A View from the Whugg Towers

My Two Weeks as a #ausvotes Tweeter

2010-08-15T00:47:00.000-07:00

A fine waste of time is to go onto the #ausvotes hashtag on twitter and follow the shouting from both sides of the political fence. I don't mind a shout, so I stood on the progressive side, defending the lies and deceptions relating to the Labor cause. And there were plenty.

I am no big fan of Labor and haven't been for a while. I thought the way the party virtually abandoned Mark Latham half way through the 2004 election was pretty stupid and their failure to preference the Greens in the Senate in Victoria, resulting in the election of Steve Fielding, was evidence of their pig headed backroom moral conservatism, in the face of their supposed socially progressive facade. That decision may well be the most costly in the recent history of the ALP - just imagine what might have happened if the current government only had Nick Xenophon to woo.

The decision to choose the dull technocrat Rudd instead of the vibrant and personable Gillard before the 2007 poll was also evidence of a timidity and a failure to appreciate what used to make the ALP a better party - sticking to your own guns, rather than trying to be a pale imitation of the Liberals. That they realised their mistake too late, four years down the track, may well cost them the position of power.

I hope that Gillard does get a chance to show what kind of PM she can be - I still believe she'll be excellent. Certainly better than the man who is not suited to be a PM - Abbott. I think he'd make a good minister in a Turnbull Government - an irritant, a fighter, a contrarian. He may well have been a good NSW Premier - but he is too fond of spontaneity and his own mind to be a true leader.

But what his style - that of a pugilist and contrarian - has done is make this election close. It's very easy to be critical as an opposition, pointing out the mistakes of the government, hammering them on it and Abbott is good at that. Where he isn't so strong is coming up with positives. He leaves those to others in the party, like Hockey and Turnbull. It's not the complete picture, but perhaps the voters don't want that.

It's hard to tell what voters want because the media in this election have been largely woeful in their coverage and understanding in this election, hanging on cute lines, spin, scuttlebutt and soap operas. Who cares about Latham? And Rudd - it's not unusual to have a leader unseated when he's on the nose. Gorton, Hayden, Hawke, Downer, Turnbull, even Howard himself was almost punted. It's a distraction from the real issues.

This has been combined with the patronising view expressed by most of them that people from the western suburbs are the ones deciding this election and we are pretty thick. Problem is - both sides have gone along with this assessment, so they bombard us with simplistic election material, with black and white photos of the opposition's leader, with claims that "Labor will be responsible for 42 million population" and bunkum like that.

It's absurd. So is the tweeting, which consists mainly of Liberal functionaries repeating lines about pink batts, school halls, deficits and Rudd and getting aggressive when people challenge their repetition. Truth is - each of those issues were a problem for the ALP, but not enough to be called a "failure". They revealed a lack of regulation in the batt installation and over-regulation in public school bureaucracies; and the deficit argument reveals that people still swallow the idea that deficits are bad, when the evidence points to the fact that they aren't.

But the Labor tweeters aren't much better, failing to move the conversation forward to positives - instead targeting Tony Abbott. It's a pretty messy field and it's been fun - of a sort - to get in there and assess exactly how best to continue in the twitter stream. Throwing out catchy slogans like "Stop the Lies" seems to work. It's pretty low grade stuff.

Ultimately, I hope I can get myself off this stream this week and back into the real world, hoping for a good vote for the Greens this election. What is interesting there is that the Lib tweeters, whenever a Green is mentioned, they talk about abortion, euthanasia and drugs. That negative instinct comes out. Funnily enough, none of those are election issues. Where the Greens have policies about actual election issues, the Libs haven't a clue. Neither do many of the Labor tweeters. That's because most of them are in the same dark tunnel, looking towards yesterday.

The Apology - Symbol of a New Progressive Era

2008-02-12T23:41:00.000-08:00

So it is done. For all the protracted, niggardly discussions of semantics, legal points and the rest - it is done. The government has apologised for their actions. And it has produced such an overwhelmingly positive vibe and reaction - perhaps it is time to look back over the past 11 and a half years with increasing regret.

Such a simple, transformative act will introduce a new feeling to reconciliation. That a request by one side of the table will no longer be buried under a blizzard of weasel words. It was these weasel words and weasel views that was the biggest blight on the Howard doctrine in relation to the treatment of the original inhabitants.

It was Howard that emphasised the reasons against an apology. It would create compensation claims - appealing to those who believe money hoarding is more important than dignity and responsibility. It was also said that modern Australians had nothing to be personally responsible for, so why should the government apologise?

Both arguments fall down with a quick breath of logic. Legal experts have said that the Rudd apology is not open to claims against the government. This is because no incompetence has been admitted to. It is incompetence that attracts legal claims (such in the case of Vivien Solon) - more difficult to prove with cases to prove with the stolen generation. Pretty basic common sense and legally easy enough to achieve - and Howard the solicitor would have known this.

The other argument is also wrong, in that no government was being asked to apologise on behalf of all Australian people. While the people vote for the government, it is the government that writes the laws and enacts policies. So, no government apology would seek to speak for all Australians. It was always going to be just from the government - the institution that issued the policies and still exists in the same form as it did in the era. Howard would have known this, but deliberately muddied the issue with the "individual responsibility" furphy.

So we come to the end. And a positive, responsible, professionally delivered apology that revealed a heart for the Stolen Generation and a dignity in our new Prime Minister that was not readily expected. The speech he delivered after the apology was simple, but outstanding in its resonance. It gave a gravitas and aura not seen since Paul Keating graced the Parliament. It highlighted just how much mediocrity and prosaic speech making we had endured for so long.

But now the time for thinking of John Howard has gone. We have a new era and a lot of work to do in terms of our attitudes towards reconciliation. It is not a surprise that there are internet forums and talkback callers who still talk about "individual responsibility", "compensation nightmare" and the like, because the talk had been swung very successfully towards the venal selfishness of many. There's even going to be, on a more hidden level, the same talk of "petrol sniffing", "useless bludgers" and more racist expressions used about contemporary Aboriginal people. Many of these same racists will tolerate drug use, alcohol consumption and the like amongst white people, but will judge the Aborigines harshly. Ignorance and hypocrisy of this sort are often ingrained and impossible to steam clean away.

However, as time goes on, as children grow up, as positive, uplifting moments like this one are the norm, we will find in time that we will have a better society and a better views of the original inhabitants. Then reconciliation will not be just a word and a name used for committees. It will be something we talk about in the past, as a part of a process that helped to unify an Australian culture that respects all Australians. Optimistic, and perhaps a little naive. Better than being cynical, niggardly and grumpy.

The Musicians

2008-01-04T05:52:00.000-08:00

Musicians set up their digs
Old heads line up new gigs
Classicals contemplate a conductor-free life
But they reach out for one, like a husband his wife
Pop Stars are not here for the generic tune
Inspiration here is but the stars and the moon.

PlatyNet

2008-01-02T17:39:00.000-08:00

There is an internet in the City
A place to communicate, learn from the old world
More used now for making dates with friends in the newtopia
Ideas once kept inside the Old net
Spill now into the streets
To the cafes, canopied meeting areas
The residents known once as netizens
Now the citizens of the open City
Are not too wild, too crazed, too free.

Conversations trapped within the zeros and ones
Now free to exit mouths and enter ears
As now the "geeks" come out at night

and the day.

Platypus City 1

2008-01-01T18:39:00.000-08:00

The City Begins

With great civic pride, city citizens circle
Flowing rivers of the hopeful
Stopped at the newly laid brick cocoons
The outside beginning to fade.

It matters not the need
These are the creators of a new place
Under the old
Where the artesian springs support the dreams.

Platypus City - A New Poetry Cycle

2008-01-01T18:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome to a new direction for my blog. I'm getting a little tired of the moralising/musing blog. So, I'm going back to something I used to do a lot of - writing poetry.

This poetry is going back to an idea I had a few years ago - a cycle about a utopia called Platypus City. The platypus has always been a major symbol of mine - the creature who swims about with the fish, but likes to go to his underground burrow at the end of the day.

Platypus City is a new place built underground for the purpose of providing a home for those who don't think much of the "old world". It has the following structure:

Platypus City - The Civic Centre / Government and then several hubs:

Music
Poetry
Plays
Novels
Drama
Comedy
Religion
Reality TV
Sport
Nature
Family
Education

I hope you enjoy.

Ben Elton's Blind Faith and the Internet

2007-12-01T22:04:00.000-08:00

I have been reading Ben Elton's latest book, Blind Faith. While it is Elton's usual mix of high skulduggery, manipulation by authority and a bit of a riff on 1984 (as are most of his novels), it still raises interesting questions about the role of the internet in our lives.

In the terrifying dystopian world he creates, it is the internet that is used to enslave society and enshrine ignorance. It is a world of blind faith, where the theory of evolution is "monkey man" heresy and only faith in "The Love" is the prime philosophy.

The internet has become the main influence and channel of people's lives in Elton's world. Everyone is monitored (a la Orwell) but are embracing that monitoring. Everyone wants to be a star, to be noticed, to celebrate each other's personas - every part of them. As for "personas" - everyone's name is more like an internet username than a real name. That's why they have names like Tinkerbell, Madonnatella and Lexus and the children names like Gucci KitKat.

It is a world where everyone must share everything about their lives - even sex on a video "tubing". It is also somewhere where clothes are almost non-existent. It is considered bad to wear clothes that cover a person's body, as it makes that person "more special" and therefore a snob. Being a snob is one of the biggest crimes in Elton's world. As is wanting an education and reading fiction. Yes, self-help books are the only allowed books.

It's a short attention span, everyone's opinions are equal, exhibitionist, ignorance-is-wisdom nightmare world. The problem is, the internet forums are headed in that way. And that is part of the subject of this blog.

I have had two years as a contributor to the Behind Big Brother Australia forums as "Bonovoxpop". I went on originally to counteract the arguments by a hard right-wing ideologue who called himself "ColB". He was saying all sorts of things about the union movement which were either half-truths or selected, isolated incidents which did not represent a wider truth. As a result of this original purpose, I continued as a defender of those attacked by the likes of ColB.

As time went on, however, I began to observe all sorts of other features of a fairly prominent internet forum. And a lot of them were not pretty. There were people who liked to promote sexism, racism, homophobia. Fortunately, the moderators usually shut them down. During each BB season, there were a number of writers very keen to say all sorts of libellous things about housemates, secure in the knowledge that they were just "personas". It is a trend I personally find disturbing. Opinions about a person's actions is one thing - comments on their personal lives outside the show is quite another. But my point usually fell on deaf ears. People, I was told, have a right to say anything about BB contestants - their entry into the house gave people the right to makes all sorts of comments about their entire lives.

As I continued to write, I must admit that I caught an addiction. To being read, to being responded to. I was led to believe my opinions mattered. That people actually read them. It's quite seductive. And I started to focus more and more on getting free time to contribute. This year, 2007, had become the time for maximum exposure for this Bonovoxpop creation.

But, as attention increased, as did the size of the knives. The tipping point was my support of Michelle, a loud, abrasive but largely inoffensive housemate who briefly irked the people's favourite girl-next-door. Her parenting skills were openly questioned and she was accused of being a woman who was prone to violence and needed an AVO taken out against her. Completely exaggerated and wrong. Yet to explain her actions in context was seen as a act of provocation against the majority view of her.

It was then the battles became personal. Abusive, threatening private messages came in. It was then I started to think about my posting. It started out as a way to defend the union movement and was now was having a real-world impact on my family, because I was spending time away from them. But with the abuses and threats, it stopped being fun and I needed a way out of it. Problem was, the addiction was strong and was fed by the success of an accidental, unplanned campaign to support Zach. But I still needed to get out - and was fed by the desire to not let other posters get the satisfaction of "driving me out".

It was in the time after the series that I discovered other disturbing trends. The personal attacks turned into private enquiries into my real world life. Then I discovered that other posters had had a similar experience to me. Some had been driven away from the forums because they offended the moderators in some way. The moderators made abrasive, in-house comments on others. It was all, to me, rather bitchy and too much like high school. And, when reflected upon, not particularly intellectually stimulating anymore. There are some examples, but not many. The forums seem dominated by pseudo-intellectual chatter and home spun, anecdotal chatter.

Having said that, most of the forum members are nice people and I do wish them well. But I realise that I must stop feeding this desire to have my opinions listened to and responded to. Being a "Persona". I think it's about time I plugged back into the real world - and more important, begin to formulate opinions based on sound principles, rather than sounding off at the first juncture. And start reading again.

I Can Do That - Government Advertising

2007-09-30T23:47:00.000-07:00

I don't know about anyone else, but does it seem like you can't turn anywhere without seeing or hearing an Australian Government advertisement for something. Whether it's those post-it notes saying "Know Where You Stand" or those people in the phone-in centre saying that the "Fairness Test" is really good, those 55 year olds getting ready to cash in their super - or those people saying that switching off computers at the wall will stop global warming (forget about the Kyoto Protocol - just switch off the computer). Talking of computers, then there's the "your children are downloading porn. Stop them!!! Be ALERT!!!!" ads. (I'm waiting for the fridge magnet to accompany that campaign).

It's something none of us has seen before, well at least since the last Federal election - such mega-spending by a government before an election campaign, so they can spend our money on their campaign, rather than the Liberal Party's money. All in the name of "information". It's completely obscene but it seems that most people out there are pretty apathetic about the whole process. Personally, I think it's Climate Clever to switch off the TV when a government ad is on.

Only problem is, there's so many and they're on so often, that you'd
miss your favourite TV show. Of course, the alternative is to only have ABC programming,
on the radio and TV. I Can Do That.

Here's some good youtube things to check out:

Net Alert Take-off - With Peter Costello in its sights
Workplace Relations System
Climate Clever Take Off

Hello to a New Blog

2007-09-15T07:12:00.000-07:00

Hello all,
   Here I am again, in a new place. And a new blog. I think google will do a better job than those jumba people - the gmail spam filter is excellent, so I imagine spam won't choke this as it did my jumba blog spot.
   The mode of this blog will also change - no longer a "homily". That was a reference to a picture I used to show of the real Bono with a Pope's robes. Now I'm calling it "Walk On" after my favourite U2 song. The idea of Walking On and continuing to hold your beliefs, no matter what people say or do. So, here it is.
   I'm hoping in time to broaden this blog into commentary on social issues, such as the upcoming Federal Election. So, watch out and read, if you like...