Yes, it’s time for another Shit List, where really crap behaviour and bad-faith actions get called out. This week it’s all about double standards.
First up, the double standard surrounding the case of a Broome man who used zip-ties to restrain three children who were swimming in a pool that didn’t belong to them. The man, who was at the property in his capacity as a tradesperson, apparently decided that it was his responsibility to make a so-called “citizen’s arrest”, after which he called the police. When police arrived, they found a tall, large man standing over two frightened children aged 6 and 7 years old, who were huddled against the garage door, crying, their hands tightly bound. The third child, aged 8, was able to escape.
The man has been charged with aggravated assault.
These children were under 10 years old. Legally, they lack the capacity to be criminally responsible. A “citizen’s arrest” can only be carried out under very particular circumstances, and then only reasonable force can be applied. Zip-tying two small kids hardly qualifies as reasonable.
Naturally, there was an immediate outcry. The images, splashed all over both mainstream and social media, were appalling, and condemnation of the man’s actions was widespread. What particularly incensed many commenters was the fact that the children are Indigenous, and the man who terrorised them is white. It seemed as clear a case of racist prejudice in action as could be found.
But then came the marching hordes armed with their what-aboutism and accusations of hypocrisy and double standards. Oh, and let’s not forget accusing another Indigenous person of failing to discipline her children properly. Here are a few examples from X, names redacted:
It’s such a tiresome, favourite tactic of bigots. When confronted by incontrovertible evidence of wrongdoing with racist overtones (or sexist, or queerphobic), their immediate response is to pull up a random example, often not even a real one, as some kind of “gotcha” moment. (Take the alleged assault against an “autistic white girl”, that features in two of the above tweets. Not only is it described as two different crime, the number of perpetrators is different.) See? See? You lefties didn’t say anything when this person of colour committed an appalling crime, you’re the real racists! Why aren’t you condemning them?!
This kind of attack has only one aim – to put someone on the back foot and try to force them into either defending the indefensible, or leaving the argument. And, sadly, all too often it works.
Let’s reverse the situation. Let’s say a tall, large Indigenous man saw three white kids swimming in someone else’s pool, and decided to take it upon himself to terrorise and forcibly restrain them. Police turn up, free the children, and charge the man with aggravated assault. How long before these same people who cried “anti-white racism!” take to their keyboards to condemn that Indigenous man? How long before Sky News uses the incident to decry “violence against white people in Indigenous communities”? How long before the Murdoch tabloids go on a crusade to “protect Indigenous kids from neglectful/abusive parents”?
I’m guessing about as long as it took me to type that last paragraph.
No matter what colour those kids’ skin is, what was done to them was brutal and inexcusable, and no amount of what-aboutism can justify that. The fact that those kids are Indigenous just compounds the offence, given Australia’s shameful history of racism. But for bigots, that doesn’t matter. What matters to them is the opportunity to claim victimhood, as though the mere fact that the alleged perpetrator is white somehow “proves” – in defiance of hundreds of years of proof to the contrary – that white people suffer from unfair treatment.
There’s the real double standard. Not that some random person on X didn’t personally call out a specific situation that may not have even happened, but that some of our biggest media organisations (and the bigots who take their cues from them) have repeatedly showed no compunction in jumping on a bandwagon of condemnation against Indigenous folk even when those folk are the victims. And they deserve their place on the Shit List.
While we’re on the subject of what-aboutism, let’s take a look at the accusations surrounding Matildas and Chelsea FC player Sam Kerr, and the all too predictable fall-out. Kerr has been charged in England of committing racially aggravated harassment of a police officer. Allegedly – according to the media, not police – she called him a “stupid white bastard”. If convicted, she faces a maximum penalty of two years’ imprisonment. All this occurred over a year ago – the delay stems from the prosecution taking an inordinately long time deciding just what charges to bring against her.
There’s no evidence available to the public to support the allegations. Unlike the man in Broome, no video has popped up, and we have only the speculation of Murdoch tabloid The Sun that the words “stupid white bastard” were even used. That has not stopped the Murdoch media machine – and, regrettably, many other media organisations – from reporting it as fact. Predictably, it’s sparked a whole new outrage from gleeful white victimhood champions, who jumped at the chance to target a person of colour. Look, look, here’s a clear case of racism against a white person, we were right all along! Cancel her! Cancel her football club! Lock her up and throw away the key!
If these allegations are true, Kerr may have a case to answer. It’s debatable, mind you, that what was said would qualify as “aggravated”. But that’s not the point here. The point is that Kerr has already been convicted in the eyes of the Murdoch media and its readership, and that other organisations are doing nothing to challenge that. And – surprise, surprise – that they don’t apply those standards across the board.
Let’s take a quick trip back to 2015 for a moment. A young person hurled a racial slur at Indigenous AFL player Adam Goodes, and was made to leave the game by security officers. Goodes refused to press charges, and asked the media not to vilify her. That didn’t stop mainstream and social media unleashing a barrage of hate and harassment against him. Their consensus was that he should stop being such a sook, accept that he was going to be racially abused when he played, and just get on with the game. Former star AFL player Jason Akermanis even said that Goodes should “stop trying to play the victim.”
Just to make the point again: Goodes refused to press charges, accepted the young person’s apology, and called on the media not to vilify her. None of that mattered to the outrage merchants, because Goodes is an AFL player, and therefore should “expect” to be abused.
If we apply that standard to the Sam Kerr situation, then surely that police officer should also stop being such a sook, accept that he’s going to be racially abused on the job, and just get on with it?
Apparently not. And why? Because Adam Goodes is Indigenous, and that police officer is white. Oh look, there’s that double standard at work again – and what a coincidence, it’s being driven by Murdoch media and their racist followers. One might almost suspect there’s an agenda here. Maybe they should have a permanent place on the Shit List.
Finally, there’s the New South Wales Police, and this year’s Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardis Gras parade.
Australia’s queer community was rocked by the recent murders of gay couple Luke Davies and Jesse Baird. And then came the shocking revelation that the alleged murderer is a serving member of the NSW police. On the heels of that, members of the queer community called for police not to march as part of the upcoming Mardi Gras parade. Initially, the Mardi Gras committee “uninvited” police, then later agreed that they could march, just not in uniform.
The outraged mob turned out in droves about this. Media commentators, celebrities, and politicians all rushed to give their opinion that wanting the police excluded from marching in Mardi Gras was at best an overreaction, at worst an egregious example of unfairness and – wait for it – homophobia. Those marching police are queer! The man accused of murdering that couple is queer! How dare you deny the police their “right” to march just because one cop killed two gay men? You’re the real bigots!
Can we just hold the fuck up for a second.
Let’s start with the fact that most of the people pointing the finger to cry “J’accuse!” have never given one tiny little shit about being fair to queer folk. Some of those championing the police’s “right” to march are the same ones who complain every year about Pride Month, Mardi Gras, and love to dress up their transphobia as concern for children. I’m looking at you, Liberal Party, Craig Kelly, Senator Ralph Babet, and Senator Malcolm Roberts, and, of course, Sky News – just for a start.
Secondly, the call for police not to march as an organisation is not new. Since the first time police marched under their banner in 1998, members of the queer community have protested their presence. This isn’t out of some nebulous unfairness – it’s because the NSW police have a truly horrendous history of harassing, abusing, assaulting, and even killing queer folk that continues to this day. A report released late last year found no less than 32 suspected murders at the hands of police. That report’s recommendations are yet to be accepted by NSW police.
The murders of Luke and Jesse were simply the last straw. Years and years and years of maltreatment and a report that wasn’t being taken seriously by its perpetrators all coalesced around this latest, horrific act. Add to that the way police spoke of the murders, insisting that there was no possibility of a hate crime, and repeatedly characterising it as “domestic violence”, in spite of the fact that there was no relationship whatsoever between the alleged killer and either of the two murdered men. With all of that, how could anyone not see the reasonableness of asking the police to please not rub salt into the wound?
As for the accusations of homophobia … well, I mean, honestly. No one said that queer members of the police force shouldn’t be able to take part in the Mardi Gras parade. What was asked was for the event celebrating queer folk to be free of representation of an organisation that represented decades of horrendous behaviour against the very people being celebrated.
The people screaming loudest about unfairness to the police are the same people who accuse queer folk of wanting “special treatment”. According to them, asking an employer to respect someone’s gender identity or sexuality is absolutely unacceptable. Why should “they” be protected when honest god-fearin’ folk can’t even call a gay person a f****t and get away with it? Suggest that an organisation with a history of violence against queer folk sit out a parade for one year, though? Outrageous! The queer community should just forgive the police and move on, otherwise they’re not inclusive at all.
This is the rankest sort of hypocrisy.
The NSW police had no “right” to march, nor are they entitled to expect one. They were invited by the Mardi Gras committee, despite their violent history, and it’s well within that committee’s rights to uninvite them as a result of their ongoing behaviour. The stipulation to not march in uniform is a very small thing to ask of the police, particularly when they were still being permitted to represent their organisation in the parade. But no, the champions of police victimhood thought that was unfair, too.
In the event, police did not – strictly speaking – march in uniform. They did, however, march behind the sign proclaiming their organisation, and they all wore polo shirts clearly identifying them as NSW police officers. They were also flanked by officers in uniform and bearing guns. It was a slap in the face to the Mardi Gras committee and the queer community at large, and they got away with it because those media and politicians who regularly pour hate on queer folk and champion discrimination suddenly decided that police were a marginalised group being victimised.
So, NSW police, welcome to the Shit List. You can sit over there with your media and political champions. Enjoy your stay.
This week’s entry in the Shit List Hall of Fame is Deputy Opposition Leader Sussan Ley.
In the lead-up to the Dunkley by-election, the Liberal Party decided that the best way to win that seat was to stir up a scare campaign against former immigration detainees. Imagine their joy when on February 27th, police arrested one of those detainees on suspicion of committing sexual assault! So what if the assault had happened right across town from Dunkley and the man hadn’t even been charged yet? What a gift!
Sussan Ley was quick off the mark to capitalise on this, posting this tweet two days later on February 29th:
Post retrieved from X on 7/3/24
She backed it up with comments in interviews and press conferences about how outrageous it was to have convicted foreign criminals – who had served their terms – walking around free.
There was just one tiny little problem, though. In what The Age described as a “colossal bungle”, the police arrested the wrong man. Within a matter of hours, they had dropped the charges, apologised, and issued a public correction. That fact was pointed out to Sussan by multiple people who replied to her tweet, as well as being mentioned repeatedly by every major news outlet. Apparently, she doesn’t care, because that tweet is still on her timeline at the time of writing.
White men rape. White immigrant men rape. Convicted sex offenders sometimes re-offend. It’s an incontrovertible fact. Yet not once has Ley called for extraordinary measures to be taken against them. Only against a man who had served his sentence, and was being held illegally for an entirely different reason. And only for political purposes. For that double standard, and for refusing to admit that she was not only racist and inflammatory, but flat-out wrong, Ley can join her boss in the Hall of Fame.
Over to you, readers. Do you have a nomination for the Shit List? Let me know in the comments.
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