Posts by Russell Brown
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to Greg Dawson,
ETA2: after reading Russell’s comment – Gio’s riff on “Well-adjusted” rates as one of the major things in the last year to make me seriously re-think everything, in a good way.
That too.
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to Sofie Bribiesca,
__I never expected you to subsequently put in the work you did,__
Yes you did. That’s why you persevered.That is why you defended him against another you have high respect for. Steven Crawford is no better or worse than anyone on here.
Certainly. But Steven is dyslexic, and he has had experiences – disclosed here – which most of us could not conceive of, and sought to discuss them in a high-performance environment. I genuinely never expected him to do what he did. I am really proud of what he did.
Also: while I accept they are a healthy thing and do need to occur occasionally, Public Address Discussions About Public Address Discussions totally give me the shits. Because they have no clear answers.
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to Andrew E,
I don’t think the reply of his to Damian that prompted Russell’s intervention was over the top.
No, it wasn't over the top. It was unhelpful and unproductive, and I tried to intervene in the most moderate way I could. Accusations don;t make for good discussion.
I got tired of trying to discuss Grant Robertson's politics in this thread -- and I was consciously trying to refer to things he'd actually said and done -- because the goalposts kept moving. I'd have been keen for such a discussion to unfold, but it just seemed pointless to continue.
I'm sure that Gio's "well-adjusted" theme, as advanced on his blog and Twitter, did influence my judgement. Although I regard Gio as a friend, (and he has a standing invitation to contribute here), I just don't think accusatory caricatures make for useful discussion and I find that theme reductive and occasionally insulting.
I recall finding myself slagged as some middle-class wanker when it was merely mentioned on Reading the Maps, the local Marxist blog, that I'd been at a Bill Direen show along with Graeme Hill. I've known Bill for a lot longer that the people who said that and I'd have been delighted to talk about his work, but the caricature put paid to any potential for that.
I realise my approach to moderation isn't particularly codified, but I think it works reasonably well. Calling people names, even fancy names, isn't addressing their argument, it's negating their argument. I expect people here to advance positive arguments in response to the arguments of others.
And to not be a dick about it.
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to ,
As opposed to sexual orientation, class position can shift. Thats my experience. I was once illegible to the literate class, which did lead to times of poverty. Try getting employment that doesn’t involve reading and particularly writing skills. Then you will understand the qualification of my anecdote.
You know this, Steven, but it's worth saying again. Your trajectory is among the elements of PAS of which I am most proud. You came in and got intro trouble talking to people with a far more natural command of language than you, and I pissed a few people off (there were fairly frank email discussions with Tze Ming) by wading in in your defence. But I could see what you were trying to say.
I never expected you to subsequently put in the work you did, or to attain the level of literacy that you did. I know that you spent hours on the kind of thing that takes me minutes, and I'm still amazed by that. Quite honestly, I feel pleased whenever you pop back. Cheers.
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OnPoint: Dear Labour Caucus, in reply to giovanni tiso,
There is a disconnect here in my view: if the sensitivity to alterity and diversity in Emma’s writing and threads could be transferred into the more broadly political sphere, the community would begin to see through class boundaries. I suspect that the people of Trotter’s ilk who lament the influence of identity politics might just be envious of its vocabulary and how it’s succeeded in making privilege visible.
Interesting proposition, beautifully expressed.
I do honestly think you've been difficult to have a discussion with elsewhere in this thread though. That's all.
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It also bears noting that a generational culture of Aucklanders associates the phrase "on the munt" with a different "e" word.
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Hard News: Name That Food Blog, in reply to Trevor Nicholls,
Public Addrestaurant
You're banned ;-)
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Hard News: Word of the Year 2011 -- The Vote!, in reply to James Butler,
Whoa, I didn’t read that into Steve’s comment at all. I have to admit, I hadn’t associated “munted” particularly with #eqnz until this thread.
I'm quite surprised by that. I mean, when Bob Parker uses it ...
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Hard News: Word of the Year 2011 -- The Vote!, in reply to Steve Cooke,
I really can’t work out the fuss about ‘munted’. It’s not as though it’s a new word for 2011, spontaneously springing from the rubble of Christchurch. It has been around for at least 20 years to my knowledge.
Of course. But it is a word that found its destiny in 2011.
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Hard News: Name That Food Blog, in reply to Samuel Scott,
eating
I will consider it if you rename the Phoenix Foundation to The Band of Food.