January 05, 2004
SYDNEY PUSH
The fun never stops at the Sydney Morning Herald. This email was sent to all SMH staffers following an incident after the SMH Christmas party (name deleted to protect the injured):
N. and I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to everyone who has called, visited, offered support, etc. etc. I am pleased to say that he is now at home and is expected to make a good recovery within 5-6 weeks.
We understand that there have been conflicting stories about N.’s actual injuries and hopefully, this will explain the story clearly.
N. and I were leaving the Xmas Party and crossing Murray Street when a car tried to drive through the pedestrians crossing the street with the 'walk' sign. The driver of the car got too close and N. tapped the side of the car. The driver then got out of the car, marched over to N. and, with no warning, he pushed N. (once) so hard with both hands on his chest that N. hit the footpath and broke the neck of his femur -- the attacker then got back into his car and drove away -- it happened very quickly. The attacker has subsequently been charged and will face court soon. N. was operated upon and now has crutches, a nice long scar, pins and a metal plate. So once again, thank you, and please feel free to visit N. as there is always a cup of coffee or cold drink on offer.
My only question: how did the driver know N. worked at the SMH?
Posted by Tim Blair at January 5, 2004 10:49 PMPure evil. I'm going to hell for giggling at your comment.
Posted by: Jackie D at January 5, 2004 at 10:55 PMMy only question, will the SMH now launch a series of sneering opinion pieces questioning the root causes of this violent act?
Posted by: gaz at January 5, 2004 at 11:53 PMN. tapped the side of the car.
I suspect there's a little more to the story than this feeble description would suggest.
Posted by: dazed at January 6, 2004 at 12:24 AMAs a Sydney cabbie, this story caught my eye. Last week I too had an 'incident' with a SMH journo. You can check it out on my blog in a post entitled, Light shows, ragers and journos.
Posted by: jafa at January 6, 2004 at 03:33 AMI blame Bush (unless the driver was Palestinian -- then I blame the Jooooooos).
Posted by: Jerry at January 6, 2004 at 04:17 AMN. is certainly no Ratso Rizzo, that's for sure.
Since I read this posting I can't get Robbie Fulk's _I Push Right Over_ out of my head.
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B000001HTK/qid=1073332856/sr=1-6/ref=sr_1_6/103-9426367-2455816?v=glance&s=music
Posted by: John Davies at January 6, 2004 at 06:04 AMIf you want a metaphor for why the SMH is more fucked than a little boy in Taylor Square this is it.
First, "N" gets all stroppy when he obviously doesn't have the brains or brawn to back it up. But, being a Faiirfaxer, he does like to posture. That stuff cuts the mustard in the SMH newsroom, but it's a big mistake in the real world.
Second, "N" gets hurt real bad in front of his mates, who do nothing to help him. Instead of punishing the hoon with a rain of blows or kicking the shit out of his precious car while he's otherwise occupied, the SMH's version of the Vienna Boys Choir just stands there like the bleating sheep they are.
Third, they go snivelling to the cops, just as they always advocate letting the U.N. deal with bullies like Saddam.
The likely result: The court system will slap the miscreant on the wrist (if it does anything at all, because he'll calim they started and he felt threatened), the hoon will then continue to be an uncivilised prick, and the SMH Girls Club will have to content itself a sense of moral superiority.
Fortunately, since they're all lefty pantywaists who can't get genuinely and justifiably aggressive even when pissed to the gills, they'll have to content themselves with victimhood. Fortunately, that's what they like to do most of all, anyway.
Given all of the above, the hoon should have put the boot in, too, since he would have got away with that as well.
Posted by: superboot at January 6, 2004 at 06:41 AMThe driver could assert his car was surrounded by this pack/gang of journos and though outnumbered he fought his way clear and escaped. I'd throw those journos in jail.
Posted by: Fred Boness at January 6, 2004 at 08:28 AM"My only question: how did the driver know N. worked at the SMH?"
Perhaps the bulging cranium holding the oversized brain possessed by those who do not support Bush and Howard?
Posted by: JDB at January 6, 2004 at 08:56 AM
It reminds me of the year Bernard Zuel copped a flogging from a gang of youths in Pitt Street Mall on the way home from the SMH Xmas party. As I recall he even wrote a whiny piece about it in the paper. I still laugh out loud just thinking about that pencil-necked cock-smoker getting stomped by a bunch of monster Samoan teenagers. I'd pay top dollar to watch something like that.
Maybe it's becoming an SMH Xmas party tradition.
Posted by: Smasher at January 6, 2004 at 10:32 AMThe smug, self-rightous smirk and air of moral and intellectual superiority would be a dead give-away; like Mark Butler from The Oz who was clever enough to chip a couple of large Horries on a late night Sydney train about smoking, and had the shit kicked out of himself for his trouble.
Maybe they could save us all a lot of trouble by poking naughty despots like Kim Jong Il in the chest, as they seem to do here- the resultant swift (and messy) death of a westerner would be just the excuse needed for several large air-strikes followed by a rapid deployment of land forces.