Tuesday, March 29, 2016

Mark Latham endorses Donald Trump

Amazing how lefties have radically changed their view of Mark Latham. Didn't seem so long ago that most of them saw him as their one great hope of toppling JHo. Then he totally blew it with that notorious handshake, and finally crashed and burned.

Many of his supporters deserted him after that. And boy did he ever spill the beans on his former friends and allies! Hard to know what enraged them more. Was it that he let them down, gave 'em a spray, or just stopped playing the role of the "working class hero" so clearly laid out for him? Probably due to a combination of all of these factors ...

In any case he didn't sit around feeling sorry for himself, or shuffle off to the Halls of Quackademe like Jules did. He reinvented himself as a commentator. He's certainly said and done some very unwise things. But I do admire his courage in remaining true to himself and calling it as he sees it without compromise.

That's a very traditionally Australian thing to do -- though because of the toxic effects of political correctness it's seldom seen in our right-on, hand-wringing meeja. But you will find many people like Latham himself in western Sydney, where he hails from and resides. He knows that area well and doesn't look down on its inhabitants like the sneering hipsters of Fairfax and the ABC do.

So when he says that he is aware of Donald Trump's shortcomings but still admires him you can be sure he actually means it. You can also be sure that he speaks for a lot of his fellow westies, along with millions of other Australians who've had a gutful of being lied to and taken for granted. That's why the political establishment here has every reason to be packin' death, just as they are in the USA. Unless they start genuinely respecting the electorate an antipodean version of The Donald is almost certain to rise.

Be afraid, local latte lefties. Be very, very afraid.

The radical feminist vs "The Radical Feminist"

You've probably heard of Clementine Ford. She's one of the Australia's most high profile "feminists". Now, the reason I use sneer quotes there is because I -- like many others, no doubt -- would like to think the term was still worthy of respect. Hell, if it retained its true meaning I'd even even define myself as one.
But thanks to the asinine antics of our snarling Clementine and her infantile ilk the word's pretty much busted, innit? Right-on Clem is forever ms-ing the point, scoring own goals with her Twitter shenanigans. Usually she's a hoot. But sometimes she can actually be quite, well ... sinister.

Take the time she actually got some bloke fired coz he called her a slut on Facebook. Now he shouldn't have done it. It was a nasty thing to do. But his punishment was way OTT -- even more so when you consider how abusive Ms Ford herself has often been to other women on Twitter.

As well as being sinister, she can also be just plain sad. Take her recent outraged reaction when a bloke (or maybe it was a woman?) merely used her own obnoxious tweets against her in a funny way. The parody account "The Radical Feminist" clearly scored a bullseye because "courageous" Clem the "feisty" "feminist" promptly exhorted her followers to report the heinous hate-crime to the cyber-plods.
Talk about life imitating satire! (Hell, it was also satire irritating the life -- if you could call Ms Ford's miserable existence of perpetual victimhood a life, that is.)

Crikey! Does this woman not realize how friggin' totalitarian seeking punishment for mere mockery is? Sure, we can laugh at her instructions to her arsehat acolytes. But imagine if she had real power. Gawd.

Really, women (and men) who demand such a surreal level of respect for their precious fee-fees should just grow the far cup. The solution is quite simple: If Clementine Ford can't bear social media satirists taking pot shots at her she shouldn't give them such a lavish smorgasbord of ammunition to choose from.

Saturday, March 26, 2016

Malcolm Turnbull's narcissism on show in Lateline and 7.30 interviews

Malcolm Turnbull's interview on Lateline the other night got pretty snippy in parts, with the PM clearly annoyed with Snowcone Tone's line of questioning. Turnbull didn't lose his cool entirely, but those little moments of snark said a lot about his personality IMO.

Basically he went on the show with a whole bunch of stuff that he wanted to say, and he was indignant that Tony Jones wouldn't let him do that. It was quite revealing.

Of course all our elected representative see interactions with the meeja as opportunities to get their message out, so they will keep trying to go back to that. The journos are usually well prepared for this, and patiently try to get them to answer the bloody question.

But in almost all cases the pollies will at least pretend to respect the main convention of the political interview. That is that the journo gets to choose the subject discussed and ask the questions he wishes to. This is because one of the main functions of journalism is to shed light on political machinations. Needless to say, this is crucial for the health of democracy.

It's a ritual as much as anything else. In it, the interviewer represents the people. And in a democracy, the people have the power. So if you don't at least pretend to respect the one asking the questions you're showing an implicit disdain for the people. That's a big no no for obvious reasons.

This is why pollies will put up with such amazing crap in interviews -- and from broadcasters who don't even qualify as journalists, too! Take that notorious on air stoush between Barnaby Joyce and Kyle Sandilands. Sure, Joyce made an official complaint about it. But he still endured heaps of putrid abuse from the vile Kyle.

So, pollies will at least pay lip service to the interviewer's authority. They may be intransigent or evasive but they won't actually jump over that line and say: "I'm sick of this shit. I'm the boss of this little convo, mate. This is what we're gonna talk about, alright!"

Yet that's pretty much what Turnbull did the other night (in a much more genteel and restrained way, of course). And he's done it before, too.

Take this interview with Leigh Sales on 7.30 in December last year. Sales is obviously on his side. But he's still indignant that he has to respect the conventions of the interview. Look at the pitched battle that goes on because he wants to talk about his pet subject "innovation":

LEIGH SALES: OK. Let's whip through a few other things. Your minister, Mal Brough, ...

MALCOLM TURNBULL: You've lost interest in innovation, have you?

LEIGH SALES: (Laughs) I haven't lost interest, but there's a lotta things to get through and there's limited time.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Aunty ABC loses interest in innovation.

LEIGH SALES: I wish we had unlimited time.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Yes, well, there you go.

LEIGH SALES: Your minister Mal Brough misled the Parliament last week and he's also contradicted himself publicly about whether or not he asked staffer James Ashby to procure information from the diary of Peter Slipper, the former Speaker. Have you asked Mr Brough to clarify his position?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well Mr Brough certainly did clarify his remarks in the Parliament last week.

LEIGH SALES: What about the contradictory yes/no answer about did he try to get that information?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well he's - look, he set out his version of events and he's - and there is an investigation going on.

LEIGH SALES: I might be a bit obtuse, but - so do you understand that he did or he didn't ask James Ashby to do that?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well he says that he did not. He says that he did not ask James Ashby to copy the - to copy Mr Slipper's diary. That's what he says.

LEIGH SALES: He previously said that he did.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well, Leigh, he has set out to explain that. I really don't want to go into the ins and outs of Mr Brough's remarks, but certainly it's an issue that we're all very keenly aware of, but there is an investigation under way and it will take its course.

LEIGH SALES: Has he offered to step down from the frontbench?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Look, I don't want to go, with great respect, into discussions between myself and ministers on this or any other matter.

LEIGH SALES: Is there a risk that this issue could turn into a running sore for you the way that, say, Craig Thomson turned into for Julia Gillard?

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Well, Leigh, again, I'm sorry you've lost interest in innovation and it is ...

LEIGH SALES: There's lots of issues. We can walk and chew gum at the same time.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: But, no, well, the problem is we can't. You see, we can't chew gum at the same time because ...

LEIGH SALES: Well we can, actually, because if - look, I - look, if every guest on the program came on and they only got to talk about what they wanted to talk about, it would be a very different program. Now listen, ...

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Do you - let me ask you this question: how interested do you think your audience are ...

LEIGH SALES: I ask the questions on this program. I think they're very - I think they're very interested, frankly.

MALCOLM TURNBULL: Do you think they're more interested in innovation and jobs?

LEIGH SALES: Let's - I'll tell you what I think they're interested in. One of your colleagues resigning from the Liberal Party to join the National Party, Ian Macfarlane. A number of your colleagues have criticised him, including the Attorney-General George Brandis, who says it's left a bad taste in people's mouth. How do you feel about it?

So he definitely has form on this. And it's confirmation of his strongly narcissistic personality IMHO.

Thursday, March 24, 2016

Agile is a synonym of nimble

Still on the subject of political word usage, one of Malcolm Turnbull's favourite terms is "agile". He loves saying it as much as exhorting us all to embrace "innovation" and remember that this is such "an exciting time to be an Australian".

Given his huge and pervasive profile as the nation's leader, and his obvious ruthlessness and cynicism, the meaning of the word agile has changed radically for me. Whenever I hear it I think of the man himself, deftly sidestepping Abbott as he walks by so he can knife him in the back.

I hope that if and when Turnbull does have the favour returned to him -- either by Abbott himself or another of the party's more genuinely conservative members -- the word regains it's traditional, more positive meaning.

I suspect that agile's synonym nimble has soured for many Aussies as well, albeit for different reasons.

Turnbull and Cruz are life imitating satire

Politics is a bloody sport, even in stable established democracies like Australia and the USA. Politicians are forever saying the most outrageous things to gain power or keep it. Quite often it's like watching a dark satirical comedy playing out before your very eyes.

Malcolm Turnbull, for example, is proving to be even more Machiavellian than most people thought. Comparisons with Frank Underwood in House of Cards are becoming increasingly frequent.

Though Turnbull himself joked that the only thing he had in common with the Kevin Spacey character was the fact that he's used a rowing machine, the show's writers clearly don't think so. When our PM changed the game radically recently with this double dissolution dare, the show's official Twitter account had this to say:
Then there's Turnbull's use of the slogan "continuity and change". This was a line used by the protagonist of the HBO show Veep. Highly unlikely that Turnbull used the line knowingly, of course. But that just makes it even more absurd.

And now Ted Cruz has now been caught lifting a line from a political comedy, possibly knowingly this time.

I'm sure there'll be several more cases of life imitating satirical comedy before the year's out.

Saturday, March 19, 2016

Josephine Georgiou doesn't condemn Madonna for sexual harassment

You may have heard about how Madonna exposed a young audience member's breast onstage in front of thousands in the Brisbane crowd and ultimately millions via the web. Immediately afterward she joked that it was an act of sexual harassment.

Well, yeah, actually it was. If a bloke did that to a female employee at an office function he wouldn't just lose his job and reputation. He could well end up in jail.

Shows how flippant lefty slebs are about the issue. This is the same woman who is now accusing those criticizing her shows of misogyny. Any sane adult can tell that's got absolutely nothing to do with it. She's just been outrageously unprofessional.

It's pretty clear she doesn't give a rat's arse about anything much anymore, and is treating her Australian fans -- many of whom have waited decades to see her live -- with contempt. And in a tawdry display of her own grotesque self obsession, she's also been blathering about her custody battle with Guy Ritchie in her shows. Too much information, Madge! TMI.

But back to the Brisbane incident in particular: Interestingly the young woman suffering the megastar-assisted wardrobe malfunction -- Josephine Georgiou -- has no regrets about it. On the contrary, she reckons it was a buzz.

I'm sure this has something to do with the comparative feminist silence on the issue. But female porn stars, models and the like often say they don't feel oppressed in their professions. Yet that never seems to stop hatchet faced harpies claiming that the nubile nymphs are "participating in their own oppression" does it? 

Nope ... They're mostly holding fire because they see Madge as an ally in their fight against the patriarchy. It's a bit like their silence on Islam, really. 

Though this is a less extreme double standard it reflects poorly on them nonetheless. Like all lefties they are very selective when invoking their purported principles.

Friday, March 18, 2016

Stephen Conroy quotes Van Badham in Senate filibuster

Didn't witness that epic tsunami of political piss and wind from Labor senators desperately trying to stop the Government's reforms being passed. Had better things to do -- sleeping, for instance.

But checking Twitter late last night I did notice that Senator Stephen Conroy quoted a Vanessa "Van" Badham article while playing his puerile part in the failed filibuster. Sounds like he just needed something vaguely supportive and fairly lengthy to read out loud in the chamber rather than blather on extempore. Her Guardian gargle -- let's call it a "guardle" for short -- gave his brain a rest, if not his jaws.

As this tweep remarked, a pollie citing such a notorious airhead was surely a sign of peak stupidity. It seems pretty clear to me that Ms Badham's only true expertise lies in how to use leftie-feminist crybullying to lift her profile and advance her career.

Though such a skill is undeniably loathsome and toxic you gotta give credit where credit is due. And her ability to claim precious-petal victimhood while she abuses others in a viciously verbaling manner is truly jaw-dropping. Hell, if crybullying were Ecky Thump, she could easily pummel Grand Master Bill Oddie to death before he even got hold of his black pudding! She really is that good at it.

But back to Conroy and his little act of political theatre using Badham's script: I didn't witness it. But I truly hope he wore red underpants on his head during the performance. She is an avowed communist, after all. That really would have been the icing on the cake, so to speak.

Thursday, March 17, 2016

Anti-Safe Schools MPs called "knuckle-draggers"

Two favourite tactics of the cultural Left are stealth and intimidation. They've always -- always -- got some hidden agenda they're running. It's usually to do with destroying some foundation of Western civilization or other. If they can do that they can own the issue and be the authorities on it. They then get to boss people around "for their own good" and ultimately make their lives miserable. Which is their whole reason for living, let's face it.

So they can never be taken at face value. They're forever trying to sneak through radical changes in ways that no-one notices. If that doesn't work and there's resistance to them then they'll happily resort to bullying.

This is definitely happening with this Safe Schools program. It's clearly not just about encouraging tolerance of sexually diverse lifestyles. It's about introducing these adult concepts to children and actively endorsing them.

Let's face it, if you heard that a Catholic priest lobbed at your kids' school and said he wanted to talk to the students about cross dressing you'd have the plods round in a nanosecond, wouldn't you?

That said, I think the grooming argument against Safe Schools is a bit OTT. But only a bit. Any sane adult would have to be alarmed at the previous quotes of one of the program's architects:

Liberal Nationals MP George Christensen said Professor Gary Dowsett from La Trobe University helped establish the anti-bullying campaign.

Mr Christensen, who has called for the Safe Schools program to be scrapped, quoted a report containing "controversial views" which he said was published by Professor Dowsett in 1982.

The Member for Dawson told Parliament Professor Dowsett was a "longtime advocate of intergenerational sex, otherwise known as paedophilia".

"He says: 'How different then is the gentle, tentative sexuality between parent and child from the love of a paedophile and his or her lover. That kind of love, warmth and nurture is an important part of the paedophilic relationship'," Mr Christensen told Parliament.

Good on Mr Christensen for doing this. It was a sensible and justifiable use of parliamentary privilege in my opinion.

Rather than rationally addressing the points made by Christensen and others and refuting them, the social engineers simply resort to bullying in the form of abuse. True to form, if the stealth doesn't work they'll try intimidation.

Well, if it's okay to call those against Safe Schools "knuckle-draggers" then surely it's fine to call the pro-camp "kiddie fiddlers" right?

Not only that, why not let both groups really take the gloves off. Make it a rule-free, no holds barred, last man standing cage match:

Roll up, roll up, to the Safe Schools Square-Off. Round One: "The Knuckle Draggers vs The Kiddie Fiddlers."

Usually I abhor violence. But I'd definitely pay to see that.

Wednesday, March 16, 2016

Malcolm Turnbull's smug smile is creeping me out big time

I'm sure I'm not alone in saying that I find Malcolm Turnbull's self-satisfied smile quite disturbing. Now, a lot of people would describe it as a "Cheshire cat grin". But I don't know that this is quite right. That describes a wholly sinister smile, one that hides malevolent mischief.

Now, while Turnbull is utterly ruthless, his grin isn't always a sign that he's about to do something diabolical (although he probably will). It's just his default setting; a projection of his self-image.

And that's been remarkably constant these last several years -- through all the gruesome betrayals and cowardly compromises he's committed to get where he is now. Basically, he's on emotional high beam the whole time.

Idiots are impressed and even energized by this, of course. But anyone with any sense will get the shivers from it. And the longer they have to witness it, the more disturbing it becomes. Its creepiness is cumulative.

It is another facet of his character that confirms he's a classic narcissist, IMHO. This is because that kind of character is always presenting an image that he's defined himself. He's like a projector, and his psyche is the film inside it. He makes the people around him the collective screen on which his glorious sense of self is displayed.

The personalities of normal folk, on the other hand, are in a constant state of flux. They're the result of empathic communication with others. They're two-way; ever-evolving.

But with Turnbull there's no real conversation. He only pretends to listen to and care about others. It's always all about him, you see. He's more than happy to do whatever's needed to stay on top. And he'll just keep smiling the whole time.

Saturday, March 12, 2016

ASRC toxic culture claims don't surprise me at all

One of the key differences between lefties and conservatives is that the former are motivated mostly by their emotions, the latter by their thoughts. Lefties seek out emotive issues and deal with them, er, emotionally.

And the issue of how best to deal with asylum seekers is even more emotive than most. That's why this story about claims of bullying by Asylum Seeker Resource Centre CEO Kon Karapanagiotidis is hardly surprising.

The article linked above has some pretty shocking allegations. If they are true, there's one line in it that goes a long way to explaining why such a toxic culture has resulted under his rule. That is that Mr Karapanagiotidis is "described by many as a charismatic leader".

Dunno about you. But whenever I hear or read that term, I'm thinking "cult". And they never seem to turn out well, now do they?

Of course it's possible that complaints made against him are completely unfounded; all part of some sinister conspiracy to topple him. But that would be an even worse reflection on the organization, wouldn't it?

Either way, the whole sorry saga makes you wonder why journos are so often happy to report what these activists say as the unvarnished truth.

Friday, March 11, 2016

Donald Trump's undeniable narcissism is a bit of a worry

Interesting that many people who were originally wary of Trump -- or even a bit frightened of him -- are starting to warm to him.

My own feeling is that he's a real breath -- or maybe a gust, even a storm! -- of fresh air. He embodies the frustrations millions of people across America -- not to mention the entire western world -- have with political correctness. He's mad as hell and he's not gonna take this anymore!

Still, there's something that I (and clearly a lot of other people!) are worried about and that's his psychological make-up. Several high profile experts in psychology, including Sam Vaknin, have said he exhibits classic symptoms of narcissistic personality disorder. In this interview he expresses some serious concerns about the front-runner for the Republican nomination. He's pretty convincing.

That said, it's not like Trump is the only narcissist in politics. That particular field is chockas with 'em! Vaknin himself says Obama appears to be a narcissist. And here in Oz we have Malcolm Turnbull and Kevin Rudd, both of whom have been labeled as such.

It's hardly surprising, of course. Narcissists by definition see themselves as exceptional, and are therefore more likely than most to seek out positions of power.

That doesn't mean all pollies are afflicted with this disorder, though. Some are drawn to the occupation more out of a balanced and sincere desire to do good. I'd say Tony Abbott is one such person -- though I'm sure leftie luvvies wouldn't see it that way at all ... But then they suffer what I would call a kind of political narcissism, and project this onto their hate figures.

Thursday, March 10, 2016

Twits triggered on Twitter by #thetriggering

Things are getting very weird and even a tad sinister over at Twitter. There clearly is a push to censor righties on the network using various techniques like "shadowbanning".

An example from last night: #Thetriggering was hugely popular among people sick of the toxic antics of social justice warriors. (I had a lot of fun with it, I gotta say.)

Any hashtag that took off like that would usually appear in the trending list without a doubt. But it didn't. Also, it didn't autocomplete. Now, it's not paranoid to say these are not accidents. Twitter has form on this kind of subtle but clear censorship.
And just as the right-on algorithms created by crybully coders did their best to block out politically incorrect opinions, so too did their human counterparts. Take Australia's prime promoter of commie cant and misandrous malice Clementine Ford.
Of course she was feigning insousiance, as she so often does. But we all know the real reason for her exhortation: didn't wanna be triggered.

Which is a strange (cyber)space to be in, when you think about it. May feel safe, but it's also very sad.

Wednesday, March 9, 2016

Why Alan Jones and Michaelia Cash are, and are not, feminists

On Monday night's episode of Q and A one of the Left's favourite hate figures Alan Jones appeared on the show (and for the second time in a few months -- can you believe it!) and actually said he was happy to be called a feminist.

I feel sorry for the poor pinko poppets watching at the time. They must've been going through an emotional roller-coaster! If he genuinely believed what he was saying, as he certainly seemed to, then they would have had to question their loathing of him. And they deeply resent having to do that. They'd much rather be shouting, shrieking and sneering. So much easier, and more satisfying, you see.

Thankfully for them they did find a reason to do that when another hate figure, Michaelia Cash, chimed in on the same issue. She said she was not happy to call herself a feminist. The PC Left see this is a sin, of course -- even more so given that she is a woman, and a high profile one at that.

The fact that calling yourself a feminist (or not) can trigger such intense emotions in so many people is pretty silly when you think about it. Surely it should be up to each individual whether she (or he) chooses to do so.

In the end it all depends on what the "f word" actually means to you:


Seems to me that Jones was using the first definition of the word. I think Cash, on the other hand, was wary of being associated with the whiny, divisive victimhood inherent in the second definition. If their interpretations had been reversed, so would their answers to the question, I suspect.

Really, it's a non-issue, as most sane adults can see quite clearly. Lefties, as a rule, don't belong to that group, so they have to go and get all het up about it.

Monday, March 7, 2016

American politics trumps the crap out of Australia

Like many bloggers, I'm a political news junkie. Just have to know every major development the moment it breaks. The ongoing drama of it is certainly addictive.

And while there is a lot happening in Australia at the moment, recent events here pale in comparison to the intensity of the lead up to the American elections. Donald Trump is just such an amazingly OTT character. He's sending people all over the joint completely batty. And not just on the other side. The Republican nominees he's leading are actually joining forces to try and beat him down. In this desperate act of collective bullying, they're starting to resemble the Left. Some high profile conservative commentators are losing their shit big time, too. Take Glenn Beck, who said he wants to knife the guy and is now under investigation by the Secret Service!

In the Democrats it does seem likely that the sinister Hillary Clinton will end up leading the party she and her creepy mates have dominated for so long into the election. But the ongoing saga of her e-mail server and the very, er, problematic issue of her horndog hubbie Bill's past do add some doubt to this outcome -- as does the baffling rise of the eccentric codger Bernie Sanders, whose main support base seems to be people young enough to be his grandchildren.

It's crazy as all get out! And nothing that we do down here is anywhere near as intense and entertaining.

FFS #Auspol, lift yer game!

Saturday, March 5, 2016

Tasmanian frightbats dance Swan Lake to subvert patriarchal duck hunting

One thing I have long found fascinating about lefties is how keen they are to amass in a pack and get shouty. Of course they would say this is because they care so deeply about issues. But I think that's bollocks, basically. Their main motivation always seems to be "look at moi!".

A recent demo against duck shooting is a case in point:

Animal activists in Tasmania have staged an unusual protest on the first day of the duck hunting season, donning pink tutus in the middle of a lake.

When you hear about such a performance you immediately assume that they're doing it to stop da poor wittle ducky-wuckies being killed by da big bad men! But this seems not to be their main concern.

Organiser Yvette Watt said this year's action was a way of countering the masculine stereotype of duck hunting.

Eh? If they wanted to do that most of all, why didn't they get some eagle-eyed female snipers out there to start blasting away at the water-birds?

In the end I don't even think they were driven by feminism. Looks more like they just wanted to don pink tutus and be the centre of attention. Just glad they didn't nude up, like so many other activists do these days...

Wednesday, March 2, 2016

Helen Garner's prize win reminds me of The First Stone

Australian writer Helen Garner is in the news again. See, she won a prestigious and lucrative literary prize for her recent book This House of Grief. Oddly, most of today's reports seem primarily focused on the fun fact that the notification she'd won ended up in her junk e-mail folder and she initially thought it was a hoax. Perhaps it's because this approach works better as clickbait than making the book's content and merits the meat of the story?

In any case I'm sure she's a deserving winner. She's an excellent, fearless and very thoughtful writer. I know this from reading The First Stone way back in the nineties. I was living in Melbourne at the time, doing comedy in a scene dominated by lefties.

The book documented a campus scandal in that city in which an old white male prof had his career pretty much destroyed by vengeful feminists because of what appeared to be a coupla episodes of pathetic lechery towards two female students. Garner was intrigued by the overly punitive way in which the transgressions were handled and set out to get to the truth of the matter. But for various reasons she never got to interview the two young women at the centre of the drama.

I remember having some interesting discussions with leftie feminist chicks I knew at the time. Being Melbournians themselves, I suspect they knew the identities of the two mystery women whose experiences were detailed --albeit incompletely -- in the book. Some were very angry with Garner. Because the writer was so even handed as well as compassionate towards the old bloke -- whose identity everyone knew -- they felt she was somehow "letting the side down".

I was shocked at their tribal bloody-mindedness. They had a very neatly divided universe, that's for sure! Old white males were guilty, full stop. If  feminists managed to destroy one's reputation for a minor transgression (or even none at all), well, that was a win for feminism.

I remember thinking how toxic this mentality was even then. There was some resistance to it -- Garner herself being a notable example -- and I hoped that this would finally hold sway. Sadly, it didn't. The victim feminists gained even more territory in ensuing years. And not just in the halls of quackademe! Depressingly, frightbats have been running amok for ages all over the joint.

The two mystery students whose complaints sparked the whole sorry saga off are middle-aged now. It would be fascinating to know who they are and how the book (and of course the events it detailed) affected them... The fact that neither has come forward to set the record straight in all this time seems almost as telling as the controversy The First Stone provoked in the first place.

Then, as now, there was only one interpretation deemed acceptable by the thought police: Man as oppressor; woman as victim. What an ugly, stupid, divisive world-view. And what concentrated poison it is to any and all relationships between men and women.

Tuesday, March 1, 2016

As "Sandy Beaches" Aussie Mark Ancucic fools the feminist frightbats

One of the most fascinating aspects of the ongoing war between the forces of political correctness and free speech advocates is how big a part online gaming has played in it. The social justice warriors have been extremely active and influential in this realm and dominate many of the major gaming publications. Through these they've routinely portrayed gamers as knuckle dragging misogynists.

Many of these mostly young people are actually liberals who have had a gutful of such malicious, er, ms-representation. They have joined forces with conservatives and others to form a kind of online consumer resistance movement loosely known as GamerGate. (I know that's only part of it. But to try and describe it fully would take too long. So I won't even try... In any case this book has some great info on it, along with heaps of other useful stuff.)

Most of the news related to this rise in cultural libertarianism comes from the USA, of course. But every now and then a locally oriented development gets a lot of attention. Take the story of "Sandy Beaches" for example.

This is the creation of Aussie writer Mark Ancucic. He used it to illustrate the right-on stupidity of editors and readers of some big SJW-dominated sites:

I’m Mark Ankucic, former Aussie games writer and that guy that got fired over Gamergate. Sandy Beaches is an alter ego I set up to submit feminist critiques to publishers, managing to land myself two articles with The Mary Sue (one concerning combatting sexism in the Final Fantasy Remake, the other about the inherent sexism in the tabletop game Warmachine) and interest from editors on submissions I might like to make.

That blog post is well worth a read. It shows just how entrenched the politically correct narrative is in the minds of so many. And it's not just the editors who were so easily duped by his fictional persona. Countless readers were too!

This is both funny and depressing. There are just so many young women (and men) out there who think that crazy feminist frightbats have some kinda searing insight into the workings of society. They accept their gargles as gospel!

To any sane adult it seems unbelievable that things have reached such a stage. But they have, unfortunately. And it proves the effectiveness of the politically correct Left's brainwashing technques. They keep brazenly telling lies and ruthlessly demonizing their political enemies because it gets them what they want: power over the minds of millions.

The gaming industry may seem like an odd target for such a campaign. But it's been a major focus of the social justice movement because it's a very new industry catering to young people and is therefore ripe for exploitation. Also, it's massive and growing -- already bigger than Hollywood if current reports are accurate. So the stake are very high.

The battle is now at fever pitch with no signs of abating. Hearteningly, it seems that the cultural libertarians (Gamergaters) are starting to gain the upper hand.

If you're interested in the culture wars but have no knowledge of this particular aspect of them then I recommend you start looking into it. It's riveting! This Reddit thread is a good place to start.