Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: PEDA: Who, what, where, why

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  • andin,

    Stephen Judd

    Speaking as one of those who might take Fane's routine a bit personally than other people...
    ... the coverage has been woeful.

    Yes I'd like to find out more background as well. Not to form a lynching party, I'd just like to know what precipitated David's Mel Gibson-The Next Day impersonations - which were starting to grate.
    But I suspect everyone including Fane will want it to die quietly.

    raglan • Since Mar 2007 • 1891 posts Report

  • Luke Williamson,

    Pardon diversion but this is quite amusing and mentions our good friend Russell Brown.
    http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10655247

    Warkworth • Since Oct 2007 • 297 posts Report

  • Ross Mason,

    the provocative columnist Emma Hart

    Wot? That loud mouth feminist?

    Upper Hutt • Since Jun 2007 • 1590 posts Report

  • uroskin,

    Can somebody remind me what befell Holmes after the cheekie darkie on air rant?

    In the awkward wording of the BSA findings: no uphold

    Waiheke Island • Since Feb 2007 • 178 posts Report

  • Kumara Republic,

    Pardon diversion but this is quite amusing and mentions our good friend Russell Brown.

    And to muddy the waters further, on Brian Edwards' blog, someone out there apparently pretended to be Duncan Garner and posted something more snarky than snarky. The real Garner eventually pointed out the discrepancies between the e-mail addresses involved. On top of that, there was a post under the name of a certain Dave Fane.

    The southernmost capital … • Since Nov 2006 • 5446 posts Report

  • Rich of Observationz,

    Mitsubishi dropped its $1 million+ sponsorship of Holmes

    Which was taken up by Charlie's (sniff..)

    Mainstream old-boy rugbyhead network helping its own, I guess.

    Back in Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 5550 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    I thought Ewen's health had been a bit wobbly the last couple of years

    I understood he stood down as a Councillor (very well regarded, especially on youth issues) to look after his partner who was having health issues. Not mutually exclusive explanations I guess.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    In the awkward wording of the BSA findings: no uphold

    Apparently, to be truly offensive to us New Zillunders, race-based comments have to be uttered by a brown person about white folk (the opposite of any informed understanding of what racism is).

    That's why naughty Mr Fane and the dangerous Hone Harawira get in so much trouble compared with that nice Mr Holmes and other charming rogues like Paul Henry. They just don't know their place. Talkback told me so.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Jeremy Eade,

    Still the holocaust and Aids , sidesplitting subjects huh ;)

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    (the opposite of any informed understanding of what racism is)

    I wouldn't go that far.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    What, you're saying racism doesn't involve power? Or am I missing a more subtle position in my tiredness?

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Craig Ranapia,

    And to muddy the waters further, on Brian Edwards' blog, someone out there apparently pretended to be Duncan Garner and posted something more snarky than snarky. The real Garner eventually pointed out the discrepancies between the e-mail addresses involved. On top of that, there was a post under the name of a certain Dave Fane.

    And Doctor Edwards gets real time practical schooling in why you need to be more proactive than turning on the "moderate comments" feature in Blogger to keep trolls off your virtual lawn.

    North Shore, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 12370 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    What, you're saying racism doesn't involve power? Or am I missing a more subtle position in my tiredness?

    I'm saying that a Samoan saying that Hitler was right to exterminate the Jews is still racist - unless in fact he didn't mean it at all, as I suspect.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    Uh, I think the cultural power balance in this situation is illustrated nicely by the respective outcomes for David Fane and Stephen Goodman (understanding and pleasant chap though he is). And Paul Holmes, the cheeky whitey with the free pass.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Jeremy Eade,

    What, you're saying racism doesn't involve power? Or am I missing a more subtle position in my tiredness?

    You're a hard arse liberal which is great because you are smart and make the team look good but i think this needs wider eyes.

    Fane aint a racist and neither is Holmes from the context of their ramblings.Their punishments are a possible equality issue but they both got told to get the fuck with the programme and both learnt a lesson....racism is still being destroyed , it doesn't need encouragement or equally in Fanes case homophobic slanging.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report

  • giovanni tiso,

    Uh, I think the cultural power balance in this situation is illustrated nicely by the respective outcomes for David Fane and Stephen Goodman (understanding and pleasant chap though he is). And Paul Holmes, the cheeky whitey with the free pass.

    I'm not disputing that, I'm just saying that you made a statement - it's not racism if it's aimed at whites by non whites - that is demonstrably false.

    Wellington • Since Jun 2007 • 7473 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    Ta. I think we've thrashed this one out before (though strangely with less rancour than copyright seems to induce).

    Disparaging any group of people based on stereotypes is not good. Power comes into it but not (forgive me here) in black and white terms. I also get the historical basis of anti-semitism though it doesn't seem so big here now (same with the anti-Irish sentiment that used to be popular). Mainly I need sleep now.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Sacha,

    I still think it can be said that holding the less powerful to account is the opposite of understanding racism. But I'll see where that goes tomorrow.

    Ak • Since May 2008 • 19745 posts Report

  • Jeremy Eade,

    Surely Fane's downfall was the same as Nathan Kings. You've got to start making sense, even artists, it's 2010.

    auckland • Since Mar 2008 • 1112 posts Report

  • Ian Dalziel,

    Disparaging any group of people based on stereotypes is not good.

    nice to know the hardwired Kiwi's knee-jerk Aussie-bashing will soon be a thing of the past!
    I see a softening on the Kick It threads already, world peace through football*...

    *even if it is just the Irish dancing version of Rugby
    ;- )

    Christchurch • Since Dec 2006 • 7953 posts Report

  • Russell Brown,

    Apparently, to be truly offensive to us New Zillunders, race-based comments have to be uttered by a brown person about white folk (the opposite of any informed understanding of what racism is).

    That's why naughty Mr Fane and the dangerous Hone Harawira get in so much trouble compared with that nice Mr Holmes and other charming rogues like Paul Henry. They just don't know their place. Talkback told me so.

    Nah. If anything, Holmes generated more controversy than the others; or about as much as Harawira. I don't agree at all that Fane has been treated worse because he's Polynesian. He made the news because he lost the plot and said stupid and offensive things in front of a room full of media people.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report

  • Kyle Matthews,

    He made the news because he lost the plot and said stupid and offensive things in front of a room full of media people.

    Today it's been reported as a 'roast', a la Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondents Dinner. If that's true, I guess he was under the impression that it would be received in that context.

    Since Nov 2006 • 6243 posts Report

  • horse,

    It's hard to judge without having seen the performance in question, but perhaps a better analogy to David Fane is Michael Richard's infamous Laugh Factory incident.

    As for Brian Edwards' blog, perhaps someone needs to explain to him (and Duncan Garner, amongst others) that misusing a web text field that allows you enter any arbitrary email address isn't exactly committing identity fraud. [1]

    [1] I'm sure there are humourless lawyers among us who will attempt to argue differently. Doing so will merely prove my point. :)

    Palmerston North • Since Feb 2007 • 32 posts Report

  • Christopher Dempsey,

    The Fane 'roast' incident is pretty cringe inducing for me. It's just so embarrassing more than anything else. It shows up just how un-sophisticated we are.

    Roasts as a concept are a great idea but the trick lies in being good with words, and manipulating them to a) sound clever b) poke someone and c) do it all without offending anyone. It can be done, but requires good clever sophists, erudite and witty - a modern day version of Oscar Wilde for example.

    I struggle to think of people, but a good start would be Michelle A'Court - she could do a, b and c probably quite well, but to get to the next level we'd need someone with good strong 'literary/cultural' knowledge.

    It's a real trick, requiring great sophistication, which is in very short supply in NZ. Fane clearly doesn't have it and shame on the organisers who assumed he did; they deeply embarrassed Fane at his expense, not theirs.

    Fane should be sitting at the feet of the few of us who have a way with words for his sins. And the organisers are the ones who should be roasted alive - that's the very least we can do for them and even then it's not good enough.

    Parnell / Tamaki-Auckland… • Since Sep 2008 • 659 posts Report

  • Tom Semmens,

    He made the news because he lost the plot and said stupid and offensive things in front of a room full of media people.

    One can make a tasteless joke about Gypsies or the Rwandan holocaust without it becoming national news, or being accused of being a racist who hates Roma/black people in 500 font on the front page of every right wing publication in the land.

    I have become very jaundiced these days about the fuss that gets made everytime someone makes a joke about the Holocaust. Not because i don't think the holocaust was a uniquely horrific event, but because of the way an insincere hyper-sensitivity over the holocaust is used by right wing commentators to shut down anyone who might dare criticise Jewish lobbyists, or the Jewish state.

    The cheapening of the Holocaust to being merely another tool in the arsenal of those who seek to stifle any debate of Israeli policy is a tragedy in its own right.

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report

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