Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, Dumb, Dumb, Dumb

Jesus what the hell is going on down there!? This Sydney stuff is making news all over the place over here; naturally commentators here are comparing the weekend's events with Paris burning. The whole sorry business looks ugly and more than a little frightening. I just finished reading David Marr's oped piece in the SMH criticizing Alan Jones and 2GB for whipping up an unseemly hysteria all last week on his talk back slot - apparently he had been openly exhorting listeners to descend on Cronulla beach 'to send a message'; well I got your message you dozy fucker and we all stand diminished this Monday morning! God this makes me so angry. Howard has his messy fingers all over this as well...as many of you know Andrea has still yet to forgive Howard for the Tampa debacle (has anyone?) though she always insisted he might yet be held to account for his supremely pusilanimous politics. That might yet be the only good that comes from this madness. I know these kinds of cultural moments always have complex histories and mixed causes - still they always demand political solutions.