Agenda Benders Part II: Gender and Sexuality in Politics

Hello Canada, Japan, and Ukraine...welcome to the 180th post in this here blog, The Mount Gambier Independent...I am your host Nick Fletcher...all aboard for more fun and shenanigans.

Some quick housekeeping...caught the tail end of a story on the ABC Radio about Geo-Thermal research in the Mid-North of South Australia and the $13million 'dollar for dollar' Federal funding that this company/project has just received. Sorry didn't catch name of company or site location...

This is excellent news because the last story I heard just recently was that no such support would be forthcoming...I believe it may be that the State government, completely obsessed with Wind Turbines, has withdrawn it's support for Geo-Thermal. Scour the Interweb...there must be something there somewhere...

Also, I was wrong about City Council's Budget meeting last night Tuesday 25th June 2013...sort of. There was much debate about what services can be cut or reduced as per prepared 'schedules' to lower proposed rate increases, but the four main projects of the 'Proposed Budget' remain the same. It appears that funding will be reduced for some basic services, eg, maintenance re Reserves, which I would argue are exactly the things that Council should be improving, not reducing.

After more than 90 minutes CEO Mark McShane tried to have the Budget and associated Rate rise ratified as per the discussion about the 'Schedules', stating that it was approved by the earlier motion to accept a modified 'Schedule', but he was contradicted by Mayor Steve Perryman and several Councillors and a third meeting was called for Tuesday 2nd July.

Thirdly, heard architect Mr Tremelling on the ABC Local Radio this morning re his plan for a Botanical Gardens at the Old Hospital Site (previous post), and he sounded very genuine in his intent and passion, but it is the right idea at the wrong time in the wrong place...Mt Gambier should already have a Botanical Gardens, etc...more Tomorrow. 

But today's topic...(about time-Ed)...Gender, Sexuality, and some Harsh Realities about how these issues are being manipulated in the lead up to the September 14th Election.

Reality One: There are two genders, woman and man, and any variation within the individual still remains within these parameters...straight, gay, lesbian, in the wrong body for your gender (trans-sexual?), etc, except for the possibility of those who may be neither...is there such a person?...I honestly don't know...

Reality Two: There are people who suit certain roles and roles that suit certain people, eg, men are physically advantaged for hunting, etc, which now manifests itself in professional sport. I feel this differs slightly from the position of men as soldiers, where a physical advantage does also make a difference.

Global sporting competitions are split into mens events and womens events, often having specific 'mixed' categories, eg, tennis. Even within the same gender in the same event there are differentiations, eg, weight divisions in wrestling and boxing.

Having said that, there are any number of women who are fitter, stronger, far better athletes, etc, than me, indeed could kick my ass if they felt so disposed...and I am quite a large man person...and I don't have a problem with that.

Am I 'sexist' because I open the car door first for my passenger, and then I get in...my ex-fiancee from 20+ years ago jokingly told me that she resented the fact that she had become used to these sort of 'old-school' niceties, and that it compromised her next relationships...you can't win...

And there was no better illustration of what a farcically vacuous argument this has become than the Parliamentary Winter Ball...literally all the men in suits, and almost all the women in cocktail frocks and too much slap...(slap is a colloquialism for make-up-Ed)...thankyou...yes, absolute gender stereotyping...

What ever gender one assigns to oneself, their are differences...and you can take that to the bank, although I don't know what they would do with it...

Rather than repeat myself, I refer to my previous post Disengenderous for the broader issues, and this specific post is in response to the ABC TV's Q and A Program on Monday 24th June 2013, where all of these issues were dragged out again, given a good flogging, and then un-ceremoniously jammed back in the draw...and what I found most annoying was the relentlessly hypocritical gender stereotyping in most of the criticism and commentary.

I'll briefly re-iterate; I don't care if Julia Gillard is gay or not, or if she is in some sort of non-sexual relationship solely for companionship or friendship, or whatever...I don't care...and I'm sick of being told how it affects my opinion of her and/or that it's 'disrespectful of the position of Prime Minister' to even suggest it, and/or that I'm a misogynist, etc...

The issue is one of honesty, and the potential for manipulation, etc, through threats of 'exposure', etc.

I dislike Julia Gillard because of how she conducts herself (has conducted herself)...same with Penny Wong...same with Ian Hunter...and I'm genuinely concerned about how these people are all from the same crucible, the South Austarlian Labor Party, whom have covered up the abuse of 7 year old children at St Martins Lutheran School from 2002...that is why I dislike them.

A thought:
          "A single stick alone may bend or even break, but a group of sticks together is a faggot."
(What, do we laugh now?...that doesn't sound very nice...you do know that 'faggot' is a term of abuse used against gay men?-Ed)...indeed...and if I'm correct, the term (in that context) is nearly as unpleasant as the reality.

As is the term 'Bender' which I deliberately used in this context to accentuate 1) the manipulation of such issues for political expediency, and/or 2) the related political aspirations of 'hardcore gay lobbyists'...and 3) because there are radical right wing 'gay activists' whom I have no problem criticising for their actions, as much as there are those who would hate gay people and legislatively discriminate against them because they are gay, radical or not...

I would not use 'bender', 'faggot', etc as terms of abuse, but there are those who do...even gay against gay.

Unless I'm confusing 'Urban Myth' for 'Historical Fact', the term 'faggot' as identifying gay people, comes to us courtesy of the Catholic Church and the Inquisition in the Middle Ages where 'suspected' gay people were thrown onto the fires used to burn alleged witches...and hence the actual term for a bundle of sticks became synonymous with gay people and was further reduced to mean gay men...Fact or Fallacy?...I don't know...

Furthermore, the Q and A show covered the Nigella Lawson assault which was apparently very real and very nasty, and issues about intervening...to me this brought both issues to converge because I have had several incidents in my life where something has kicked off and everyone looked at me to sort it out, because I'm a fairly large man...

There was this one time at the Housing Trust where the idiot at the counter was swearing and threatening to kill his ex-partner because he had been kicked out and she got to keep the house and it was their fault, etc...the lady serving him was clearly scared and actually looked to me, and I quietly said "I think that's enough..."

This guy swung around angrily, starting at my feet as he turned, with a "What the f... has it got to do with you", and that's as far as he got, because by the time his eyeline got to about my chest he realised that that quiet voice came out of a large man..."Because you're saying it right in front of me and that lady is clearly upset, that's what it's got to do with me"

Not one more word...he just turned back, did what he had to do, very quietly and very politely, and left...my gender and my size were the issues; attributes that I would never use to threaten a woman, even if I loathed her, eg, Julia Gillard...does that make me a misogynist because I have no problem using my size against a man, especially in defense of women... indeed, I feel obliged to step in because of my size and gender.

Gender is nearly always an issue...the trick is to accept that and get the bloody hell on with it! 
People are people...lairs are liars...bastards are bastards...gender is a war nobody wins...(deep-Ed)...

Tomorrow: City Council Budget and More Rail Lands

Where to from here with the announcement that the State government has 'gifted' the Rail Lands infrastructure to Mt Gambier?...and the second Budget Meeting from Tuesday 25th June 2013...the people have spoken and Council have heard...but have they listened?...