The red head is dead and so is politics. If
there’s anything to be said for these past few weeks of politics, it’s simply
that it was just so undeniably depressing. Unfortunately, sexism is something
that constantly brought together the shattered pieces of our political
discourse until eventually Australian began to resemble a massive shit slinging
match. We could look at the ways in which Gillard was eventually torn to pieces
by a pack of mad raving dogs we like to call the media, the way in which she
was repeatedly undermined by the nerdy Systemic Anomaly called Rudd, or we
could look at the way in which the Lord of the Speedos used any scare
campaigning possible to undermine her, but I’d prefer to look at the ways in
which she was awesome.
The way she got us all talking about
sexism: she literally re-defined the word misogyny (despite popular opinion, I
actually think that’s quite cool).
The way in which she enforced more reform
in her short reign than Howard did in his (was it a million years?) reign.
The way in which she managed to handle the
press. You’ve got to admire a woman who is renowned for a command over a press
conference.
The way in which she handled idiots with
class.
I just hope that one day can learn to work
through this collective Tall Poppy Syndrome and its
sweep-it-under-the-mat-until-it-comes-bursting-through-on-a 2UE-program style
sexism. Only then can we move forward as a society and begin to pick up our
game. The rest of the world is laughing at us Australia and guess what? It’s not
funny anymore.
