• Back again with a head full of Flint cliches. I was spot on. It is all there. And JG is coupled with KR in 'playing the man not the ball'. Her fault again. Can't speak for Kevin. - Dianne
  • Has anyone read a piece by Nicolle Flint in the age/SMH today. I haven't. I read the headline exhorting all to vote I Tony Abbott and scrolled down to the tail where I read that NF was a former Lib adviser. Propaganda? As I said I have not read the piece but I feel I could recite it word for word. Is that not propaganda? I will now go back and see if I am correct. - Dianne
  • Was always going to vote for our current PM because of her fortitude and passion for Labor's policies and her vision for Australia's future, but great article and glad to see Ms Greer voice her support so publicly. - Helena
  • "So there we are, and there we have it" as an elderly neighbour used to say. Just don't mention the War or the gender wars.... - ro.watson
  • @ Carol: "I want more discussions regarding the LNP’s policies and how they will help the whole of Australia." No chance of discussion in MSM but you may find some clues in Rupert's tweets: "Australia...Needs govt with big vision for north, education, wide reversals." We know about "wide reversals" - carbon tax, mining tax, NBN, etc., and we know his vision for education doesn't include Gonski. But what's his vision for the North? Turns out that story got swept under the carpet back in February: "Lost in the blaze of bad publicity for our sporting codes was the leaked document of Tony Abbott's vision for reconfiguring the Australian landscape. Central to the plan is the creation of a megaplex region up north to be populated by the mass migration of public servants." Five minutes later Rupert tweeted his industrial relations agenda: "Australia...businesses contracting all over with extreme labor costs, alarming employment trends." We all know what that means for workers. - Tony W
  • I wish you the best Jennifer. Fingers and toes all crossed for you. - Rhoda
  • There's also no 'report abuse' button on this new version. A random opponent asked me to flirt and to come back when I 'felt more horny' .... I can deal with this - but others may well be shocked. There could obviously be far worse scenarios than mine! - Helen Watts
  • Serena Williams might not know it but she is justifying the persecution of women as surely as it happens in Muslim countries or in China or anywhere all over the world. How can we point the finger at the stoning of women in a Muslim country for instance when we excuse acts that are equally barbaric in our own country. The inhumanity that attends these horrific assaults cannot be excused or justified by anyone and time we all knew it. - Rhoda
  • Let's run with the argument that it is the woman's fault for a moment... "Women shouldn’t be walking the streets late at night." Its quite easy to say that, surprisingly so in fact, but lets examine that statement (and statements of that ilk) in greater detail. The response to that question has to be: "why?" The answer lies in the implied extension of that statement: "Women shouldn’t be walking the streets late at night - because they might get raped and or murdered by men" The "by men" bit at the end of that statement might seem a bit heavy-handed on my part, but when you think about it... its pretty f'cking unlikely that any woman would get raped and or murdered by another woman, and despite the logic of that - I want us to look at the complete and fully realised "statement" that victim blaming uses. There are two main issues highlighted by the extension of the original statement. 1. IF YOU DO "A" THEN ITS POSSIBLE THAT "B" WILL HAPPEN. Its a bit of a non sequiter that a woman walking the streets late at night is likely to get raped, so its pretty crap advice really. Good advice includes things like: - Don't go swimming with sharks, or you might get eaten. - Don't walk through the African jungle, or you might get killed by a lion. - Don't play Russian Roulette with a gun or you will probably blow your own head off. But ""Women shouldn’t be walking the streets late at night - because they might get raped and or murdered by men" is crap advice, and here is why: The good advice given above is good because the results are a NATURAL consequence of your actions. No shark is gonna see you in the water and think to itself "no, I think I would rather have a salad right now", no lion will think to itself "there is a stranger in my territory, and actually - I am comfortable about that", and guns - well... they don't think at all, its just a statistical probability that your head is gonna end up with two extra holes in it if you play Russian Roulette. It is NOT a natural consequence of her actions that a woman might get raped and or murdered if she walks the streets at night. And here is WHY: Because the perpetrator has to make a CONSCIOUS DECISION to proceed with that action. To consider the alternative - that men have no choice but to follow their primal instincts to hunt and kill - is terrifying if given any credence, but mostly its a complete load of bollocks. Its a CHOICE, it is ALWAYS a choice to commit rape and murder. 2. ... BY MEN. - Not "BY another woman" - Not "BY the OPALS" - Not "BY the participants of a hens Night" If its gonna happen, then its gonna be a man who does it. So, we are aware of WHO is doing this, and the extent of our response is to blame the victim and lightly punish the offender (if they get convicted, nothing devalues a person's worth like seeing the person who raped 23 women get 35 years in gaol). That's it, that is ALL that our society does. We do NOTHING to prevent it from happening. Where are our role models taking a vocal and very public stand on rape? Ever seen a football player condemn another team mate for assaulting or raping a woman? Nooooooooo, it will be a f'cking cold day in hell before that ever happens. Where are the classes in primary school to indoctrinate male children that they must not rape or murder women? Sure, we have self defence classes for women... but while we are at it - why don't we just put a few more ambulances at the bottom of the cliff rather than a fence at the top. Our society is well aware of this problem, yet our society takes no proactive steps to address the root-cause of the problem. Instead it is easier for us to blame the victim, and it is this victim blaming which carries the inherent dismissal of a woman's worth as a person... because our culture finds it socially acceptable to blame the woman, and our society couldn't be bothered to get of its collective arse to do something very real about it. If men were being raped and murdered by other men at the same rate it happens to women, I bet this shit would be stopped overnight. - TYLER DURDEN
  • Tony is right you know. I was a little taken aback when I first read the "fat arse" commentary in the newspaper and wondered what the dickens. A bit of checking revealed the context. The point to make about female leaders such as Angela Merkel and Julie Gillard is they challenge the old boy's network and offer or model an alternative vision of public service by virtue of their position alone. - Rhoda
 
18
Categories:  News and Opinion, Spicer's Spotlight

POOR ME. STRAIGHT, WHITE & MALE

By Tracey Spicer
July 17, 2012

You have to feel sorry for white heterosexual males.

After all, they’re in the minority these days. Which is why there’s a new civil rights movement.*

 

Russell and Lauryn Mark… separate beds for 17 nights. Photograph via news.com.

Picture this: Conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh, standing at the Lincoln Memorial, echoing the words of Martin Luther King.

“I have a dream,” he’d say to the crowd, peppered with white points, “that one day my brothers will rise up and take back what is rightfully theirs.”

“We now have a black man as our commander-in-chief, declaring war on the institution of marriage. Gays are openly serving in the military. How can you shoot bullets from a handbag, I ask you? It’s not the American way.”

This movement has a flag-bearer in Australia by the name of Russell Mark.

The Olympian has been kicked out of the matrimonial bed as he prepares to take up arms to defend his country. He and his gun-slinging wife have been told they can’t room together in the London Olympic Village.

“The stupid part of this, which I have argued to them, is that there are tons of gay couples on the Olympic team who will be rooming together so we are being discriminated against because we are heterosexual,” Mark told News Ltd.

His wife, Lauryn, agreed: “If you are heterosexual you are penalised.”

Some say they’ve gone off half-cocked.

But I support them, on behalf of this oppressed minority. Some straight athletes are forced to keep their sexual orientation private for fear of vilification.

You know all that stuff about gay diver Matthew Mitcham living a secret life, quitting training, and almost giving up on his Olympic dream? Well, boo hoo, nancy boy.

As Uncle Chop Chop would say, “Harden the f*#k up”.

Lauryn Mark won’t be able to sleep in the same bed as her husband – to whom she is legally married – for a whole 17 nights. Imagine the stress that puts on a marriage, which is, after all, the backbone of this great nation.

As for those beach volleyballers, Natalie Cook is married to her partner, so I don’t know what she’s got to complain about.

Sure, it’s not a proper marriage, but hey, if this commo, pinko, lefty, homo-loving government has its way, we’ll all be marching down Oxford street in hot pants, singing “I Am What I Am”.

I know, bad things have happened: Bullying, youth suicide, discrimination in the workplace, yada, yada, yada. But it’s time to get over it. You now have positive discrimination. And, you dress better than us.

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18 Responses to this article

  1. CP July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    I believe the gun-toting couple were just trying to make a point to plead their case to stay together. Did they do it poorly? Yeah, probably. Was it worth writing a whole (attempted) sarcastic article about it? Nup, not really.
    Was it worth me commenting on? No, dammit…*slaps self*

     
  2. PR July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    YEP – Agree with CP. Another Note: Russell Mark is punching well above his weight.

     
  3. nellae July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    What a great piece of journalism. As a Gay woman I deal with sarcasm, outright rudeness etc., on a daily basis. As yet I have not been asked by a newspaper to put pen to paper so my “sad” story can appear on the front page of a broadsheet..I wont hold my breath waiting!

     
  4. Glen July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Apparently she did the Zoo Weekly spread to draw attention to her “sport”. Between you and me, I think they’re just saying these outrageous statements to extend their 15 minutes of fame a little longer. At the expense of others, of course.

     
  5. Jen July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Congratulations Tracey – this guy deserved to have us laugh at his expense.

     
  6. sami July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    While his comments of discrimination are ridiculous, I don’t think it’s unreasonable that he and his wife be allowed to room together.
    Agree with CP, this article is a bit pointless and snarky. Normally I quite like Tracey’s column though. You win some, you lose some.

    (And my goodness, the outrage at swimmers posing with guns, and shooters posing in swimwear, and even swimmers posing in swimwear… mountains out of molehills.)

     
  7. Sharon July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    “Now, some might say equality seems like discrimination to heterosexual white males because they’ve historically enjoyed a surplus of privilege.”

    This^^^^

    Stop your pathetic whining Russell Mark and toughen the f%^& up.

     
  8. Ladystardust64 July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Great article. Perfectly pitched. It’s not a European vacation, its an Olympic Games! RM’s comments only go to show his own lack of appreciation of his position of privilege as a participant, and the pictures of his wife are just plain offensive. Where’s Germaine when you need her. And let’s find Uncle Chop Chop an Olympic event quick smart so he can bunk in with Russell.

     
  9. Tracey July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    I agree – it was a bit snarky! I actually do think they should be allowed to room together. I reckon it’s a bit rough. But I can’t stand it when white heterosexual males claim discrimination – them have a swipe at homosexuals for alleged ‘special treatment’. AAARRRGGGHH! I mean, there isn’t even an example of a homosexual couple in the Olympic Village being allowed to room together. To me, it was just a nasty swipe. So, I responded with a nasty swipe of my own! Tx

     
  10. Matt July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Geez Tracey you’ve drawn a seriously long bow here. I realise you were being funny but Russell wanting to stay in the same room with his wife and now he’s a redneck, gay hating, bogan, racist? Gees I hope I never cut you off in traffic, I might need to go into exile until the press dies down.
    I think this has more to do with Russell (who is punching miles above his own weight) not wanting to let his gorgeous, young wife out of his sight in an Olympic Village. A Village filled with the world’s fittest, most attractive, youthful, energetic human beings on the planet. It’s going to be 17 anxiety filled days for our Russell.

     
  11. Tracey July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Ha ha – excellent point about his wife! Gorgeous. I just don’t like gay bashing, verbally or physically. Yes, I am drawing a long bow. But everyone has their soap box issues – this is one of mine! Tx

     
  12. VRog July 17, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Anybody who reckons that as a straight white male they are disadvantaged is fair game in my book!

     
    • Matt July 18, 2012 Reply
       
       

      Let me guess you are possibly only 1 or none of those things?

       
      • VRog July 18, 2012 Reply
         
         

        @Matt, for the record, I am a straight, white female. Any straight person that believes they are disadvantaged because of their heterosexuality is clearly deluded.

         
  13. gogirl July 18, 2012 Reply
     
     

    I really don’t know that the article was necessary. Ridicule is distasteful, and intolerance is intolerance regardless of who’s doing it.

    We all have annoyances, this is obviously one of his. Has he handled it well? No. Do we all, always, handle our annoyances well? Not that I’ve seen.

    Self-censorship is an art that is lost on many, but I don’t know this man and I’m not going to condemn him for throwing a hissy fit in this overly politically correct world of ours.

    Let’s not give it a life it doesn’t deserve – read it if you wish, think what you want and move on. We don’t need to labour the point just because he is straight, white and male.

     
  14. Sharon July 18, 2012 Reply
     
     

    gogirl, I wonder if you can see the inherent contradiction in your post? What was that about self censorship and thinking what you want and moving on?

    Is any article on a blog necessary? Rarely. It’s comment, opinion, thoughts out loud. Others agree or disagree. Frankly I am more than a little surprised at the apologists for this guy commenting here. He sounds like a sook to me.

     
  15. gogirl July 18, 2012 Reply
     
     

    lol, sorry Sharon, but no, I can’t see it.

    Self-censorship is generally applied to that which is spoken or written, or communicated in some way and is more about being aware of and sensitive to others.

    Thinking, IMO, is more private – it is not generally accepted as a means of communication as most of us can’t lay claim to being a telepath.

    Just to clarify, I really wasn’t referring to Tracey or the article with my comment on self-censorship, but now that you’ve raised it, would it really hurt any of us to reflect a little.

    If I’ve missed the point though, I’d love further clarification.

     
  16. TMT July 27, 2012 Reply
     
     

    Uh oh, Russ is going to be really pissed off now. One of those favoured homosexuals is going to carry the flag. How oppressed must Russ be feeling right now?

     

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  • Dianne: Back again with a head full of Flint cliches. I was spot on. It is all there. And JG is coupled with KR in 'playing the...

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