It is fair to say the Right has been feeling the ideological pinch lately. While the fussing and feuding has been going on, the Hard Left in Australia continues its moral decay at an impressive clip with hardly a mention.
Take the animal liberationist group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Usually PETA spends the bulk of its energy and time routinely supplying the ABC’s Four Corners with free footage, allowing the current affairs program to work within its budget. It’s a win-win, provided you’re a card-carrying member of PETA or a journo with an insatiable thirst for a gold Walkley.
Yesterday it surfaced PETA had written to the management of Hunters and Collectors urging the band to change its name to something less violent and antagonistic. The thought being the band, first formed in 1981, might now be inadvertently encouraging young kiddies to load up the shotties, the pig dogs and several cartons of Emu Bitter and go out blasting away at ecosystems various in a frivolous manner.
Full column here.
JTI,
I only knew your Great Friend and Toon Emeritus through his public persona put up at least 6 days a week for analysis and review.
I thought that I did detect within his works virtues and values that might act as an exemplar to those myriad others who comprise the baggage train on the political and social highway.
Aware of his travails with the ‘crazies’ which predicated an unusual security response I thought it an aberration from which he chose the much valued ‘up yours’ response! However, I have a personal friend, who is quite a regular Letters to the Editor contributor here at the OZ. I have just become aware of the vile and consistent torrent of abuse directed to him at his private address.
Both BLeak’s and my friends experience show there is something seriously amiss in our current social discourse. Vitriol and personal abuse seems to have become the ‘first response’; witty and trite humour a long-way second and of course reasoned and civil counter-argument a distant third.
A steady stream of the above has even invaded this fine congregation, more’s the pity.
Condolences to you and all of BLeak’s family and friends and perhaps once the inevitable funeral and initial grieving process has passed, you and his many personal and professional friends might like to work up a more permanent memorial concept to which all might be invited to contribute.
Nice work, PLMO.
Sadly, plmo, I think social media has given the platform to abuse anonymously – with dreadful consequences sometimes., and has changed the way society functions. Was listening to Ian Thorpe on RN this morning – who is campaigning against bullying in schools. Horrendous tales. Good on him for trying to help kids in schools – and the teaching staff!
Found a results summary. Rounding up the 15% swing away from the Libs, seems that 10% went to the ALP and 5% to PHON. Greens stayed the same. Everyone except Labor probably disappointed with their result.
Hanson’s One Nation a waste of good oxygen imho Boadicea, a distraction of late that hopefully now exposed a failure wont feature as much in the daily political wash up.
Pauline Hanson and One Nation a hopeless failure in WA, Mr Insider. She hasn’t changed in 20 years only her target has and her policies all the same rubbish ones they were then. Hanson beyond belief as she stumbles along her way being more silly day by day.
The stupid anti-vaxx comments did for her. Her core support base is middle aged or older white Australians who can remember polio. The anti-vaxxers are usually “intelligent” educated women or dumb hippies who ain’t going to vote one nation in a pink fit.
Was listening to a talk on the subject this morning UQ. You are correct in your summation of the demographics. I smiled when the interviewee mentioned Byron Bay as one of the anti vaxxer hotspots.
But for the life of me I cannot understand why parents would not protect their child from easily preventable diseases that can be fatal. Not to mention the danger it poses to young babies who are not old enough to he vaccinated – and adults. Whooping cough a prime example. Insanely irresponsible and not at all ‘cool”.
Anti-vax is a perfect storm of ideology and conspiracy theory, almost identical in form and psychology to AGW-denial, but appealing to a somewhat different demographic, albeit with a fair bit of overlap in the nutty right-libertarian zone. In both cases, scientists all over the world are supposed to be lying to us en masse in order to secure corporate profits or government control or both.
Ironically, profit-motive was behind the autism-link scare, which originated from a well-documented fabricated study by ex-Dr Andrew Wakefield, who had a patent for a rival vaccine. That this is on the public record deters anti-vaxxers no more than deniers are fazed by the mountains of evidence they ignore.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Wakefield
Bit of a pattern with ON, which we saw also in their previous incarnation. For as long as they are able to control their message and only reveal the saner parts of their manifesto, they get some votes. But self-control is not their strong suit, and inevitably the sovcit/anti-vax/reptilian-overlord stuff comes out, and voters are scared off. Despite their claims, they have no mass base, just a constantly-imploding alliance of prickly zealots whose only common ground is that no-one believes them. Unless this changes, they will never be a serious political player for very long. I hope.
I think you would agree with all this HB, so I’m always baffled by your admiration for Team Trump, which lMO is ON writ large.
JOH – you have to recognise that Henry (aka several others going back to Nossy) is on an extended pisstake.
To be honest Henry I take comfort in knowing that every time PH opens her mouth she confirms just how unstable and deeply ignorant she is.
Seems to me that ON agreed to the preference deal in the WA election but is now very displeased with said association now the resulting Liberal wipe-out has come to pass. She can’t have it both ways,
That’ll teach the poor deluded woman for dancing with the devils.
Regards, Bella
Yep, she could have blown herself out the water HB. I wonder where the protest voters will go now?
I wonder has our do nothing hopeless PM Turnbull heard the voters of WA knocking, Mr Insider. The Libs kept him out of the campaign so on the nose is Turnbull, 2 years as PM and virtually nothing achieved. What a goose he is!
The WA libs have shown such poor judgement lately it is likely that they would have done better if they had not kept him out of the campaign.
If Malcolm Turnbull’s only claim to fame is to have saved the Feds from a flogging under Abbott, then I suggest the conservatives owe him their undying support for that alone. What exactly is it that Malcolm should have done or should do Blofeld?
Apart from the bleeding obvious like addressing AGW with appropriate weight.
That’s not very nice calling our PM a goose , he is a well educated man and he’s working for the betterment of all working class Australians. He’s even trying to give big business a helping hand … control yourself…..
gday bill
Good to see about 95% of the people of WA have rejected the divisive, bigoted, racist ignorance of phon. Strange though on Fox news (sky) PVO and the liberal guy refuse to acknowledge Federal factors played a big part and the liberal guy it seems does not want to accept the flogging that was handed out using all sorts of excuses.
Seems they are all sticking to the ‘it’s got nothing to do with the federal government’ line. Could they be any more dense? Another state takes a huge swing against the Fibs yet they refuse any blame.
Talk about not listening hey, but nothing new in the elitists playbook.
Regards, Bella
Bye Bye Colin.
The working class has spoken.
https://twitter.com/PremierofWA
Well no surprise that Labor won the WA election – but what was surprising, imo, was the poor result for PHON.
The preference deal with the Libs seems to have been a bad idea. At least that’s what Pauline is saying (bit late for that) Would they have done better without that? Was it that Barnett was so toxic – or the Liberals in general? If the latter, Turnbull woukd have to be a very worried man.
Didn’t follow the election. How was the Green vote?
Looks like the Liberal Party got squished in WA.
Interesting that the bleeding from the WA Libs seemed to be both to the left and the right, two-thirds of it to Labor and the remainder to ON. IMO this highlights the predicament the Libs are in Federally as well: if they move to the right, moderate voters will switch to Labor, if they move left, they bleed to the right fringe. It seems that as a party, they can no longer represent enough of the population to govern on their own.
ABC election expert Antony Green has just called the WA election as a Labor win, Mr Insider. Approx 7.35 WA time.
wonderful coverage of Bill Leak in today’s Aus, i was just a bit disappointed that Richo was the only one of my lot to have anything to say.
Great contributions from Leigh Sales and Warren Brown.
Warren’s was particularly touching – his drawing said it all.
Of all Bill’s friends I think Warren will be hit hardest by this. They were very close.
Laura Tingle spoke for the rest of your lot on Insiders.
A voice from…?
How are you mate?