IMHO.....?

"Opinions are like nipples, everybody has one. Some have firm points, others are barely discernible through layers, and some are displayed at every opportunity regardless of whether the audience has stated "I am interested in your nipples" or not."

David Thorne

So recently I walked off a Facebook Support Group for Dyspraxia in a huff. Nothing unusual there, I quite often walk off things in a huff. However, the huff this time related to one of my current bete noires - the dreaded 'Opinion'. Right now, there's probably nothing that makes me think that 'free speech' is an overrated concept that the use of the word 'opinion'

So the story, since you didn't ask, goes as follows.

The Facebook Dyspraxia Support group exists to support people who have Dyspraxia. No surprises there. It quite often features posts from people who struggle with everyday tasks and organisation and need advice. However, lately it appeared to have drifted from its original mission statement and began posting general articles on disability including this charming statement

Now whenever I see a headline like this liked to on Facebook, my immediate reaction is to click on it and investigate further. Does the headline match the statement? Where is it from? Who said it? I've seen enough click bait to arouse a certain amount of cynicism, even this week we've had "Coleen Nolan compares Gay Rights Activists to ISIS" rather than the actual truth of "Coleen Nolan Used An Arguably Clumsy Analogy To Raise Questions About How Far We Can And Should Go In Regulating Free Speech Which Might Have Been Acceptable From A Political Philosopher But Apparently Bad Coming From Someone Whose Day Job Is Apparently Just To Sit On A Sofa". Rather as if I had said "Cows are to calfs as Kittens are to Cats" and you replied "Don't be stupid, have you ever tried to milk a cat" (I nicked this from Andrew Rilstone).

In this case however, there was no ambiguity, the Deputy Mayor had said exactly what was attributed to him. BUT (and this is important) it was over 10 years ago. I pointed this out on the Facebook group, the poster apologised and took the article down, making another post to apologise for this.


And this is where the trouble started. Someone else commented that the original poster had nothing to apologise for and what was the difference whether it was ten years old or not. I commented that I couldn't see the point in a group supposedly set up in to support people with a specific disability posting old articles about people who no longer had any influence stating views that were so obviously wrong that I couldn't think of anyone who supported them. It was at this point that someone used the dread words 'I feel like you are belittling my opinion" Which was at the point I left feeling this group was no longer for me.

I want to do a long post about this some day, but I honestly feel like the 'opinion card' is played too freely these days. Having an opinion to some people seems to mean that they cannot be challenged or argued with or dismissed or told they are silly - it seems the opinions are some sort of amulet casting a protection on the wearer.

In conclusion

1. Sometimes I'm a bit of an ass on line and need to chill out
2. Always be wary of the Anti-Kitten Burning Coalition.
3. Having an opinion is the START, not the END of a process.

Mad Max Fury Road - Is This A Feminist Movie?

Short Answer - No

Long Answer - In the first act of the film, Max Rockatansky comes across a group of women in the desert. They are dressed in skimpy clothing and pouring water over themselves. None of them appearing to be wearing bras. The women are heading for 'The Green Place' a place which they eventually discover no longer exists. So the women mope. Fortunately, the strong silent masculine knows exactly what to do and manages to save the women. So this is feminism, how???

Of course, the above is a totally skewed description leaving out several key facts and distorted the story in order to make a political point. Exactly the same tact then that the recent blog from the bizarre 'Return of Kings' site does. Except the author hasn't seen the film but believes

1) That giving women speaking parts is TEH BIG BAD
2) That it's really unfair to put lots of explosions in a trailer because it's going to attract men and their poor little brains may not cope with the ideas in the films

Oh, and the author also believes that a film sequence originally written, directed and largely starring Australians is part of 'American Culture'

And yes, I nearly forgot to add that what really raises the ire of this writer seems to be the fact that someone was consulted about the reality of sex slaves. Because the MacGuffin that drives this particular film is that Charlize Theron's character is rescuing women from a life of sex slavery. At this point my eyes start to glaze over, my mouth starts to dribble and my brain wants to escape and find life in another more sane world. I mean, have we really reached the stage in life when sex slavery being described as a Bad Thing is a form of PC Gone Mad rather than one of the actual bottom lines that society should adhere to? Just to clarify, it's not just me is it? Not just me that thinks the fact that kidnapping women and subjecting them to rape is a bad thing is not in any way controversial but in fact one of the basis of an actual functioning civilisation? Are we going to start describing any Magnficent Seven film where poor farmers are saved from exploitation as Marxism by the back door?

Mad Max Fury Road is the sort of film that cannot be described without turning into a Bill and Ted/Wayne's World knock-off. It's the sort of film that begs to be described as 'totally awesome dude'. But feminist? Really??