There are two things that are the grain of sand in the oyster shell of my mind this week, one rather large and scary, the other seemingly innocuous. The following tales are true, prepare to be horrified.
1) Yet more tales from newspaper write in sections. I became aware of this via a letter in Saturday's West Australian, and then a short search in Google revealed a bunch of related sites (although one was a troll, which ruled).
Intellectual discrimination. You heard me right, intellectual discrimination. Apparently denying someone the right to take a job or a university course because their intelligence is insufficient to complete the tasks effectively is discrimination. The main crux of this is that, like race, gender and sexual preference, people cannot choose their level of intellect, and therefore it's a type of discrimination. You know what, for the sake of argument, let's say that is valid. Some people do work better academically than others, it's an easily observed phenomenon. By the same token, some people are naturally more creative, while others are better with their hands, et cetera. Variety is the spice of life, don't order it mild, you goddamn pussy. But, and here's the catch, do you want a midget bodyguard? A colour blind electrician? A newsreader with a speech impediment? These are all things that people can't control, why should it be a factor?
The answer? Because it affects their ability to do their job well. Why should universities reject applications from people who do not demonstrate the academic ability or intellectual capacity to pass the course? Because they'll fail the goddamn course! This is exactly the kind of PC crap that makes people think that everything is discrimination and that middle class white men are the worst people ever. Snobbish, conspiratorial discrimination by academia? Really? Is that really the obvious answer? Or maybe it's just that the idiots have finally spoken up for their right to be stupid. Speak on, noble fuckwits.
2) This utter fuckfest of an election. Videos like this make me wonder if this country ever has a hope in hell of moving out of conservative right wing borderline fascism: (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVTR79_mBOM&). Between this kind of half scare tactic, half appeal to emotion reasoning and douchebags like Stephen Conroy, You could be forgiven for thinking that Australia is actually an offshore settlement of Alabama.
"Real 'straahlyans need ta stop da boats, coz they're takin' all our jerbs!" has to be the dumbest thing I've ever heard, especially when people consider that the percentage of the population increase attributed to boat people is less than one percent, while the percentage of the increase attributed to refugees and asylum seekers is still just under 5% (source: http://www.crikey.com.au/2010/07/08/crikey-says-mathematics/). But yeah, you lost your job because of the darkies, not your laziness and inability to do a good job, you racist dick. You could almost imagine Tony Abbott saying "Those damn immigants (sic), I knew it was them! Even when it was the bears, I knew it was them!".
All this pandering, scapegoatism and middle-of-the-road political barrel scraping does, however, have an upside. Interest in the two major parties has fallen, and they're neck and neck in the polls. Factor in an increase in Greens support (I heard recently that it was 14%, a record for them, I believe) and a bright, shiny, warm (and sexy, thanks Fiona) future comes into view. Labor could strike a deal with The Greens to stay in power, meaning that any decisions that go through the Senate would have to be OK-ed by them. Is it perfect? No. Is it a step in the right direction, towards a more open, humanitarian and socially responsible Australia? I say yes. But come voting day, the numbers will tell the real story. I urge everyone to jump on party websites and bone up on what each parties policies are, and make an educated choice. Then crack a beer and kick Tony Abbott squaw in the nuts for being a dick.
No comments:
Post a Comment