• "When a sick fourteen month-old baby needs her mum….or dad. No it’s not. There’s no contest. Sick baby wins!" "If sick baby wins", why was it ok for sick baby to wait 5 days? Mum requested on Monday... for leave on Thursday. And then when granted leave, mum spends the afternoon doing radio and television interviews. Seems more like sick baby wins when it's politically convenient. We've moved from misogyny and onto sick babies, this Parliament's new football. - Joe
  • Hey KF, more power to you and me and anyone who has to FIGHT for our loved ones who can't fight for themselves. One day at a time. Sometimes one hour at a time. Metoo- here's hoping you never have to walk a mile in our shoes- for a multitude of reasons, and my last word- I don't see it as "locking up" my aunt I see it as an honor to make sure she is safe, looked after and comfortable for the rest of her life Good luck to everyone, Robyn - Roby
  • Tara, this article is brilliant. Agree with every word. - Nicole Madigan
  • Santorini..... - Katherine Basher
  • Very moving. Everyone I know who had done this has been touched by it. - Jo
  • I have to disagree with a few things in this article. Mothers have never been better supported than they are now. 12 years ago I didn't get a baby bonus and I only got 16% childcare rebate. Now families get 50% rebate on childcare. 12 years ago there was no paid maternity leave option from the government and the paid maternity leave from my work was 6 weeks, now it's increased to 8 weeks. A colleague told me last year she took 8 weeks at half pay (over 16 weeks) and then got 18 weeks paid maternity leave from the government so she could take over 8 months off with pay. There is also paternity leave available now where I work which wasn't available 12 years ago. However I do agree with Tara Moss about Newstart. Giving single parents the Newstart allowance is pathetic and I challenge any politician to try and live on it for 6 months and pay a mortgage or rent and see how they survive. We also still have a long way to go on gender equality when it comes to pay scales but hopefully with more women in the workforce it will help the cause. - Not That Bad
  • Wonderful. I always ask myself will someone die if I fuck up? Will it matter in 3 months? And who fucking cares? Works for me. The swearing part is important apparently. ;-) x - Michaela C
  • Our focus on women and children and their difficulties ignores the elephant in the room. Where is the father/partner in this equation? Where is the support, financial responsibilty, active participation and general parental sharing by partners/fathers? Where are they all? Why has the focus on women and children left them invisible and unaccountable? Is it because we don't expect men to take care of their responsibilities, or is it too hard any issue to deal with? I fully acknowledge that there are many exceptions, including death of a partner, abuse and violence, and other diverse reasons, but is there no way we can broaden the debate to include the responsibilities of partners/fathers? Just a thought. - Nel Matheson
  • Can we please clarify that not all single parent families were moved from PPS to Newstart - only those who were grandfathered by the Howard government when they brought in the changes many moons ago. It was Howard and his cronies that singled out and privileged a group of single parents, allowing them to recevie more than anyone in similar circumstances who didn't benefit from the grandfathering, or never received PPS in the first place (Not everyone's marriage ends before their youngest child turns eight). While I don't believe that Newstart is sufficient to live on and raise children easily I am very much against this focus that has been placed and what is in reality a small group of people. How about fighting to put everyone on PPS or to increase Newstart rather than just a few. - Carz
  • Well spoken, Vanessay. I cringe when I hear people go on about single mothers. As if it's only the mothers who deserve the social stigmatization and the husbands, boyfriends, partners don't. And as if the two parent family is so perfect. As if no two parent family lives off the taxpayer or eats junk food. But more important than the social stigma that attaches itself to their children is the poverty that disadvantages them and how it can be transmitted to the next generation. Many single mothers are close to the bread line and that's not good enough. Do we want them on the street? How would that look? It's no better than kicking someone when they're down. Un-Australian. - Rhoda
 
9
Categories:  News and Opinion

FACEBOOK, YOU’VE GOT IT WRONG!

By The Hoopla
August 8, 2012

UPDATE: AAP. August 08, 2012 2:24PM

 

A FACEBOOK group that features racist portrayals of Aborigines is being investigated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

“The ACMA is currently investigating specific URLs that contain the online content … after receiving a complaint yesterday,” an ACMA spokeswoman said in a statement.

“The ACMA is not is a position to provide further comment at this time given that an investigation is under way.”

Chris Graham of the NSW Aboriginal Land Council’s Tracker magazine said that while Facebook may have a policy on what is and isn’t hate speech, “the fact is that Facebook page is illegal”. “It is a clear breach of the Racial Discrimination Act. Is Facebook genuinely suggesting it is above the law?”

Approached for comment this morning, a Facebook spokesman in Australia said: “At this point in time, we’ve not got anything we can give you on this.”

Race Discrimination Commissioner Szoke said while she had yet to receive a formal complaint – required before an investigation takes place – she believes “this could constitute discrimination under the Race Discrimination Act”.

YOU CAN DO SOMETHING. SIGN THIS PETITION

Double standards, much?

It’s the Facebook FAIL that has everyone talking.

The site refused to run pictures of breastfeeding mothers, yet is defying calls to shut down a “fan page” that contains racist hate speech about Indigenous Australians.

As reported by News.com.au:

“Facebook is continuing to defy petitions to remove an Australian “fan page” dedicated to stereotyping Aborigines as hopeless drunks.

The page, which has more than 4000 “likes”, posts pictures of indigenous people with captions that some Facebook users say are offensive and, in some cases, hate speech, The Australian reports.

“How do you kill 1000 flies at once? Slap me in the face,” reads one of the photo captions.

The page, created on June 4, has attracted hundreds of vitriolic comments on at least a dozen offensive posts.

Other Facebook users have created online petitions calling for the page to be removed. One campaign titled “Take down racist Facebook page” has 10 signatures, while another has 31 members.

A Facebook spokeswoman told The Australian the site had no current plans to take action.

Aboriginal elder Ian Hunter, from the Wurundjeri tribe, said he wasn’t opposed to Aboriginal humour but was offended by the anonymous posts on the page.

“If it is another Aboriginal person I don’t have any problems but if it is a so-called redneck putting these things up on the internet I’m offended by it,” Mr Hunter said.

“It should be taken down, especially in the case that it’s anonymous and that’s where a lot of this sort of innuendo and racism comes from, people not stating facts about who they are and why they’re doing this.

“I don’t feel they have the right to put it on there…they have a hidden agenda.”

Mr Hunter said despite being offended he was not surprised by the page.

“It doesn’t matter how much legislation people put in against racial slurs and so forth you cannot legislate against people’s ignorance and you cannot legislate against people’s in-ground animosities towards other people.”

RELATED ARTICLES

 Another Breastbook fail

Facebook. How about Breastbook?

 

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9 Responses to this article

  1. Carz August 8, 2012 Reply
     
     

    This is just one example of Facebook’s double standards. Another is the numerous pro-rape and pro-violence against women pages that are allowed to remain so long as the word ‘humour’ is added to their title. And how about this page by a cosmetic surgeon, with before and after pictures: https://www.facebook.com/SpecialistCosmeticSurgery/photos
    I wonder how many of his patients are unaware that their tits are out on Facebook for the whole world to see.

     
  2. soozy August 8, 2012 Reply
     
     

    and yet photos of the perfectly healthy and normal activity of breast feeding are immediately taken down!

     
  3. The Huntress August 8, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Ah, the double standards never fail to amaze me.

     
  4. amd August 8, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Just a question – it is actual photos of breast feeding that are removed? Or just the photos of children pretending to breastfeed? The majority (certainly on the Hoopla comments) agreed that photos of children pretending to breastfeed, naked and etc were a child protection issue, not an anti-breastfeeding issue since children CANNOT give informed consent and the parents are sharing potentially embarrassing photos of their children without due regard to their right to privacy.

    In addition, I clicked like on a photo of a breast and a baby breast feeding, a very obvious and clear photo, up close, no question of what is happening This was posted by an FB friend on 30th July – I have just gone back and checked – and it is still up, plain to see, no talk of it being taken down?

     
  5. amd August 8, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Ok, thanks. Just wondering if that was the only picture she posted, as I say it seems unusual since my friend’s breast, large, obvious and with baby attached is still up there. If this is why they banned her, they are certainly not being consistent.

     
  6. Rusty Hoe August 8, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Facebook fails again and again to adequately deal with this kind of group. Earlier this year it was a group denigrating the disabled (I wrote about it at the time http://bobisdysautonomia.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/because-hate-is-not-hilarious.html) Again and again it was reported and the overwhelming response was that they could find nothing that broke their rules. Eventually it was removed but it took a hell of a lot of pressure. To see it happening again disgusts me, but sadly doesn’t surprise me.

     
  7. moiby August 8, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Nothing surprises me with Facebook. No conscience and I suspect they are acting on the idea that ‘any publicity is good publicity.’ The spokesperson sounds like a dill, or someone not trained in PR …

     

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Comments

  • Joe: "When a sick fourteen month-old baby needs her mum….or dad. No it’s not. There’s no contest. Sick baby wins!" "...

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  • Roby: Hey KF, more power to you and me and anyone who has to FIGHT for our loved ones who can't fight for themselves. One day...

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  • Nicole Madigan: Tara, this article is brilliant. Agree with every word.

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  • Katherine Basher: Santorini.....

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