#ScoMoPhobia is out of control!

Today in Australia we were treated to the ridiculous spectacle of Federal Treasurer Scott Morrison playing the victim card, saying he’d been subjected to hate speech and bigotry. In general terms I’m opposed to hate and bigotry but it doesn’t count when they’re made up.

Morrison’s ridiculous bleating was in response to Labor Senator Penny Wong saying the government’s proposed plebiscite on marriage equality is a bad idea because opponents will use it as an excuse to inflame hatred and homophobia. I don’t know why she’s so worried, just because of the hateful comments already made by members of the government and other opponents of the safe schools initiative and the so called Australian Christian Lobby saying “pretty please can we be exempted from anti-vilification laws for this plebiscite so we can say what we really think?”

I’m sure there’s lots of reasons you would want to be exempted from laws designed to protect people from undue vilification and it’s pure conjecture that the ACL’s is to push hateful rhetoric any chance they get no matter who it hurts.

Anyway, Scott Morrison has piped up and said he understands Penny Wong’s concerns because he’s “been exposed to that hatred and bigotry for the views I’ve taken“. Yes, when will someone stand up against the oppression suffered by rich straight white men who are actually part of the government actually running the country? What power do you have when you’re only the second most powerful position in the government?

So Morrison has equated being somewhat answerable for things he actually says and does with being vilified and attacked for who you are. Because that’s what bigotry is – being called out for being an arsehole isn’t bigotry, being told who you are makes you a lesser person is bigotry.

So far as people saying hateful things about Morrison, well I guess when you push policies that deny people basic equality based solely on who they love you might get some blowback. Not that it adds to the debate to call Morrison a shit gargling fuckwomble but I can see how some people might be angry enough to say that.

It’s impossible to overstate the fragility of these conservative white christian men. You can almost see the tears in Cory Bernardi’s eyes when someone calls him a homophobe just because he directly associated being gay with bestiality and launches hateful lies against a school programme aimed at protecting LGBTI kids from harassment and bullying.

Calling him a rancid pustule infesting the rectum of Australian politics might seem accurate but can’t you see how oppressed he is? When he spreads his despicable slander with no concern for whose life he’s ruining, he never expected to be held accountable for it!

Social media has taken Scott Morrison’s side with #ScoMoPhobia. You might think it’s ridiculous to say people being angry at Morrison, Bernardi and the rest pushing their bigotry is a form of bigotry in itself. But that’s just because you don’t understand the oppression of rich white christian men. Who literally run the country. WHEN WILL SOMETHING GO THEIR WAY?!?!?!

 

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The Sound of Sodomy

There’s homophobia, then there’s weirdness. Like this pamphlet being circulated in Ireland ahead of a vote on marriage equality:

To discuss this I brought in an expert on the sounds of sodomy – AIDzee!

Dealing with online bigotry

Here’s the final part of my little series on online bigotry.  In this video I talk about ways to deal with it when you’re on the receiving end of bigotry.

To me, the single most important thing to remember when you’re faced with these morons is that it’s all about you.  Don’t waste time worrying about changing the hateful attitude of bigots – you can’t change them and it isn’t worth the time and effort you’d waste trying.  Decide what works for you and go with that.

If you want to launch into them (like, ummmm… me) then go for it.  If you want to ignore them, then do that.  If you want to delete their comments and block them from making further comments that’s your right.  Don’t listen to any bullshit about “free speech” or how you have to “debate” with them if you disagree with them.

If you take the trouble to create a blog, a website, a forum, a YouTube channel, you have the right to define how that works.  If these worthless, hopeless, gutless losers don’t like what you do, they can fuck off and do something of their own.

I’m not in favour of developing “codes of conduct” or anything similar. I think they’re impossible to enforce in practice and more than a little lame conceptually.  If people don’t understand how to act like a decent human being then don’t waste your time on them.

Bigotry online (part three)

I rambled so much when I was making my video about online bigotry that I filled up my memory card before I’d said everything I wanted to say.  So I shot some more on another day.  I even found another nice seaside location to shoot at.

In this part I talk about (among other things) my own first-hand experiences with racism when some stupid people seemed to think I was an Asian female.

There is one more part to this series of videos where I talk about strategies on how to deal with online bigotry.  Stay tuned.

Bigotry online (part two)

Wherein my rambling continues.  And is unexpectedly cut short when the memory card in my video camera gets filled up.  That’s what I get for not stopping the camera between takes.  There’s at least one more part of this video series to come.

And I promised I will reply to all the comments the first in this series generated.

Tomorrow.  I’ll do that tomorrow.

Bigotry online

Let me tell you what the problem with niggers is…

Better still, let me tell you how I’d solve the the Jew problem in this town…

Or maybe I’d be better off explaining how the Muslims are invading our country…

Actually, speaking as someone who’s been called gay, black, Asian, Lebanese, Jewish, Muslim and several other weirdly inaccurate things by people who thought they were insulting me, allow me to have a little ramble on the topic of bigotry. I’ve even chosen a pleasant setting in which to discuss this unpleasant topic.