Progressive culture since 1954
Late last month, it was reported that Wikipedia’s all-powerful Arbitration Committee banned five users from editing the entry on the ‘Gamergate controversy’, and any other article on ‘gender and sexuality, broadly construed’. The banned users* were feminist, and had been attempting to wrest control of the entry from editors identifying with Gamergate, which has recently consolidated itself as a full-blown, online reactionary movement.
Early on Saturday night 31 January a row of largely middle-aged and completely white men in grey suits on Sky News, before a vote had been counted, made ‘predictions’ about the outcome. They came to an intriguing level of consensus. It didn’t matter whether it was Graham Richardson, David Speers or Craig Emerson – the LNP was going to win about 50 seats, Labor about 35, and Campbell Newman would probably be defeated.
In the German discussion, the neo-Nazi is a shorthand device for the idea of a real racist — someone violent, intractable and proud to proclaim their racism. However, another important aspect of this trope is that it locates racism outside of the mainstream.
I started hand spinning my own yarn after trying to find somewhere that stocked angora fibre from ethically-raised rabbits. I located a small farm in Victoria that bred angora rabbits and sold angora blended with other fibres like bamboo and merino in the most vivid, beautiful colours for hand spinning.
For those who find success outside of New Zealand it’s considered poor form to criticise the mother country. The job of an international success is to act as a salesperson rather than a citizen. Arguably this was as true for Katherine Mansfield as it is for Eleanor Catton.
Watching Clint Eastwood’s American Sniper (2015) reminded me of Sunday nights spent in front of the television with my parents in the late seventies and early eighties. It was a time before the plethora of viewing options available now and the Sunday movie was a big deal, sometimes the highlight of the week’s viewing.
Citizenfour (2014) is a film that seems to unfold in real time. It is as if the plot were revealed to the filmmaker at the same time as the audience. The filmmaker is in the story and while never shown is directly and intimately involved. In the film’s opening sequence, she reads aloud the electronic communications sent to her by her source. The filmmaker is Laura Poitras. The source is Edward Snowden.
The question does not ask about the specific circumstances of the Bali 9 case, nor does it offer any explanation for the positive response. There are no follow up questions about alternatives, such as imprisonment. Without such context, it cannot and should not be used as evidence that Australians support the death penalty for Chan and Sukumaran.
Today, capital punishment is generally treated as inhumane, retributive and ineffective at deterring crime. And rightly so. But the question we should now ask ourselves is: when will we see prisons in the same light?