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Australian Politics

A Pitchfork for Setka. A Soft Kitty for Hanson: A Tragic Tale

Kitten with pitchfork

Picture source: http://www.sheknows.com

As the media chase CFMEU John Setka down the road with their pitchforks, they stop to slip a hero’s cape over Senator Hanson’s shoulders. Our National Conversation is a Tale of Two Cities. One which contrasts how bigots are protected and those who speak up are condemned.

A Soft Kitty for Hanson

Time and time again we hear Pauline Hanson vilify and deride the vulnerable. Media and Politicians alike then protect her derision and hail her as a hero.

The ‘Autism in Schools Debate’ is a mark where the media and politicians aren’t all beating the same drum.

However, there are still a number of commentators and journalists staying true to the traditional mantra. “Pauline has it right” and “This is what Pauline actually meant.”

Hanson is prone to Dog Whistling – about well anything now. No vulnerable group is immune it seems.

There are those who like to throw Soft Kitty at the Dog Whistle, to muffle it and silence it.

They do this by taking it upon themselves to falsify the meaning of what Hanson said and then explain it to the public as something good (which she did not say).

Soft Kitty Warm Kitty

Singing Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty, makes everyone feel better. Those who agree with Hanson, don’t need to be ‘labelled’ as racist, xenophobic, or ableist. Those who cling onto the hatred espoused by Hanson, are touted as the ‘thinkers.’ As the one’s who ‘know’, but never say it.’ AKA  – The Silent Majority.

From “the conversations we need to have” to “This is what Pauline meant to say. There are those who continue to stroke the shitty opinions of those in agreement, by singing this song:

We do not need journalists singing their readers and listeners a soothing song.  We can all cope with discussing the harshness and contempt of Hanson’s words.

No other politician is afforded this type of pandering. None.

Singing Soft Kitty

The “Autism in Schools” debate is peppered with hailing Hanson as a hero who highlights the issue of funding on the basis of inclusion. It was not. It was about exclusion and segregation.

Some consistently falsify the meaning of Hanson’s words to mean something she did not mean. Why?

Insiders on Sunday 25th June (see from 25:10) also put a positive spin on Hanson’s intent.

This example of falsification of meaning from Insiders:

“People got a better sense of Autism from this if there was a positive aspect to it all” (Barry Cassidy)

“…If in a class with an Autistic child or something, it can take up more of the teachers time…..you need an extra teacher or extra resources or staff…. Hanson I think was trying to say all that but it came out all wrong and mean…..it just came out all terrible and that is why everyone jumped ugly on it” (Phillip Coorey).

You can watch the entire ABC The Drum Segment Here.

This example from – The Drum

“……..I don’t think that is what she meant.  I think that what she meant was that it is very, very difficult in a mainstream school. If you are not funding the classroom and funding the teacher and funding the aides to take care of large numbers of children with special needs”

These are examples of respected journalists on widely watched programs. They falsify the meaning of Hanson’s segregation speech as one of ‘misunderstood goodwill.’  It was not. So why reconfigure it?

Pauline Hanson knows exactly what she is doing. She knows her words cause division, upset and harm to others. Her speeches over 20 years which poke and prod at minorities are not just a coincidence.

Hanson means every word she says.

Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty, purr, purr, purr…..

Pimping our National Conversation with Douchebaggery

Hanson also said in her speech that “we can’t hold these other kids back”  She spoke about the fear of ‘other kids’ missing out on jobs due to kids with disabilities in the classroom getting too much attention. This means “the other” kids will lose their jobs to overseas workers. 

Take note from 14:00

Why is it a part of our national conversation that Hanson’s racism, xenophobia, Islamophobia and now ableism is ‘because she means well?”  Media reporting and discussing Hanson in this manner is simply pimping our national conversation with bucketloads of douchebaggery.

Hanson does not mean well at all. For over 20 years she never has. Never will.

If Bill Shorten or Malcolm Turnbull said what Hanson said, would they have excuses made for them? No. No, they would not.

The constant falsification of “What Hanson said” is delegitimising the experiences of anyone who is offended by Hanson’s words, particularly those who are the target of her words.

*No disrespect to the journalists who actually stand up against trash talk by Hanson.

A Pitchfork for Setka

In a compare and contrast, a Union Official emotional at the high number of worker deaths in construction and angry at the Government implemented ABCC which only makes workplaces more unsafe; is slammed backwards to sideways by all and sundry, for an emotionally laden shout down to ABCC Inspectors.

The media have reconfigured Setka’s words to mean something he did not say.  That his main intent was to ‘be a thug’ for the sake of it, rather than highlight the plight of workers.

We have seen Malcolm Turnbull’s rant at the Liberal Love-In this week.

There have been countless headlines condemning Setka, focused particularly for including children in threats and a referral to the Police.

Setka threatened to expose who the secret ABCC inspectors were to family, friends and footy clubs.

“The’ve gotta lead these secret lives because they are ashamed of what they do…We will lobby their neighbourhoods, we will tell them who lives in that house and what he does for a living, or she, and we will go to their local footy club. We’ll go to their local shopping centre. They will not be able to show their faces anywhere. Their kids will be ashamed of who their parents are when we expose these ABCC inspectors” (ABC 23/06/2017)

Setka Clarified his  Speech

Setka has clarified the emotion behind his speech.

“But as a family man and father of three beautiful children, if my comments were taken out of context or if they came across in a manner that was threatening, then I truly apologise,” he said.

“We’ve never gone to people’s homes or involved their families and we never would,” Mr Setka said in his statement.

“The thought of anyone going to someone’s home is reprehensible. My speech reflected the depth of anger construction workers feel about the persecution they face from the ABCC.”

What Setka Really Means is…

Imagine if the media treated John Setka the same way they do Pauline Hanson. Imagine if they listened to his accusation that he was deliberately taken out of context. (ABC 23/06/2017)

Imagine if they pandered to Setka and excused him. Just ‘An uneducated do-gooder, who just can’t can’t get his words right.’

What if the media reconfigured Setka’s speech and framed it all about ‘what he really meant?”

Imagine if the media and politicians framed Hanson as a thug whose words threaten and intimidate minorities and may incite hate crimes and insist she is referred to the police – every time?

What If?

What if Setka was just a man “Brave enough to say what the Silent Majority think.”

If only panel shows around the country discussed that, “He meant he was just angry at the ABCC being a tool of the Government – A Government that clearly shows they have contempt for the working class. A tool that provides an enabling environment for more injury and deaths of workers and rendering the Union powerless to prevent them.’ 

What if they said – Yeh – we should talk about that?

What if Setka was framed as  “A well-intentioned man who just wants to highlight that workers deaths are a huge issue and no one is talking about that?”   

Imagine if workers, risking lives every day in a high-risk industry, made even more dangerous by the ABCC, were treated as the ‘Silent Majority.”  

Imagine if Bill Shorten and Anthony Albanese instead of agreeing with Turnbull that the this is just ‘Thuggery’ stepped forward and shouted down the Liberals and the ABCC.  

What if they said that they don’t agree with the way Setka said it, but understood the emotion behind it and then insisted the ABCC be abolished and this is what he really meant?”

If only all Labor MPs and media used this speech as the impetus and insisted we need to have a national conversation about safety at work.

What if the Media chased Turnbull with a pitchfork and insisted he explains the high number of worker deaths?

What if….

A Soft Kitty For Setka

If the media and politicians sang Soft Kitty the way they do for Pauline Hanson and spoke about what they ‘assume’ the underlying intention was, then more conversations would look like this, instead of tirades about Unions being thugs and good for nothing else. Workers deaths and Worker Safety would be highlighted as a real issue of national concern.

Bosses threatening Unionists who are trying to ensure the safety of workers on site, dangerous conditions and worker deaths and how to prevent them, would be the topic of talk-back shows and panels all around the nation.

A Tragic Tale

We have heard post the Grenfell Tower Inferno phrases used such as ‘A Tale of Two Cities’ contrasting the treatment of the poor and the wealthy in the UK.

Our National Conversation is also a tragic tale of two cities. One where the powerful bigots with platforms can demean already vulnerable groups. These bigots then have more powerful people cover up their bigotry. They falsify the meaning of what bigots actually say into something ‘nice’ they did not say and then explain “What they really meant.”

Then we have the underdogs, screaming for someone to notice their plight. Trying to highlight what the rich and powerful are doing to those who do not have full agency, who are not empowered, who do not have a voice.

Whether this is workers, the unemployed or asylum seekers or any other vulnerable group. The same powerful people be it politicians or media, cover up this contempt for these groups, and label them thugs, bludgers and terrorists.

Corbyn’s For the Many, Not for the Few – is not a platitude. It has the ability to change life as we know it. It is time we too, looked at our own national conversations through the lens of a Tale of Two Cities, where the powerful reign and the powerless suffer.

About trishcorry

I love to discuss Australian Politics. My key areas of interest are Welfare, Disadvantage, emotions in the workplace, organisational behaviour, stigma, leadership, women, unionism. I am pro-worker and anti-conservativism/Liberalism. You will find my blog posts written from a Laborist / Progressive Slant.

Discussion

19 thoughts on “A Pitchfork for Setka. A Soft Kitty for Hanson: A Tragic Tale

  1. Eat your fickle heart out Barrie

    Liked by 1 person

    Posted by Bighead1883 | June 26, 2017, 10:44 am
  2. There are two sides, both armed with pitchforks and both unwilling to accept that others are entitled to their views and opinions and have a right to express them.
    People who try to silence opposing opinions should lead by example and remain silent.
    If P.H’s. comments leads to teachers numbers being addressed then, that would be a good thing, wouldn’t it?
    Cheers.

    Like

    Posted by Harquebus | June 26, 2017, 11:27 am
    • That`s why Labor implemented Gonski reform and not Gonski 2
      Nothing will be addressed by the LNP other than more rorts opening the way for more corruption

      Anyway,Shorten has stated that Gonski funding will be returned under Labor as will Medicare cuts and TAFE closures

      Liked by 1 person

      Posted by Bighead1883 | June 26, 2017, 11:39 am
      • Yes but, will it result in more teachers and better education?
        Shorten doesn’t have a clue how wealth is created nor why, as a collective, it is disappearing.
        It appears to me that all politicians are refusing to acknowledge diminishing returns on finite and renewable resources and is why, no matter how much currency they create and lend, growth continues to slow and is why Shorten’s promises, just like the coalition’s, will not be fulfilled.

        Like

        Posted by Harquebus | June 27, 2017, 1:11 pm
        • Idiot

          Like

          Posted by Bighead1883 | June 27, 2017, 1:16 pm
          • Obviously you have no understanding of the relationship between energy and the economy.
            QE, low interest rates, mounting debt and increasing energy costs will continue. Eventually, your delusions will be shattered. It’s only a matter of time.
            Cheers.

            Like

            Posted by Harquebus | June 28, 2017, 1:50 pm
        • Not everything boils down to minimization of resources of environmentalism H. Education is a key factor in the rest of a person’s life. It is a very serious issue.

          Like

          Posted by trishcorry | June 27, 2017, 1:49 pm
          • Yes it does.
            Please take the time to browse my latest email to you.

            “What fascinates me now is our collective denial and inability to discuss or act on overshoot, despite some threats being imminent.
            I used to believe denial was caused by a lack of awareness and understanding, but having made an effort to educate many people, and observing that they almost always aggressively choose not to understand, I began to look for a different explanation.
            I concluded that denial must be an inherited behavior because every country, culture, political party, and religion is in denial.”
            “Why do most people deny the many obvious dimensions of human overshoot like over-population, climate change, sea level rise, peak oil, resource depletion, soil loss, aquifer depletion, nitrogen imbalance, species extinction, fisheries collapse, and ocean acidification?”
            https://un-denial.com/2017/06/25/why-my-interest-in-denial/

            Resources will more and more be devoted to our unsustainable agricultural system and defense. Teachers and scientists etc. will be out or work.
            As I have said to you many times, high unemployment is required, is unavoidable and we had better start planning for it now if, we wish to minimize consequences.

            Cheers.

            Like

            Posted by Harquebus | June 28, 2017, 1:57 pm
  3. I must admit to being a little frustrated, we have the worst extremist right wing government in history in power, Labor picked up 14 seats last year in the election, only 1 seat of winning and yet they have gone back into their collective shells, why? They should be up the tories every second day pointing out how they would do it better and demonstrating how the working class don’t have to be the brunt of every tory policy, but what do we get a meek and mild Shorten wanting to be bipartisan, it doesn’t make sense to me.
    If one LNP politician suddenly dies the numbers in the parliament are equal, now is the time Labor should be preaching their policies and trying to get swinging voters on side????

    Like

    Posted by townsvilleblog | June 26, 2017, 3:15 pm
  4. There are people who do not subscribe to any Labor publications

    There are people who have no idea of the power of News Corp

    There are people who complain about no news from Labor

    I have no idea what goes on in Lithuania because I don`t look into what`s going on there

    Here`s an education for those who wish to broaden their knowledge from the distinguished John Menadue being interviewed John Faine
    http://johnmenadue.com/john-menadue-john-menadue-talks-to-john-faine-about-rupert-murdoch-the-great-rentseeker/

    Liked by 1 person

    Posted by Bighead1883 | June 26, 2017, 3:56 pm
    • A very interesting blog indeed. Subscribed! Thank you so much Biggy.

      Like

      Posted by trishcorry | June 26, 2017, 4:45 pm
      • As you`re fully aware Trish,there`s those willing to learn more of the broader media world and there are those who “HEADLINE”
        Murdoch has the HEADLINERS by the scrotum because they see his “click bait” take it hook line and sinker basically making up their own story to what`s usually a “FAKE NEWS” headline

        Now getting to Labor,with the polls favouring them consistently,why would anyone stick their neck out?
        The Liberal Party is doing a fantastic job on imploding and Cory Bernardi is poaching whilst Abbott is shooting his fool mouth of to any within hearing range

        Liked by 1 person

        Posted by Bighead1883 | June 26, 2017, 4:55 pm

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Trish Corry

trishcorry

trishcorry

I love to discuss Australian Politics. My key areas of interest are Welfare, Disadvantage, emotions in the workplace, organisational behaviour, stigma, leadership, women, unionism. I am pro-worker and anti-conservativism/Liberalism. You will find my blog posts written from a Laborist / Progressive Slant.

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