Yeah, it is willful ignorance. Filtering out, skimming over, choosing not to watch things that are "boring" or "Yet another thing about how guilty we should all be"... Using every possible conscious or subconscious strategy to stay ignorant until the truth is thrust right into their faces.

Yes, I see a lot of that in Australia. And the good old "I can't bear to watch the depressing stuff on the news," which I do sympathize with, but as a person with a conscience, I feel a duty to have at least some idea of what's going on, so if I can't watch news programs for visceral reasons, I read articles instead.