May 29, 2003

SLASH THAT BUDGET! THEY'VE GOT WINE!

Journalism keeps interrupting my career as a sullen recluse. Got a call from The Australian today for 750 words on the ABC bias brawl, then had to get to the ABC itself by 5.30 for Richard Glover’s show. Other guests: the ABC’s Jennifer Byrne and the SMH’s Ross Gittins. Jennifer provided wine. “Now that you’ve tasted it,” said Ross, “you’re one of them.”

ABC bias was discussed. Glover, more centrist than most at the ABC, revealed that he’d received about an equal number of calls during the war denouncing him for being either a peacenik or a warmonger. The difference between the callers? The peaceniks were more violent and threatening. We online types get this a lot, and mostly ignore it, but Glover was plainly still upset at having been called a baby killer. Understandably.

Anyway, it was all fun, despite me calling for ABC budget cuts and labelling the whole place biased and wrong. Jennifer is charming and giggly, which made me regret that time I was in her house and tried to arrange the magnetic letters on her fridge to spell ABC TOXIC DEATH. And Gittins made several fine jokes, which means he is now disqualified from describing himself as an economist.

Posted by Tim Blair at May 29, 2003 11:19 PM
Comments

Why don't the peaceniks call people who actually kill babies babykillers? Arafat, Hamas, Fatah, Hezbollah, etc, etc, etc.

Posted by: nobody important at May 29, 2003 at 11:31 PM

Depends on the babies. To mangle Orwell, some are more baby than others.

Posted by: tim at May 29, 2003 at 11:38 PM

It's just name-calling. It's what the neo-left use when they've got no argument.

Posted by: AndyM at May 30, 2003 at 12:44 AM

Gee, if babykiller is all he has been called he is getting off rather lightly. Since I started attacking the ABC the usual anti-semite junk that clogs my email tray has been replaced by reasonably polite and grammatically correct emails pointing out the fact that my parentage should be questioned, that I may suffer from significant illness and even that I may suffer a terrible and hopefully fatal accident.

I actually find the "polite" nastiness of these types more offensive and scarier than the usual "lapdog of the military-industrial complex", "babykiller", "murderer", "facist", "nasty man who eats his own babies for breakfast" I cop on a daily basis.

I figure that someone who sits down calmly, clears his head and rationally jots down a threat of physical violence in a polite yey sinister tone is more likely to also calmly and rationally pull the trigger than a hot head who sends a pile of incoherent jibberish in a moment of passionate lunacy.

Posted by: Driver at May 30, 2003 at 01:51 AM

Driver, amongst those e-mails maybe one or a few which might warrant criminal charges against those who made the threats. It might be worthwhile to peruse some again.

Posted by: d at May 30, 2003 at 12:12 PM

Sticks and stones, Big D, sticks and stones. I have lived through actual death threats complete with placing loved ones in safe places. A few silly emails won't harm me. Plus I don't want to give their silly cause (ie continuing to steal our tax dollars for their pet causes) any more publicity than it needs to get!

Posted by: Driver at June 1, 2003 at 09:40 PM