The year 2019 has begun to peek on the horizon, and the view isn't particularly rosy. As we head into another election, the signs are all in place for months of increased rancour, anger and rabble-rousing, because that is pretty much the new normal in our supposedly incredible country. This isn't a comment about how much hate is being spewed online, because that ship has long sailed; it is more about documented incidents that show how hate-filled we have all become.

Amnesty International - a human rights advocacy group despised by some politicians for doing its job - warned us a while ago that 100 hate crimes had been committed in our peaceful country in the first six months of 2018 alone. These were reported incidents, of course, so I leave you to imagine the crimes that didn't get public attention for reasons known to us rather well. Apparently, these crimes were committed against people from marginalised groups, members of racial or religious minority groups, and transgender people across the country.