The ANZAC Spirit. Top 100 Hate Comments

“Now, I don’t like Anzac Day for the precise reasons that I don’t like genocide, war, rape, violence, mutilation, pain, trauma, post-traumatic stress disorder, ethnic cleansing, gas attacks, artillery, conscription, nationalism, imperialism and death machines. It’s probably just me. I wrote something about Anzac Day because to me it is not about a chewy biscuit, it is not a fun day out pinning dead men’s medals to the kiddies and marching them out in the sun, it is not a bit of happy us-versus-them flagwaving – “CHECK OUT MY SOUTHERN CROSS TATTOO, AUSSIE PRIDE, SUPPORT OUT DIGGERS”. It’s about generations of beautiful boys and men – and now magnificent women and girls – fed into a meatgrinder and all of us publicly pretending it were all somehow okay.”

The Trollhunter – written by Van Badham and Catherine Deveny. Performed by Deveny. Directed by Badham.

Many people say to me ‘You must have a thick skin’ to which I respond, ‘No. I don’t have a thick skin. I’m very sensitive, I just don’t care what morons, dickheads, losers, haters, trolls or fuckwits think.’

And why would I? Why would anyone?

The lion does not lose sleep over the opinion of sheep.

Much of my work is as a professional speaker.  In the questions after my addresses, talks, speeches, panels, debates and keynotes there is always at least one question about how to handle haters. My advice? Block, unfriend, delete, switch stations, change channels, talk to someone else or say ‘speak to the hand Alan Jones.’

The yearly hate explosion over my ANZAC Day opinions have fascinated, amused and horrified many. And happily for me, proved my point in a more transparent and unequivical way than I ever could. My views, that ANZAC Day does not reflect the inclusiveness of all those affected by war, nor our more sophisticated understanding of the true machinations and motivations behind war are neither rare, radical or new.

Political commentator Bernard Keane summed it up in this tweet…

The importance of collecting and sharing statistics, particularly from a feminist perspective has led to me putting together a Top 100 Hate Comments from the comments and messages I’ve received over the last fortnight. These comments will be very familiar for women don’t happily lie down in the chalk outline drawn for them by the patriarchy.  I hope you find them useful.

“My loathing of Anzac Day is not personal, I respect  the  right of  others to a different opinion.  The  Liberal  Party, for example, reckons that Anzac Day is a “repository” of the best of   our Australian values – the values of our Aussie diggers: courage, mateship, grace, human dignity, heroism, and a fair go…”

From Catherine Deveny – The Trollhunter

Top 100 Hater Comments

(Click the arrows. You’re welcome)

It’s crucial to keep in mind the haters in the Top 100 are a tiny bunch of very noisy people, often the same person from different platforms with multiple accounts. Their profiles reveal the majority are men, predominately from Queensland and Perth, almost always declare on their bio they are a ‘proud true blue Aussie’, a passionate supporter of a football team, they frequently use a pseudonym and curiously, more often than you would imagine, are men posing as women. A quick glance through their profiles revealed almost all used their twitter accounts solely for hate, abuse, harassment and bullying. It was very clear the time spent hating me was simply time off hating asylum seekers, gays, Julia Gillard, atheists, environmentalist, Melbourne latte sippers etc.

A staggering amount had a Liberal National Party badge pinned to their avatar.

Hopefully this slide show will help further illuminate the reality that women who color outside the lines cop 100 times as much vitriol and it’s a thousand times more vicious. The Top 100 illustrates the abuse is gender based and sexually violent in nature.  The lack of grammar, punctuation, THE GRATUITOUS CAPS LOCK AND EXLAIMATION MARKS!!!!!, poor spelling and complete absence of rational thought indicates these poor souls are not that bright. Or occupied with their careers, study, relationships or friends.

More naming and shaming here.

Women who color outside the lines need to know what haters look like, expect it and know it passes. As you take a wander down Hate Street it will be a comfort knowing it’s not just you. We all cop it. It’s unavoidable. These kinds of comments say nothing about the person it’s directed to but everything about the person saying them.

No, it’s not okay. But Illuminating it is a much more useful contribution I can make than anything I could do to stop it. Haters gonna hate. And as much as many of us are calling it out, naming and shaming it and employing anti bullying tactics haters have always been with us and will always be a work hazard for those who don’t Pipe Down Princess. And more often than not, proof we’re on the right track and, at times, rock solid evidence proving everything we’ve been saying.

I was inspired to compile The ANZAC Spirit Top 100 Haters by Anne Summer’s Her Rights At Work a brilliant address exposing the disproportionate gender based abuse of a sexually violent nature directed at Prime Minister  Julia Gillard and Chrys Stevenson’s Defending Deveny which almost broke the internet after an appearance on QandA I made with Arch Bishop Peter Jenson. Despite claims I took over the show and Jensen could not get a word in Stevenson’s research proved I spoke half the time Jenson did,

“Deveny’s contribution of 1,259 words was 13 per cent below the average. Jensen’s, on the other hand, was 78 per cent above the average.”

Enjoy, The ANZAC Spirit. And as you do remember these comments say nothing me but everything about them which can be neatly summed up as misogyny and relevance deprivation (and dare I say ironically Tall Poppy Syndrome) thinly veiled in the Australian flag.

Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel. Samuel Johnson.

P.S. My Mildura performance of Curvy Crumpet on Friday which the ANZAC trolls encouraged all to boycott and promised ‘2000 protesters’ at was a huge success. Full house, happy audience and not one protester. Not one. Despite me publically letting all interested know via Mildura radio, television and newspapers I would be delighted to answer any questions at any neutral venue between 3-5pm on the day of my my performance there was not one taker. Grand Hotel in Mildura cancelled my booking on the ground I damaged their brand. But they were happy to take a booking from Today Tonight. Today Tonight exists solely to make dumb and hateful people dumber and more hateful.

Keyboard Warriors, paper tigers and furious important misogynists having a tantrum with reality every single one.

Julian Burnside and me on the illusion of free speech. Watch…

Some people are allowed to say some things some of the time. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More here.

 

Go Back