Has the accepted role of journalism become that of a woke lullaby?

On the 16 June 2023 Australian media operator, Crikey, issued the following advice in relation to an article written by senior staffer, Guy Rundle:

Crikey has made the decision to unpublish the article, and apologises to Brittany Higgins and readers”.

Thus Crikey didn’t simply grovel, it took the somewhat unusual step of also deleting the article in question from their website. So if you’d like to read the article and form your own view of the matter, well tough, as you’ll need to search high and low to find yourself a copy. You might also wish to read various papers on the topic that have been prepared by Bettina Arndt (example).

I’ve read the Crikey article and I can’t fathom the amount of venom it’s attracted. The author doesn’t accuse anyone of anything, he simply nominates and briefly discusses a number of possible scenarios. I could point to many pro-feminist/woke-authored papers that should have sparked greater outrage, and were far more worthy of removal. Anyway, I’ll study Guy’s article again in coming days and perhaps my view will alter. But I doubt it.

Considering the following points:

  • the rather large question marks still posed by the Higgins matter
  • the corresponding manner in which our feminist-saturated media deals with (or fails to deal with) stories about men and boys, and
  • that we seemed to be making progress in terms of the media tackling issues with their eyes a little more widely opened.

I’m more inclined to #FacePalm #sigh. Oh, I dunno. Surely I’m not alone in finding this episode to be both very disappointing and worrisome regarding where-ever it is that the media, government and sundry woke cohorts are heading?

And the silence that now surrounds the issue suggests that those who might otherwise demand answers, have gone to ground in the expectation that woke screamers will bay for the blood of anyone who dares lift their heads from the trench.

One point that has been raised, and understandably so, is the figure of AUD$3mill that was earlier suggested as the sum that Brittany received from the government. Brittany has stated that she didn’t receive anything close to this amount. So how much and why?

Surely you would think that someone would lodge an FOI request to clarify at least this point. But nope – silence.

Anyway we’ll see what, if anything, emerges in coming days.

 

 

 

 

#FireClementineFord: A case-study in feminist hypocrisy

In an earlier post I mentioned how feminists routinely assert – or at the very least imply – that women are continually abused by men online. They consistently neglect to mention that many women perpetrate online abuse, and that many of them appear to be feminists/SJW. I have also previously written about the widespread feminist proclivity for silencing those advancing alternative perspectives and/or wilfully dishing-out retribution.

Clementine Ford is a feminist journalist known for the virulently anti-male commentary she disseminates by virtue of her position with Fairfax Media. Should you wish to lodge a complaint in relation to a Fairfax journalist, the first step is to go to the website of the publication that published the offending article. Find and click on the ‘Contact Us’ link, and then send your complaint to the editorial team. For example, with regards to The Age website click on http://www.theage.com.au/support/ and then click on ‘Editorial Feedback’. The next step is to make a complaint to the Australian Press Council.

In late November 2015 Clementine received a message from some fellow called Michael Nolan, who called her a “slut“. She lodged a complaint with his employer which resulted in Michael being fired. Clementine’s version of events is detailed in this article, with a related radio interview here. The incident was also picked up by the international MSM (and note the more than 1,750 readers comments it attracted).

Clementine asserts that there are no consequences for men who threaten women online. That’s demonstrably untrue given that there are laws in place to address such behaviour, as well as actions that can be (and are) taken by ISP’s or web site providers. To the extent that such measures prove ineffective, then any such deficiencies would apply to both male and female trolls. As a consequence it seems pointless to single out men as being immune from repercussions, unless of course the intention is simply to demonise men and build further support  for the women-as-victims narrative.

The feminist response to Clementine’s action sought to have us believe that doxing and punishing people for making actual threats of violence was the focus of their fury. This is little more than a ‘red herring’ to win public support, as the true emphasis appears to be silencing those advancing opinions critical of the feminist narrative. We are talking here about comments that very rarely threaten violence, and whose impact is no more severe than one of hurting the feelings of the recipient feminist.

The feminist rage quickly grew and quickly manifested itself in the creation of an online blacklist of those people whom feminists consider to be trolls … essentially a vigilante response.

I don’t support people using foul or threatening language online under any circumstances. But neither do I champion those who respond to such messages by way of shrill over-reaction. Especially when they themselves have an established track-record of disseminating online abuse. And god knows, Clementine Ford falls well and truly into that category …

“Who among us hasn’t had a daydream of going on a rampage and wiping out a third of the male population, AMIRITE?” (Source)

A sampling of some of Clementine’s other noisome literary offerings is provided below (with a few more listed in this post). I might also point out that Clementine recently saw fit to label another Aussie journalist, Miranda Devine, a f**ing c**t! This is mentioned part way through Miranda’s article about pro-feminist censorship entitled ‘So now banks are censoring columnists?’

Clementine Ford truly is a stunning hypocrite, and a potty-mouthed one at that. And if Michael deserved to lose his job then so too does Clementine. And given her prolific and protracted output of gender hate – far more so. So with that in mind, please consider signing this petition.

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ford_hypocrisy6The response from the online community (to Clementine’s response to Michael Nolan’s comment) was certainly polarised.

Three examples of the anti-feminist response were:

If not for double-standards she’d have none at all, by Tim Blair (1 December 2015)

Rabid feminazi Clementine Ford brags about getting a man fired from his job on Facebook (1 December 2015)

No clemency for Clementine (10 December 2015) Radio interview involving well-known female men’s rights activists, the Honey Badgers

Examples of the voices of the demented feminist sisterhood who quickly rushed to Clementine’s defence include:

Tara Moss says we should stand up against this sort of behaviour (1 December 2015) BUT women are more likely to call women sluts than are men, the man that Clementine complained about did not say she should be “gang raped or murdered“, and as if calling Clementine a slut will “bully her into silence“. Oh please!

Why Clementine Ford is so important to women like me (2 December 2015)

A man lost his job for harassing a woman online? Good (2 December 2015)

Online abuse of writer Clementine Ford highlights how bullying can cost you your job (3 December 2015)

See also:

Hateful Clementine Ford (1 January 2024)

Clementine Ford and the everyday misandry men face (1 June 2020)

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Clementine Ford & Catherine Deveny among 12 pages of City of Melbourne COVID-19 arts grants (5 May 2020)

Exhibitionist feminism: An infantile disorder (13 November 2019)

Controversial columnist Clementine Ford quits in spectacular, foul-mouthed tirade against newspaper (31 January 2019)

Hardline feminist Clementine Ford’s Lifeline speech is CANCELLED after thousands demanded the charity remove her as keynote speaker for tweeting ‘all men must die’ (15 May 2018)

Clementine Ford’s father is a member of One Nation Party (11 October 2017) ROTFL

Feminist Clementine Ford sparks walkout by refusing to answer schoolboys’ questions (31 August 2017) The Principal at Aquinas should be sacked

Feminist Author to Fan: ‘Have You Killed Any Men Today? If Not, Why Not?’ (27 June 2017) with a further article on this incident by Corrine Barraclough

You can dress her up but you can’t take her out (21 June 2017)

Clementine Ford bullies school boys after giving talk at school (8 May 2017) with related discussion in the ‘Toy Soldiers’ blog

Feminist Clementine Ford thinks her online abuse of a severely Autistic man was totally justified. Oh, and it’s all the fault of men, of course (12 October 2016) Reddit mensrights discussion thread

Clementine Ford leads the charge in the battle for feminism’s final frontier (1 October 2016) Oops, apparently I have this all wrong … Clementine is actually a hero and a champion to the downtrodden.

“Australia’s most prominent feminist” Oh god, if that’s the best the movement can offer up. Someone at ABC clearly has been hitting the Kool-Aid fairly darn hard.prominent

This August 2016 article describes how Clementine Ford attacked Erin Pizzey, the founder of the Women’s Shelter movement (but now campaigns for better recognition/support for male victims of DV. See related Reddit discussion thread here.

Clementine Ford teaching your children (18 July 2016)

Why you should never attack Clementine Ford (16 July 2016) with related Reddit discussion thread here

Real change requires work – something not all men understand (1 July 2016)

Being blocked is not the same as being censored, by Clementine Ford (8 April 2016)

More than 1,000 women in secret Facebook group name men who troll women online (4 December 2015) If men did this (in relation to female trolls) it would be denounced as evil, but women do it and it’s meant to be justice, right? Related reddit discussion thread here

#EndViolenceAgainstWomen: Thousands join social media campaign to name the men who troll them online (4 December 2015)

Opinion: Pricking the social and sexist conscience can sometimes hurt (7 December 2015) “… some commentators chose to remind readers that Ford had called people such as former PM Tony Abbott and columnist Miranda Devine crude names too. The huge difference is that Ford owns her words. She does not threaten violence.” Yoo hoo, Karen, Micheal Nolan didn’t threaten violence either.

Neither this article nor this one really say anything new, but do feature some interesting readers comments. This article, on the other hand, sees a male feminist author calling for compromise get shouted down by feminist readers (related discussion thread here).

And here you can read about threats made to a women who had the temerity to express her opposition to Clementine’s position

This earlier article, comparing the management response to reader complaints about Mark Latham versus Clementine Ford, is also quite relevant … as is this profile of Clementine by Mark Dent.

Clementine Ford’s Distorted Vision of Australia‘ by Jim Muldoon (13 May 2015)

‘The Misandry Choir’ (31 December 2012)

And in true feminist fashion:

ford_blockWell, at least I have plenty of company on Clementine’s BlockList – 133,000 other people as of February 2016 – many of whom are women.

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Many more examples of Clementine’s hate and hypocrisy can be found at www.clementineford.com, including this good article by Greg Canning.

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DanielAndrewsMP Clementine with Daniel Andrews MP, Premier of Victoria prior to appearing together on ABC’s Q&A program. Politicians like Dan appear to care more about the number of followers that someone has on social media, than they do about what a person thinks, says, and stands for. His is an attitude that has no doubt played a big role in bringing about the abysmal and still declining state of politics in this country.

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Are feminists truly committed to equality for all women and girls?

In another post I question the extent to which feminists are concerned about equality for men and boys (they’re not). In this post I wanted to focus instead on women and girls.

Every day we hear another feminist scorning those who query some or all aspects of feminist ideology because, you know, feminism is just about achieving equality … BUT

How about equality for American women of colour? Poor women in western countries? Transgender women? Sex-workers? Other women who hold views or choose lifestyles at odds with feminist ideology – for example ‘pro-life’ women or conservatives?

How about equality for women in developing countries?

How much do the feminist hierarchy care about fighting for recognition, freedom and equality for these women?

In some cases privileged white western feminists don’t even care about the rights of other white western women. This occurs, for example, in the case of conservative and/or anti-feminist women (internalised misogyny=they deserve it), or where defending women’s rights would undermine the feminist narrative.

For example, you could almost hear the rapid intake of feminists breath when Olympic volleyball star Kerri Walsh Jennings stated that “I was born to have babies“.

To take another example, consider the silence of feminists in relation to the scandal at Rotherham in the U.K or the sexual assault of women in Europe by Muslim economic refugees as discussed in this blog post.

Take a look at:

The media featured protests by Iranian women in September 2022, but somehow failed to mention that most of those being beaten and arrested by government authorities there were men. In fact in this article it’s claimed that a defining feature of the latest protests is that they “are led by women”

Women of colour feminists are bringing white women feminists to their knees (16 May 2018)

Rich women who promote feminism are gigantic hypocrites (8 October 2017)

Rita Panahi: Sisterhood ignores sexism and vile abuse aimed at conservatives (11 June 2017)

The ‘Women’s March on Washington’ Shows Why Feminism Is Dying (18 January 2017) USA

Liberal Party staffer and bikini model Tamara Candy reveals she has been hired by MP George Christensen – purely for her academic qualifications (4 March 2016) A similar article appeared in pro-feminist news.com.au. Pretty-shaming (or even subtle slut-shaming) is apparently quite OK when the target is on the conservative side of politics and admits she is not a feminist.

The new oppressed class – top tier female managers. Feminism just doing it’s bit for elite, wealthy white women (3 March 2016) Australia. Reddit discussion thread with linked article.

Don’t be that woman (on women’s involvement in sex trafficking) 21 October 2015

Muslim Woman Destroys Feminism (22 September 2015) Video

The single most humiliating moment in Jessica Valenti’s public life (26 August 2015) Video

Feminists don’t challenge radical Islam because real misogynists are terrifying (9 June 2015)

As ISIS brutalizes women, a pathetic feminist silence (7 June 2015)

White Women, Please Don’t Expect Me to Wipe Away Your Tears (15 December 2014)

Laverne Cox gets naked, Exposes radical feminist exclusionism (April 2015)

Proof positive that feminists don’t care about women (27 March 2015)

This is what I mean when I say “White Feminism” (10 January 2014)

http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/adele-tomlin/white-feminism_b_4477351.html

http://www.the-spearhead.com/2014/01/15/white-feminism-nearing-endpoint/

http://www.dailydot.com/society/helen-lewis-intersectionality-bullying-feminism/

Feminism, American style (23 June 2014)

Feminists ignore the real root of misogyny (1 December 2014)

The current dominant variant of feminism is increasingly being recognised as being largely controlled by, and acting in the interests of, well-educated white women. This ruling feminist clique demonstrates little more than a token appreciation of (or interest in) the challenges faced by poorer women and/or women outside the western bloc. They are by no means shy, however, to speak on their behalf.

See Alain Soral, French writer and subversive activist, on feminism (video)

And interestingly, the privileged uber-feminists are just as catty and defensive when called out by their less-advantaged sisters as they are when men try to join the feminist conversation soliloquy.

In this feminist blog post the author states “I saw the same kinds of things happening – white feminists reacting defensively to criticism, women of color being silenced or ignored or attacked.”

She and others like her are basically saying that women of color have unique life experiences, and can offer a different and valuable perspective. Theirs is a perspective which is foreign to white feminists, who should listen to them and understand their issues rather than putting words in their mouth and/or telling them what they need. No doubt very laudable advice. Why, it might even be applied to how white feminists interact with men. But oh no, silly me! For not only are our genes different, but so too are our chromosomes.

Thus when it comes to men (and presumably also men of colour) the author shares this insight:

If the issues concerned a bunch of women and men in arguing over whether something were sexist or not, there would be no question of who was right. When you have a group of men ganging up and claiming that the women in the room are being oversensitive and irrational and seeing sexism where there is none (we have all been in this room before, I think), we all know the men are full of bullshit. It is an egregious show of male privilege.

Well I’m seeing sexism too now, so does this mean I’m NOT full of bullshit?

When I read the author’s “About” page, I couldn’t help thinking that we could substitute men for women of colour. Let’s try it now:

“I believe in the struggle for equality of all people regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, ethnicity, etc. This struggle means recognizing and fighting discrimination wherever it exists.”

This is especially true when it is within our own ranks. So let’s stop burying our heads in denial. Let’s recognize the hypocrisy of claiming to fight oppression while simultaneously acting as oppressors ourselves. Listen to the words of your sisters brothers who do not have your white privilege ‘Y’ chromosome. Do not get angry and blame them for your faults. Instead, listen.

Because it’s okay to make mistakes. It’s okay to be wrong sometimes — everyone is. But it’s not okay to deny those mistakes, to refuse to change or learn from them, to insist we are perfect the way we are. In doing so, we keep the same old systems of hierarchy and oppression in place.

And isn’t that just what we criticize patriarchy for doing?”

How about poor women in Mauritius being paid 62p an hour to make ‘This is what a feminist looks like’ T-shirts that sold in the UK for 45 British pounds? And then the feminist group that marketed the T-shirts tried to bury the issue. For an January 2015 update on that issue read this article.

And here is the story about the life of an Australian Aboriginal woman, Bess Price. See what she thinks about the efforts of left-leaning white feminist women to help achieve equality for her people.

What about the Rotherham child abuse scandal in the UK? Did the global feminist movement swing into action to address this shocking example of ‘rape culture’? Hmm. not exactly, no. Perhaps if the abusers were white lacrosse players with plummy accents there might have been a bit more to get excited about.

And how about the negative & patronising feminist view of women who elect not to join (or remain in) the paid workforce … much has been written on that subject. Here’s a recent example:

‘The toxic legacy of Superwoman: Career women insist feminism means ALL women having jobs, but could that belief blight the lives of mothers – and their children?‘ (5 February 2015)

Feminism has been hijacked by white middle-class women (13 February 2015)

Finally, and I’m not sure that this is the most appropriate place to post this link, but in this Youtube video a woman of colour compares the use of the term ‘misogynist’ nowadays with the historical use of the term ‘nigger’.3rdworldwomen

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