An ugly incident, which demonstrates why the personal slurs from Anthony Albanese, a sitting white PM, about a blak Senator’s “mental health” were so dangerously inappropriate. Australia is a racist country and Labor has some fanatical followers who consider the PM’s words holy rite.
Then there are the Neo-Nazi groups and other people who consider Lidia a threat to be removed. The media should be emphasising just how irresponsible the PM’s abuse of Lidia really was. Yet Dingo News seems to be the only media outlet even broaching the subject.
“Albo” is no expert on psychological matters. Even if he was, he had no right to make such comments. Especially about a leader of the Progressive No camp. This was a blatant attack on a dissenting voice that can only be seen as an abuse of the PM’s office. The power imbalance and the racial and political factors involved cannot be ignored or excused.
One has only to see the commentary on social media to witness how vicious the attacks on Lidia have become. The accusations of lying, mental instability, the racist tropes, the misogyny…
These attacks are not new. Albanese added fuel to a fire of racism and hatred towards Lidia that was already blazing. Labor strategists knew exactly what “Albo’s” dogwhistling would achieve …
… they just didn’t count on Lidia’s resilience or the grassroots support she has amassed.
“The measure of a man is what he does with power” – Plato
Media should have questioned “Albo’s” motivations
I’ve some questions regarding those political and investigative journalists who dished out “Albo’s” bile about Senator Thorpe’s “escapades”.
Did those journalists believe our PM was concerned about Lidia? Did none of them question his motivations or the harm such articles would cause Lidia? Not saying it wasn’t newsworthy. Just believe a little thought about why the Australian Prime Minister was getting involved in such a minor matter wouldn’t have gone astray.
Some analysis of our PM’s motivations would have made the articles far more interesting too.
The PM’s self-interested and hypocritical moralising remains extremely newsworthy. Perhaps try a comparison? Maybe how Mr Albanese spoke about a former NSW Premier being investigated by the NSW ICAC?
“Albo” – ‘I certainly don’t think that (Gladys Berejiklian) should be judged on any personal issues, I make that very clear.”
He neglected to add, “Unless it’s Senator Thorpe, then personal issues are open slather”.
“I know Gladys, I’ve known her for quite a while, I wish her well.” – Gladys, corruption, rubber-toothed watchdogs and their apologists explained – Mick Lawless – Dingo News
I’m of the mind that “serious corrupt conduct” is a greater sin than having a rowdy night out and that protests are a democratic right.
Did none of these ethical professionals, question amplifying a layperson’s views on someone’s psychological state?
Albanese’s faux-concern: “I hope that Lidia gets some support. I think that that level of behaviour is quite clearly unacceptable. And I think there are obvious issues that need to be dealt with in terms of her health issues”.
Lidia could have grounds to take legal action.
It’s true Lidia was given a right of reply but the damage was done and Lidia was on the defensive. Given the level of racism in this country and the mostly negative reporting about Lidia’s actions, I doubt it helped much. More likely, it would have just fanned the flames.
I imagine they’d roll out the “health issues” excuse if it ever went to court but I wouldn’t want to be using it as a defence. 🙂
KC: “Which ‘health issues’ do you believe were causing Senator Thorpe to lay down in front of a truck, Mr Albanese?”
“Come now – You were keen to have your opinion as to the causes of my client’s behaviour publicised all over Australia. Let’s hear it.”
Judge: “You will answer the question, Mr Albanese.” 1
Who could have predicted this ugly escalation?
You thought the militarisation of police was scary?
Labelling dissidents as mentally unstable has a long tradition. Most (Western) sources cite Russia and China but it occurs in every country to different degrees. A great tool for “managing” homosexuality too.
Let’s make no mistake about it. This was a premeditated and calculated tactic by Albanese to cause Lidia reputational harm. A blak woman labelled as mentally incompetent by a sitting Prime Minister is made immediately vulnerable. Who would believe anything Lidia had to say if she was the victim of an ugly incident?
Albanese: “These are not the actions of anyone who should be participating in society in a normal way, let alone a senator,” Albanese told 2SM. “And Lidia needs to be very conscious of the way in which this behaviour has been seen. They are repeat exercises now.”
“Albo’s” “…anyone who should be participating in society in a normal way …” is just dark. Especially when we remember how Labor stopped one dissident/whistleblower from “participating in society in a normal way”.
“Wilson was taken away by Queensland Fixated Threat Assessment Centre (QFTAC) police, not charged with anything, but was detained and involuntarily injected with an antipsychotic drug, aripiprazole (brand name: Abilify Maintena), which is commonly used in the treatment of schizophrenia.
QFTAC claimed Wilson was delusional, but in the opinion of an independent clinical consulting psychologist, she is suffering post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) following the ordeal of her whistleblowing, and is not delusional. Wilson had merely been trying to contact the relevant Minister about evidence of alleged wrongdoing, but instead of acting on the evidence, the minister or her office referred her to QFTAC.” – Are the thought police coming? – Blotreport
From – Lidia Thorpe & Penny Wong – Changing the Narrative – Mick Lawless
“A blak woman labelled as mentally incompetent by a sitting Prime Minister is made immediately vulnerable”
Media working hand-in-hand with the Albanese narratives
Not content with a story about a blak female Senator being assaulted, News Com’s Eli Green decided to add a few “political controversies” in case anyone got the impression Lidia was a victim.
We all know Lidia asked for it, right?
Tim’s Tweet gives a succinct summation of Eli’s narrative trust
Eli’s article also contained some effusive praise for our Glorious Leader and his pet vanity project – The “Aboriginal” Voice to parliament.
“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese kicked off the major event with a standing ovation from thousands of Labor faithful, calling for support for the Voice to parliament referendum”.
Labor’s sinking of a Murdoch Royal Commission, their voting for a new income stream for Murdoch and meetings with Murdoch’s henchpeople seem to have paid off.
Labor have even excluded “professional media” (Murdoch) and themselves (government) from the new Communications Legislation Amendment (Combatting Misinformation and Disinformation) Bill 2023.
“Who would believe anything Lidia had to say if she was the victim of an ugly incident?”
When Lidia accused Liberal Senator David Van of harassing and sexually assaulting her, people were quick to disparage her claims.
It was unsurprising to see Steven, a sad little man who has made whipping up racial hatred his life’s work,
accuse Senator Thorpe of lying. Steven’s serial racism is (necessarily) coupled with making a fool of himself
As Lidia explains, “…she was “demonised” after raising allegations of sexual assault in the parliament and was only taken seriously when a white woman shared her own allegations.
Thorpe noted there was a huge difference in how she was treated after making allegations about being “inappropriately touched” in a parliamentary stairwell, compared with when the former Liberal senator Amanda Stoker raised her own allegations.
“It’s been horrible,” Thorpe told ABC’s Radio National. “I became the perpetrator. I became the person that was demonised…”
I had a media pile on that day.
“And it wasn’t until a white woman stood up and said ‘yeah, this happened to me, too’ that the media took notice. – Lidia Thorpe says she was ‘demonised’ after raising sexual assault allegations in the Senate – Amy Remeikis – The Guardian
Yes voter racism exposed
Many of the people abusing Lidia are Labor followers. Some of them racists. Prepared to vote Yes because the whole – “Aboriginal” Voice to parliament issue – has become an ideological contest between Labor and the LNP. It’s about the only product differentiation they have left.
These racist True Believers are probably of the mind – from studying Labor’s treatment of Aboriginal people – that it will be a meaningless gesture anyway.
Ben Abbatangelo nails the fatal flaw inherent in the Voice…
“Hindsight has proved that the 1967 referendum constitutionally enabled the federal government to count us as humans but treat us like animals.
Any objective accounting would conclude the Voice won’t change this. We will still be treated like animals and the government will continue to act as zookeepers. We will remain caged and controlled, starved of our rights to be free on our own lands and the authors of our destinies.
After all, what good is having a Voice when the people you’re speaking to either don’t know how to listen, don’t care or simply believe they know better?” – Ben Abbatangelo – Actions speak louder than the Voice – The Saturday Paper – via Dingo News
Australian Prime Ministers giving a nod and a wink to racists, while embarking on some grand scheme to manage the “Aboriginal problem” is practically a tradition in this country.
Does anyone seriously believe – a PM who has encumbered us with AUKUS, who subsidises right wing American militarist think tanks 2 and is opening up massive fossil fuel projects as the planet cooks – will allow Aboriginal people to interfere with his plans?
Especially, when ours is a PM who attacked an Aboriginal woman already facing a firestorm of racist and political abuse for speaking her mind?
Way to salve someone’s ‘mental issues’, “Albo”.
Notes
Feature image text from – Lidia Thorpe’s gutsy Mardi Gras protest is the return of actual politics – Guy Rundle – Crikey
1 Might be another article in this. 🙂
2 Jommy Tee exposed Labor’s contributions to RW American think tanks
• Center for a New American Security (CNAS)
“The US Air Force is planning to station nuclear-capable B-52 bombers in Australia. Becca Wasser, the lead war-gamer at
the CNAS, stated, “Having bombers that could range and potentially attack mainland China could be very important in sending
a signal to China that any of its actions over Taiwan could also expand further.”
“The relatively small Washington D.C. think tank has played a major role in both the Obama and Biden administrations
and the shift in US foreign and military policy towards confrontation with Russia and China, increasing the risk of nuclear war.”
– Democratic think tank plots war against Russia and China: What is the Center for a New American Security?
– Alex Findijs – WSWS
Former PM Scott Morrison has joined the CNAS as an advisor 🙂
“During Mr. Morrison’s term as Prime Minister Australian defence spending increased to more than 2% of GDP and he updated
Australia’s defence strategy and security posture to address an increasingly assertive China.”
It’s an amusing and selective bio to say the least.
• Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments (CBSA) “…which has close ties with the Pentagon, outlined in considerable
detail the role that the Australian military and its bases would play in a US war with China. The island continent would be
transformed into a vast base to sustain a US blockade of China by controlling key shipping lanes through South East Asia
and conducting attacks on Chinese vessels in the Indian Ocean.
It would also function as a protected rear area for the US military as it launched its Air Sea Battle plan to devastate the Chinese
mainland. The report detailed what was needed to upgrade northern Australian air bases and the Stirling naval base in Western
Australia, as well as the purchases required for the Australian military.” – Australia’s integration into US war plans against
China – Peter Symonds – WSWS
• National Bureau of Asian Research (NBR) The NBR is another US based think tank promoting US hegemony against the
fashionable ‘China threat’.
Publications such as ‘Modernizing Deterrence: How China Coerces, Compels, and Deters‘ – ‘China’s Digital Ambitions: A Global
Strategy to Supplant the Liberal Order’ and ‘Political Front Lines: China’s Pursuit of Influence in Africa’ indicate their current fixation.