UPDATE: People are still angry over this on Twitter.Sign the petition.
Unpermitted words have a Weapons-Grade power over useful words at a rate of a billion to one
Speak a Forbidden Term and your entire career can be neutralized instantly. It doesn’t matter how many other useful ideas or contributions you make. Any breach unleashes a tidal wave of unrighteous indignation. Then the honest players fold like daffodils in a breeze and leap to carry out the judgement of twitter mobs. Why do good people help the Lynch Mob every time?
The permitted word list is defined by the PC mob, it changes at random, and post hoc, and only applies to people who threaten collectivist power. Eminent scientists can be called “deniers” as if they are mental morons, they can be likened to pedophiles, asbestos-pushers and Hitler, and that’s not only OK, those people get lavish taxpayer funded careers and prizes. (Not mentioning any names Stephan Lewandowsky and Robyn Williams.)
Freedom of Speech is under threat — we have to stand up to this
Tuesday, Ross Cameron said the four forbidden words “slanty-eyed, yellow-skinned“. Rude, yes, dynamite, no. They were better left unsaid, and potentially offensive, but not a sackable offence.
Suddenly the experienced former MP and long time commentator was a Proven Racist, which, like a dose of social Ebola, means he had to be excised lest his condition infect the rest of the show, or even the entire channel. Lordy, deranged Twitter Mobs might call Sky The-Channel-of-Racists! But here’s the thing, they already do that anyway.
As Andrew Bolt points out Ross was defending China. Co-host Rowan Dean told him off for sounding like an advert.
Ross Cameron has made decades of contributions to the national dialogue, with millions of useful words, but none of that counts if we reduce a whole person to a binary dot. In a one-nil national debate you are either a person or a racist! Thus everything he ever says on any topic can now be met with the inane “rascist” namecalling. That is, as long as we let namecallers control the conversation.
Think about the incredible power of these four words. Who died? Which trade deal was axed? The over-reaction (by non-Chinese people) is a patronizing put-down, as if the Chinese are such weak petals they can’t handle a colorful description or an old demeaning cliche.
Kevin Rudd thinks it’s all so important he declared Rupert Murdoch practically employed Ross Cameron to say this. “They knew exactly what they were doing”. Apparently defending China for 6.9 out of 7 minutes is an “extreme right wing view”. Shows what KRudd knows about politics.
Instead of sacking him, Outsiders could have invited some actual Chinese people on the show to reply. Ross could’ve explained himself face to face (if they wanted that, but they probably have more important things to discuss). Let him face that music. Why not find out whether Chinese people preferred Ross’s commentary to Rowan’s. That’s what a national conversation looks like. Not like a witchhunt.
Ross Cameron on Outsiders
A seven minute long monologue from Ross about the importance and achievements of China. Forbidden words at 5:20.
The Punishment Does Not Fit “the Crime”
Sacking him feeds the DeletePeople Movement, giving them a power they don’t deserve and destroying any chance of a sophisticated national debate.
The four poisonous words
Read the quote without the four bolded words. Ho hum. The spirit and intent of Ross’s point is clear:
I’m just saying to you that the Chinese civilisation is the oldest continuous civilisation in the world. OK, It’s not going anywhere. 1.4 billion people, it’s got about a sixth of the world’s population. All of them are studying English. If you go to Disneyland in Shanghai on any typical morning of the week you will see 20,000 black haired, slanty eyed, yellow skinned Chinese desperate to get into Disneyland because they like and enjoy and are embracing many aspects of Western culture…
We find the Chinese to be Australia’s single most important trading partner. The Chinese provide the greatest number of purchasers of Australian education exports, the greatest number of foreign students. We find a million Chinese coming to Australia each year to visit. One out of four ships leaving an Australian port goes straight to China.
Our national conversation is the most precious thing. It’s how we find and filter the truths, the good ideas. As long as we let the namecalling mobs DeletePeople the whole national conversation becomes a parody. It’s a minefield.
The true haters want to reduce the world to namecalling and a binary Yes:No answer.
He shouldn’t have said it, so lets ask him not to do it again, and put him back on TV.