrenchOfFry June 11, 2019
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