Jetty Road Weekly Blog 4/08/25

At The 19^th Hole

Stuart Mitchell and the Great Bloviator “I should be taking the piss out the American you can tell he's Scottish cuz he loves take away food he's never off a golf course and his wife fucking hates him.”

S.M. It’s your shout Orange Man.

G.B. I’m a teetotaller Stuart. Keeps me on the straight and narrow.

S.M. Like on the golf course?

G.B. Did you see my drive on the first?

S.M. The one you hit into the gorse?

G.B. I made birdie.

S.M. You know you are supposed to play it where it lies.

G.B. I am very good at lies Stuart. Are you calling me a cheat?

S.M. Nah. You are just good at lies.

G.B. What was that hedgehog jobby thing?

S.M. That’s a Scottish enema. Its compulsory to give it to anyone who cheats.

G.B. Why would I need an enema?

S.M. Well in truth you might get lucky.

G.B. Why?

S.M. They would not know which end to start with.

Original Image: ABC

The Pirates of Oceania

It’s a Barnaby and Canavan World. Just as phoney as it can be

Hypocrisy thy name is Barnaby. “We need to protect the sanctity of marriage so NO to marriage equality and YES to getting my on- and-off again media adviser up the duff.”

The same Joyce that defended the Coalition’s policy on Robo debt,  wrongly claiming they stopped it when they knew it was illegal, when the Royal Commission had already reported that this was not the case. Is the  same Joyce who declares renewables and net zero are a swindle.

For Barnaby and Canavan et al the bottom line is that whatever we do will not make a difference to global climate change and instead by backing renewables we will be writing our own economic suicide note.

So the country that invented the black box flight recorder, the pacemaker, the bionic ear, WIFI technology, ultra sound etc really should just stick to its knitting and dig things out of the ground.

If there is one word that defines the rise of neo liberalism and the trenchant positions adopted by right wing politicians in this country it is: Certitude. It is not patriotism that is the last refuge of a scoundrel it is absolutism. The smug, mindless idiocy of never having to question one’s own point of view.

We used to be a pragmatic country. A little laid back sure but leavened by the will to have a go.

Now we have the kind of political pirates who cannot look beyond buried treasure. Did anyone mention “Pieces of Eight”? Was that Gina?

What a pity Pistol and Boo never had rabies and Barnaby was denied the chance to pet them. In fact reverse that. There is nothing more rabid than a career politician who revels in the contradictions of his own logic.

Image: Santa Barbara Film Festival

Modern Times

First released nearly 90 years ago in 1936. What have we learnt?

I used to ask participants in the conflict resolution themed workshops I conducted: “Which is the more important- thinking or emotion?”

The overwhelming response was the former. We would then go on to explore what actions might ensue when we deny our feelings. It was not hard. It was not particularly scientific but it was quite revealing. To a person they came to willingly acknowledge that feelings are powerful and denying their impact can result in disastrous consequences. Two particular common responses to conflict i.e. Avoidance and Accommodation, illuminate the problem. You work with someone who always pushes the envelope. You are extremely discomfited by confrontation so you accommodate their behaviour whilst at the same feeling manipulated and undervalued. These scenarios never end well.

My point is why do we value thinking so highly to the point that emotional responses to complex issues are considered to be of lesser importance?  Some of the key answers lie deeply embedded in our culture. Two simple explanations are these.

1. Rational thinking has been identified with masculine values.  Emotional responses to complex issues with feminine behaviour. We have Freud to thank for fostering a strong association of the word hysteria with mental illness.

2. In Western society progress has been tied to invention and innovation while the emotional consequences of job loss, displacement and alienation have been rationalised as a regrettable but a necessary price to pay.

The responses in Sydney and Melbourne at the weekend to the carnage in Gaza are a prime example of emotional outrage at the avoiding and accommodating that has accompanied the rationalisation of the ongoing war.

The persistent opposition to net zero in this country elevates the rationalised underpinnings of jobs and cost of living over environmental degradation and - in their words - the feel good policies of greenies and latte sipping city dwellers.

A far more mundane example is much closer to home. In Queenstown artists and artisans have followed the example of Raymond Arnold and transformed a town, with mining operations suspended for over a decade, into a vibrant hub that continues to attract tourists and film makers. In my hometown of  Rosebery, reputed to have the highest average earnings per person in Tassie, the mine continues to prosper while the town itself has lost 2 banks, a bakery, a newsagency, a post office, 2 butcher shops, 2 milk bars, a pub, and an RSL club. The footy team lacking the availability of regular players through 12 hour shifts, 4 day rosters and a drive in drive out workforce gets regularly flogged to the tune of 100 or more points weekly. This we call progress. It is of course a massive over rationalisation. It is hard not feel that we are losing our soul.

Song F.I.F.O.

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