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Search The Punch keywords http://www.thepunch.com.au/search/ http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Speak-up-when-someone-is-copping-racist-abuse/ HERE’S what should have happened on the Sydney bus this morning when ABC journalist Jeremy Fernandez was subject to a torrent of racist and ugly abuse from a fellow passenger. Someone should have stood up. They should have made a beeline for the gutter mouth and stood between them. “Hey,” they should have said, “Cut that crap out,” before turning to Fernandez and his two year old daughter and checking if they were alright. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Speak-up-when-someone-is-copping-racist-abuse/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/Speak-up-when-someone-is-copping-racist-abuse/#item10571 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-to-have-a-talk-about-the-r-word/ Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-to-have-a-talk-about-the-r-word/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/we-need-to-have-a-talk-about-the-r-word/#item10540 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-mention-the-war-on-freedom-of-speech/ Shut up, shut down, and keep quiet.  That’s been the disturbing theme in the news in the last week with political correctness and censorship everywhere you look.  It appears we’ve lost our sense of humour and our sense of what it means to live in a free-thinking democracy. The biggie – national anti-discrimination laws.  feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-mention-the-war-on-freedom-of-speech/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/dont-mention-the-war-on-freedom-of-speech/#item10504 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/icb-tim-doesnt-deserve-to-be-given-the-bums-rush/ So the Prime Minister’s partner is being fingered for tastelessness after he cracked a bum joke. There’s the predictable outrage, although we haven’t yet heard from female Asian doctors whether they find it offensive to be accused of having slender fingers. In case you missed it, Tim Mathieson, during a function at The Lodge, said of prostate cancer: “We can get a blood test for it, but the digital examination is the only true way to get a correct reading on your prostate, so make sure you go and do that, and perhaps look for a small Asian female doctor ...” feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/icb-tim-doesnt-deserve-to-be-given-the-bums-rush/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/icb-tim-doesnt-deserve-to-be-given-the-bums-rush/#item10494 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/pretty-much-dont-say-anything-about-anybody/ Wog. Breeder. Bimbo. Spaz. Are these terms a) offensive b) insulting or c) discriminatory? Perhaps I’m too thick-skinned, but having been name-called on all counts over the years, I’ve just shrugged them off. Whether I felt hurt depended if it was a jestful jibe from a colleague or rudeness from a screaming stranger. But proposed new anti-discrimination laws drafted by the federal government mean that I might soon have grounds to lodge a discrimination complaint. A Senate Committee is inquiring into the draft Human Rights and Anti-Discrimination Bill, which combines and updates five existing sets of federal aw covering race, sex, age and disability discrimination. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/pretty-much-dont-say-anything-about-anybody/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/pretty-much-dont-say-anything-about-anybody/#item10483 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/good-luck-ms-peris-im-afraid-youre-going-to-need-it/ So Prime Minister Julia Gillard has shoehorned Nova Peris onto the ALP Senate ticket, thus illustrating that her cackhandedness is no passing fad. The former Olympian will be set to become the first Federal indigenous Labor representative, and the first indigenous female Federal pollie. About bloody time. It is shameful it has taken this long – and it’s also a shame that it will be a tainted appointment. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/good-luck-ms-peris-im-afraid-youre-going-to-need-it/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/good-luck-ms-peris-im-afraid-youre-going-to-need-it/#item10464 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-average-personss-guide-to-being-offended/ Time for a Saturday pop quiz. Question: Tennis star Caroline Wozniacki stuffs paper down her top and pants in order to parody her friend, curvy black player Serena Williams. She struts around, showing off her great fake big boobs and butt to the cheers of fans. Is this racism? Question. Some Sydney pubs tell men to “give the wife a rest” because the “Carlton Draught girls” will do their ironing. It’s part of a promotion offering drinkers who bought a schooner a free ironed shirt. Is this sexism? We’ll get to the answers in a minute. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-average-personss-guide-to-being-offended/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/the-average-personss-guide-to-being-offended/#item10228 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/you-should-never-ever-have-the-right-to-not-be-offended/ Human beings can be offended in a myriad weird and wonderful ways. I recently learned that to describe someone morbidly obese as fat is ‘fattist’ and that it’s a no-no to describe someone as suffering from HIV, instead of as someone living with HIV, for example. We’ve all heard examples of political correctness gone MAD; the phrase itself is so hackneyed that some may find it a bit offensive. And actually we probably shouldn’t use the word ‘mad’, that’s quite likely to offend people with mental health issues. Problems. Disorders. People living with mental health challenges. Consumers of mental health services. Crud. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/you-should-never-ever-have-the-right-to-not-be-offended/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/you-should-never-ever-have-the-right-to-not-be-offended/#item10201 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-nation-of-uncouth-bastards/ By now there would hardly be a person in Australia who has not seen the video of that shocking pair of morons on a bus in the Melbourne suburb of Frankston haranguing a young French woman who had committed the unforgivable sin of singing quietly to herself in her native tongue. To call these blokes bogans is an insult to bogans. It’s hard to find the words to convey the depth of their stupidity. The aggression they displayed was repulsive, telling the woman they were going to “fillet” her with a fishing knife, and their racism was truly repellent, with the usual suggestions that she should eff off back to her own country. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-nation-of-uncouth-bastards/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/a-nation-of-uncouth-bastards/#item10075 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook. http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/icb-can-you-be-racist-towards-white-people/ Welcome to another edition of I Call Bullshit, a column dedicated to codswallop. Today we’re going to look at racism in Australia. We were treated to nauseating scenes yesterday of a bunch of dumb, drunk idiots taunting, bullying and threatening a woman who was singing in French. Today in news from the UK we hear that a New Zealander was branded a “stupid, fat Australian bitch” by her neighbour… and a court found the neighbour guilty of a “racially aggravated public disorder”. feedback@thepunch.com.au (The Punch Team) Article http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/icb-can-you-be-racist-towards-white-people/#comments http://www.thepunch.com.au/articles/icb-can-you-be-racist-towards-white-people/#item10051 Thu, 14 Mar 2013 19:00:10 +0000 Hardly ever does anyone ever call anyone else a racist, to their face. It’s such a heavy allegation that people have become extremely hesitant about using it, except as a joke. As a result, I reckon we’ve lost the ability to talk about racism. At the moment there’s so much power and weight in the word that as soon as you mention it, it makes you feel like one. Luckily, words don’t work like that. If they did, nobody would be able to call anybody anything ever. Saying that someone else is being racist doesn’t even mean that they are one. But these days even just bringing up racism, you completely change the conversation. Pointing out racism often has the same effect as complaining at a barbecue about the lack of a gluten free vegetarian option, or explaining how a magician performs his tricks, or worst of all, posting Dexter spoilers to Facebook.