Hard News by Russell Brown

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Hard News: There's a funny bit at the end ...

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  • Graeme Edgeler,

    I was quite a fan of DPF's plan for reasonable Australians to take back the flag.

    Perhaps the drug dogs are just a way for thousands of music fans to have their music festival back too - it's the Big Day Out, not J-Day :-)

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Corin H,

    Seems as if the funny bit at the end has been DMCA'ed from Youtube.

    Since Jan 2007 • 14 posts Report Reply

  • JP Hansen,

    That last YouTube clip's been pulled by the looks. :(

    Waitakere • Since Nov 2006 • 206 posts Report Reply

  • Michael Savidge,

    Perhaps the drug dogs are just a way for thousands of music fans to have their music festival back too - it's the Big Day Out, not J-Day :-)

    The music bone's connected to the dope bone...

    Somewhere near Wellington… • Since Nov 2006 • 324 posts Report Reply

  • Paul Litterick,

    Skrewdriver were a bit more than an Oi band. They were the house band of the National Front in Britain and very much part of the White Power movement. The use of one of their songs in the video shows that this is the work of commited fascists, not just your average thugs.

    Of course, Howard doesn't help matters when he praises Catch The Fire Ministries, which is involved in a religious hatred case going though the courts. He has shown which side of the divide he stands on.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 1000 posts Report Reply

  • Mikaere Curtis,

    Unfortunately the gay video has been removed by YouTube "due to terms of use violation". Bugger.

    I have a theory about Australian racism, which boils down to:

    a) unlike in Aotearoa, the Austronesians (to use Jared Diamond's term for indigenous Australians) had a culture that was largely unrecognisable to Europeans so there were no natural attractors towards social integration (instead, the history could be viewed as a drawn out race war). Ergo, cultural tolerance and diversity is not intrinsic, as it is here.

    b) Which has helped develop what appears to be overwhelming requirement to "fit in" (i.e. assimilate). I know heaps of Kiwis that adopt an Aussie accent after moving to Aussie because it makes life a lot easier. They call their southern/eastern European immigrants "wogs", a term that, AFAIK, is not commonly used here (we call the same groups Greeks, Croats, Serbs etc - whatever name they use for themselves).

    c) And there seems to be a fondness of cognitive heurism, whereby complex issues can be reduced to simplistic paradigms. Try talking to an Australian about their indigenous population...the usual result is that a complex situation is reduced to simplistic "blame the victim" rhetoric.

    Add in opportunistic political leadership that seeks to make mileage out of "Australian-ness", and you've got an environment where antipathy thrives.

    Tamaki Makaurau • Since Nov 2006 • 528 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    mikaere,

    on point a), it worked the other way too. aboriginal nations saw little value to many aspects of european culture and ignored it (floggings, hangings, indentured labour and christianity), and europeans themselves, while happily and enthusiatically uptaking technological advances like metals.

    this lead to untold frustrations on the part of the colonisers, and has been directly attributed as one basis of the more 'vigorous' assimilation policies like 1850s genocide and 1870s-1970s child removal.

    and in regard to point B. [hand goes up] guilty as charged. in fact i sometimes find myself slipping into a mild 'strine when talking about melbourne...

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    It's such a shame the "God Hates Fags" clip has been taken down - it was so ludicrous, and so utterly fruity that any sensible person should have been amused, not offended by it. Indeed, my first action on finding it was to send the link to two gay friends ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Danyl Mclauchlan,

    I know heaps of Kiwis that adopt an Aussie accent after moving to Aussie because it makes life a lot easier.

    Waiter: Gidday guys, my names Tony and I'll be your waiter for this evening.

    Kiwi: Hi Tony - can we get a bottle of mineral water to start . . .

    Waiter: Geez - you've got a funny accent! Where are you from?

    Kiwi: I've been living in London for four years, but I'm originally from New Zealand.

    Waiter: New Zealand! You must like shagging sheep! Ha ha ha ha, just kidding, just a little joke.

    Kiwi: Ha ha. Can we get some water and a couple of menus . . .

    Waiter: Oh yeah, we know all about you kiwis and your sheep you dirty buggers. Hey - say 'six'!

    Irish Girlfriend (whispered): What's he talking about?

    Kiwi: (whispered) He thinks he's being funny . . .

    Waiter: Got yer velcro gloves have you kiwi? You know - to hold onto the sheep while you're shagging it? Ha ha ha. There's no mutton on the menu here you know - might not be the right cafe for you. We got lots of farms over here though. If you get too homesick you can pop up there and say hi to baaarbara. Ha ha ha ha, just a little joke.

    Kiwi: (Slowly) Can you get us some MENUS?

    Waiter: You want some Ewes? You dirty bugger, I bet you do. Bet you'll give them a right shag, ha ha ha ha. Want to say hi to Baaarbara do you, ha ha ha ha. (To girlfriend) Does he make you dress up as a sheep? We know what these kiwis are like, aye, ha ha h a ha . . . They like to have sex with sheep, ha ha ha ha. They fuck sheep, ha ha. Just kidding mate, just kidding, just having a little joke . . . Ya sheep fucker!

    Wellington • Since Nov 2006 • 927 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    The forces of political correctness shall not beat us down.

    The clip is here

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Tom Semmens,

    When last in Sydney - last November - myself and my two female companions visited the Chinese Garden at Darling Harbour (excellent fun if you dress up in Chinese costume before you wander around). As we left, we noticed a group of white, middle class yobbo's (trying to look like skinheads) attempting to catch ducks from the pond with hooks baited with bread. My female companions were shocked, not just at the obvious cruelty and the pleasure which the yobbos were obviously getting from it, but also at the complete indifference by any of the hundreds of people wandering about. We told the cashier at the gardens, who when calling the police didn't seem surprised or shocked, and eventually some NSW police, clad in the pseudo-paramilitary gear they seem to favour, turned up and chased them away. Thuggism seems to lurk very close to the surface over there.

    When I travel to Australia, I am constantly struck by the racism and at the relentless plugging of a mono-cultural myth similar to the American dream. Led by John Howard, a canker is eating Australian society from the inside out. With heavy handed policing of kids at a rock festival in a country riddled with massive organised crime and police corruption, Acts of extreme violence on strangers, and blaming the victim for anyone who does not buy the prevailing societal values and myths, the Americanisation of Australia continues at breakneck speed.

    Sevilla, Espana • Since Nov 2006 • 2217 posts Report Reply

  • David Slack,

    The clip is here

    Looks as though a filthy sinner is still picking out his shirts.

    Once you've picked your jaw off the floor, check out this one, helpfully noted by Not PC.

    Fundies Say The Darndest Things

    Devonport • Since Nov 2006 • 599 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Perhaps the drug dogs are just a way for thousands of music fans to have their music festival back too - it's the Big Day Out, not J-Day :-)

    Right. So we can go back to the golden era when everyone at the Big Day Out was stone cold sober, even in the Boiler Room. Oh, hang on ...

    But seriously Graeme, the idea of resoonding to problems by pushing the event into being some sort of flag day is silly. Reading a number of sites, I get the impression that long-term punters feel that it's losing its quirkiness. Turning it into flag day hardly recaptures the spirit.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Che Tibby,

    one of my brothers had his front door smashed in, and was assaulted by an off-duty cop while i was in melbourne. his girlfriend had verbally abused the cop's son, and this was a little payback.

    we were able to follow up the the incident (to get victims compensation) because all police records disappeared.

    100% true story.

    the back of an envelope • Since Nov 2006 • 2042 posts Report Reply

  • dc_red,

    I note John Howard did not add to his comments that "there is also a small proportion of the White (Christian or post-Christian) Australian community who are complete fucking morons too." Y'know, in the interests of balance and all that.

    But lest we get too high & mighty, part of the difference between NZ and Australia in terms of inclusiveness/racism/multiculturalism might be that their right-wingers are in power, and ours just missed out.

    Don Brash dabbled in Howardesque rhetoric from time to time, but for a true exponent see the great white hope from East Coast Bays.

    Had a good laugh / terrible groan at Danyl's account of a restaurant experience. But kiwis are plenty good at snarling at people they think are Americans.

    Oil Patch, Alberta • Since Nov 2006 • 706 posts Report Reply

  • Graeme Edgeler,

    But seriously Graeme, the idea of responding to problems by pushing the event into being some sort of flag day is silly.

    Not ideal, but far better than the postulated alternatives.

    The suggestion isn't about recapturing the spirit of the BDO, it's about preventing the misuse of the Australian flag to abuse people of colour. Banning the flag, or discouraging attendees from bringing flags on the day before Australia Day won't recapture the spirit of the BDO either.

    Wellington, New Zealand • Since Nov 2006 • 3215 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    I didn't get around to using it in the main post this morning, but this blog entry is interesting.

    It points out that the National Soccer League was de-ethnicised in the late 1990s:

    Melbourne Croatia became the Melbourne Knights, Preston Makedonia became the Preston Lions and South Melbourne Hellas became the South Melbourne Lakers.

    As part of the process, heritage flags were banned, on the basis that they were associated with violence. The author concludes:

    More recently, an incident between Serbian, Greek and Croatian fans at the Australian Tennis Open raised immediate calls to ban these flags from entering Melbourne Park. If the Serbian and Croatian flags can incite violence, then why is the Australian flag exempt, especially given the newfound nationalism that has spurred up in many young Australians since the Cronulla riots and with talk by such individuals of a second riot happening at Rye in the near future.

    John Howard is right, flags do not have arms and legs and as such should not be banned from being displayed, however this proud country built on multiculturalism cannot truly celebrate Australia Day without celebrating what makes this country so great. An incredibly diverse pot of cultures, traditions, religions and above all a mutual respect makes Australia distinct from any other country the Australian flag should be waved proudly, as too should the flags of the countries which the Australian people come from.

    When you suppress people of the right to celebrate their origins and cultures, you suppress the nation of the very multicultural fragment that makes Australia the lucky country.

    The thing that strikes me is not so much the racism of one side or the other (the Leb gangs are clearly nasty thugs), but the extent to which Australians seem to be set against each other, the pressure to assimilate notwithstanding. It's a very different country to ours.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Josh Addison,

    Danyl: Yeah, I've never got the sheep-shagging thing, especially from a country that has way more sheep than we do.

    I have my theories, though.

    Onehunga, Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 298 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    Not ideal, but far better than the postulated alternatives.

    The suggestion isn't about recapturing the spirit of the BDO, it's about preventing the misuse of the Australian flag to abuse people of colour. Banning the flag, or discouraging attendees from bringing flags on the day before Australia Day won't recapture the spirit of the BDO either.

    So the solution to aggressive nationalism is to make nationalism compulsory? To repeat some of the objections I raised on Kiwiblog yesterday, aren't you just going to get thugs telling non-whites they have no right to the flag? Do you become a target if you decline to carry the flag around all day? And do the organisers then ban people bringing in, say, Lebanese flags?

    As I said, they're in danger of the event becoming too weird and too tense to be fun any more.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Richard Llewellyn,

    RB

    The NSL 'de-ethnicising' was an interesting case study. David Hill was brought in as a top business-man in the 1990's to make Australian soccer the biggest sport in the country (he was a decade ahead of John O'Neill but was given a similar brief).

    He concluded, quite reasonably, that one of the biggest obstacles to 'mainstream' spectator and media acceptance of Australian soccer, or 'wog-ball' as it was so delightfully known then, is that it was perceived as a thin excuse for minority ethnic warfare, entrenched in Australia over decades by the immigrants who built the football clubs up from scratch.

    I can vouch first-hand for that, if you were not the 'right' ethnicity at a home game for one of the Sydney teams, then you were clearly made to feel less than welcome (jeering, swearing, throwing of bottles etc). Hills rationale was that it should be about the football and the club, not about the flag, but it was a pretty major cultural change that has taken a long time.

    While it can now be seen as a pretty brave move and helped bring long-term results (as evidenced at last world cup), David Hill didn't survive for long, the 'old-school' ethnic rivalries banding together at the first available opportunity to force him out.

    Mt Albert • Since Nov 2006 • 399 posts Report Reply

  • Robyn Gallagher,

    Re the gay, gay, gay song.

    When it came to the "If you're a fag, he hates you too" aside, I laughed and spurted coffee on my jeans.

    Since Nov 2006 • 1946 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    When it came to the "If you're a fag, he hates you too" aside, I laughed and spurted coffee on my jeans.

    And yesterday someone spat all over their geeky twin monitors. I am not up for your cleaning bills, folks ...

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Russell Brown,

    While it can now be seen as a pretty brave move and helped bring long-term results (as evidenced at last world cup), David Hill didn't survive for long, the 'old-school' ethnic rivalries banding together at the first available opportunity to force him out.

    Thanks - interesting.

    Auckland • Since Nov 2006 • 22850 posts Report Reply

  • Neil Morrison,

    It's a very different country to ours.

    I don't believe Australians are on average any more racist than NZers or anyone else. So the differences as far as I can see are its higher population - therefore a greater pool of young males from which can come fuckwits, and the far different immigration pattern. There just are more large numbers of ethnic groups from which to again draw aggressive, tribal, territorial males. NZ gets this as well but to a smaller extent because of our smaller population.

    It's interesting to note that this sort of behavior is common in some European sports (Paris Saint-Germain comes to mind). Since BDO is a regular event it gives people the opportunity to organise and for traditions, good and bad, to grow.

    Since Nov 2006 • 932 posts Report Reply

  • merc,

    This is a good Ozzie blog, http://larvatusprodeo.net/

    I don't think it's about who is the more racist nation, how can we measure that? It's not about nation anyway, it's about individuals resisting the urge to otherfy others.

    Resist the urge to otherfy others ya muthas!

    Since Dec 2006 • 2471 posts Report Reply

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