Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Suspension of Cassandra Liebeknecht is a festival of PC absurdity

As we all know the politically correct narrative has gays and lesbians routinely discriminated against, abused, bullied and all the rest of it. This kind of stuff still happens, of course. There are still a few arseholes out there who openly treat LGBTQI people with contempt. But it's certainly not an institutional thing any more.

The present reality is much more complicated. Gays and lesbians aren't just victims of "straight hate". Many are into hating straights. You can call me old fashioned for saying this, but two wrongs do not make a right. 

Take this recent ruckus in the Adelaide arts scene. Cassandra Liebeknecht, who was director of the Feast Festival, has been suspended for being a breeder, it seems. Looks very much like a decision based on heterophobia to me.

And it involves other right-on absurdities. For example, racism is invoked by at least one of those supporting the decision against Ms Leibeknecht. Festival co-founder Helen Bock argues that having a straight person heading a queer festival is like having a white person at the helm of an indigenous body. 

Well, that term "white" does seem to be a tad, er, problematic given the precedent set by the Andrew Bolt trial. (I won't even elaborate on exactly why lest I inadvertently commit a hate crime myself and end up prosecuted under 18C. But I think you get my drift.) 

Invoking racism is just so naff, innit? It's like when the Kumbaya crowd try to shut down any criticism of Islam by saying it's racist. FFS, when are these people gonna realize, Islam is not a race! 

And neither is sexual identity. Yet this false equivalence is applied repeatedly (and effectively) as a way of silencing any criticism of the more extreme aspects of the gay rights agenda. Take "marriage equality" for example. Supporters of this cause will often say that denying SSM is akin to outlawing interracial marriage. They do so because it sounds kinda plausible at first, and absolutely no one with any decency and compassion would be against members of different racial groups marrying each other. 

But the comparison is false. The interracial marriages they invoke involve men and women. Same sex marriage, by definition, does not!

Surely these people are aware that "oranges" are not the only fruit. So it's odd that they insist on confusing 'em with "apples", right?

As well as the incoherence inherent in the decision regarding Ms Liebeknecht, there's the sheer ugliness of the campaign against her:

'I've been spat on, I've had people scare me, I've had people contact me at work anonymously, saying 'I know where your children go to school',' she said.

'There was also a gentleman who continues to this day to slander me for my sexuality. It just gets vicious.'

I'll say.

About the only way this could get more like an episode of South Park would be if Cassandra's hunky beau (pictured in the above-linked article) gets attacked for cultural appropriation on account of his impressive dreads! 

Well, whatever happens, one thing's beyond doubt: The self-satire of this PC power-play is waaay more entertaining than any of the shows in the actual festival program. Really, they should just whop a box office outside the management offices. Could prolly recoup all their losses if they did ...

Sunday, September 18, 2016

Jimmy Fallon joking with Donald Trump seen as betrayal by liberals

It's pretty well established that comedians across the Western world tend to lean left politically. I've long found this quite odd because it's a highly individualistic performance mode. You get up there on your own and poke fun at human behaviour and the narratives we live by. You have to be a bit of a loner and an outsider to do that.

Much of leftism, on the other hand, is about being part of a collective, and conforming to narratives (e.g. class warfare) rather than questioning them.

Not saying that all comics should be conservatives, of course. Just that you'd expect to see a higher proportion of them who are ... So the question is, why so few? I think a major reason is the fact that the comedy scene (much like the rest of the entertainment industry) has been almost completely captured by the cultural Left. And they are extremely hostile to any deviation from politically correct "goodthink".

The recent segment in which the affable Jimmy Fallon yucked it up with Donald Trump is a case in point. Fallon treated him in much the same way he would any other politician. He made fun of him in a light-hearted, playful way. Trump happily played along with this and came across as a likeable guy who wasn't full of himself.

This ran counter to the image of Trump as an angry, racist, misogynist fascist that the liberal MSM has been at pains to construct and perpetuate. Not surprisingly they went ballistic on Twitter and Facebook.


There were lots of columns and blog posts as well about how Fallon failed in his duty to gut the presidential aspirant. Take this one in Esquire:

Jimmy Fallon is not a journalist, but Jimmy Fallon is a taxpaying American citizen with a minimal obligation to help keep a tyrant from reaching the most powerful position in the world. He failed that obligation last night. When you go to The Tonight Show's YouTube channel this morning, you'll find five truncated clips of Donald Trump in a red power tie sitting across from a giggling, jovial Fallon.

Eh? He had an obligation? And he failed in that? So, the implication is he's some kind of traitor to the cause.

That's not just unreasonable. It borders on creepy. And it is reminiscent of another media event related to the upcoming election. In this one celebrity shrink Dr Drew Pinsky expressed concern about Hillary's health and healthcare, and promptly lost his gig with CNN. Very alarming.

Somehow I can't see this happening to Fallon. Still, I'm sure there are many liberals who would like to mete out similar punishment.

Really, they should acquire a sense of humour. It was just entertainment, after all.