The silver linings of an Abbott Government ... desperate thoughts in difficult times

Warning: may irritate some ALP voters I like on Twitter. Hopefully not, but possibly.

So it's come to this.

When the soothingly thoughtful and intelligent Waleed Aly becomes the focus of criticism from ALP apologists it's time to check the blinkers.

Remember the good old days of protesting bad government
policy without fear of giving the opposition a free kick?

Aly wrote what was, in my opinion, a fantastic piece (and to be fair, it seems there was far more praise than criticism) discussing the real problems Labor face - you know, those that actually underlie the bad polls and infighting. It wasn't the policy analysis we need, but it was a broad look at ALP policy and ideology and, despite the usually measured Bernard Keane attacking him, summarising it as "Waleed Aly joining Fairfax's new 'all leadership speculation, all the time' format," the 'L' word was only used once and to actually make a point of stating that the issues he was addressing were "not about incompetent leadership".

Yet the reaction from many people on Twitter was an elbow-jerk finger pointing at the Coalition, or to take up Aly's overarching theme of narrative, which some are now pushing as a dismissive running joke, to avoid what he was really talking about.

The defensiveness was cringeworthy as rusted on some rusted on ALP voters could not even for a minute take a moment to accept this may be a legitimate arguement and that perhaps there is something wrong with the party.

Apparently it's all about mainstream media hatred of Julia Gillard and the ALP. Reality check - The ALP stink. Just not quite as bad as the other lot. But that's no reason to defend them.

The progressive party we need, or the one we deserve?

They deserve to, and must, be called on it if they are going to be the progressive party we actually deserve. Or maybe they are the progressive party we deserve, but they are not the one we need right now - though I hate to compare my beloved Batman with them, they're more like Two-Face at the moment.

We need a major progressive party that treats asylum seekers with dignity, affords them basic human rights and doesn't use them as a political football. One that listens to Indigenous communities rather than continuing oppressive Howard-era policies that aren't working. One that keeps its commitment to stand up to the gaming industry and deliver real reform, like they did the tobacco industry. One that doesn't dance along to the conservative tune of 'surplus, surplus, surplus whatever it takes', because we know that's not a healthy or realistic attitude (and, jeebus, why not use reality against the Coalition??). One that treats all people equally, especially when it's what the majority of the people and that party want.

Yes, they have done some very good things in the past three years and performed quite well in some difficult circumstances, and no person or party or government is perfect, but there is so much to abhore about this lot right now, in their policy and how the conduct themselves. Even one of the Prime Minister's most memorable moments, that misogyny speech, came while the government cut welfare to single parents (many being women).

Warranted as some of it has been, much of the angry criticism of the mainstream media's trivial obsession with polls and leadership over policy seems to have itself become a trivial obsession with being the victim and taking a 'whatever it takes' approach to beating Tony Abbott rather than thinking broadly about policy.

Which leads me to my other moment of utter disillusionment with the media, politicians and punters who pretend to want to discuss issues over party politics. On Tuesday it was (minimally) reported that children in detention - in the care of our government - as young as nine years old have been self-harming.

A nine-year old overdosed on painkillers, saying he was "going crazy", a ten year old cut his forearms, a 17 year old tried to hang himself. And 23 other cases between August 2010 and November 2011.

This is outrageous and surely a perfect opportunity for a biased media to sink the boot in? Yet there was much silence from the mainstream media and party aligned tweeters alike. Perhaps because both sides are culpable and the media has played a major role in perpetrating disgraceful myths and perceptions. But it is the government that is ultimately responsible for their wellbeing. And all the while, some people who have been most vocally banging on about #Ashbygate and the media's silence and unfair treatment, themselves had nothing to say about children self-harming in detention. Didn't suit the politics.

In the end many calls of bias from all sides aren't calls for better quality journalism or neutrality, but demands for a their team to be given a "fairer run". Like using the free kick count in an AFL match to judge the quality of umpiring, it wholly dismisses the reality of events, and the actions, values and discipline of either side.

And now with bickering between the ALP and the Greens and everything turning to shit I begin to wonder ... is an ALP loss- even a little whalloping - perhaps what we need? I find myself starting to think of the benefits of Prime Minister Tony Abbott, perhaps out of sheer necessity. Maybe a term - just one if possible - of Prime Minister Abbott would actually be good for us in the long-run. Maybe?

Silver linings of ... PM Abbott  (*shudder*)

I've only in the past week resigned myself to the fact the Coalition will likely win. And I'm not comfortable with it. But there are opportunities there, friends! We progressives could properly rally around a common enemy and do what we do best without feeling the need to defend a less-than-perfect government - protest! Yes there would be bad outcomes, but maybe it would offer an opportunity to refocus on drawing attention to our issues like our appalling human rights record of the last decade without holding back for fear of handing the opposition a free point (because they are so much better, right?!) and really, truly, deeply talk about issues again. Wasn't it more fun when we all hated Prime Minister Howard??

I desperately want the ALP to be better than what it is. I want to want to vote for them - well preference them, Adam Bandt will likely get my primary vote - not just put them down as the least bad option. My sense of Aly's piece was that he feels the same. I wasn't a kicking for the sake of it, it was an plea for better progressive representatives. I think he, like me, wants to be able to choose a party to govern that inspires, not the lesser evil. Not that I can speak on his behalf.

Frankly, the ALP deserve to be beaten in the election. They are not a party I want running my country. The problem we have, of course, is that the alternative is fundamentally evil. For the first time I understand people who don't wish to vote. "If you don't vote you can't complain about the elected government," they say. Well sure you can if you think both options suck. (This is not an argument against our system of compulsory attendance, which I love).

Waleed Aly hit many nails on their heads. I don't want to see Prime Minister Abbott; I could live with Prime Minister Turnbull if the party reflected his views rather than vice-versa, but that won't happen;but I don't particularly want to see this government limp on into another term the way it's going and with policies I can't accept. Perhaps we'll be better off in the long run if they cop a harsh lesson and come out a better party. I'm sure it will just lead to more infighting, recriminations, speculations, deals and revenge though.

If the Coalition win without control of the Senate hopefully Abbott's inane blood pledge to repeal the price on carbon will begin his unraveling  from day one. It's the kind of easy story the media love, the public don't hate it anymore and I can't see a Double Dissolution helping him in any way in such circumstances.

What we need is to get back to be able to talk about ideas and issues in a way that is not constrained by which party you support. It's just as important to hold the party you support to account publicly.

But if you treat this like sport - as many of us constantly criticise the media for doing - and merely fight the 'other team', if you're response to any criticism of your side of politics is "but what about them?!", you're missing the point and holding back the progressive cause.

Some ALP voters need to take a cold shower, focus less on crying out for critique of Tony Abbott - it will come - and realise that the ALP really do need to be much better as a party and progressives. And hey, that might just turn things around.

Why can't we talk and tweet about serious issues?

So it's over. For now.

It was a fun week for political geeks, as the #respill, #kevenge and #ALPocalypse hashtags dominated Twitter like few other non-Bieber trends have for such a prolonged period. That's the social media world we live in now - a few days is 'prolonged'.

And nothing really came of it. Other than, hopefully, Kevin Rudd's quiet retreat to the backbench and then retirement. It was a battle between public relations and (attempted) good government, and for once, somehow, the latter came out on top.

But what does the Twitter activity around it all say about Australian politics, and even those of us who constantly begrudge the focus on superficial polls and leadership speculation at the expense of meaningful policy discussion and education. Yes, the leadership challenge was more than just speculation in the end, and the potential change of Primae Minister in these circumstances is definitely big news - it could have brought down a government - but it never actually looked like happening. It was all about one man's ego, and other people's obsession with (possibly misinterpreted) polls. And that doesn't excuse the media from talking about virtually NOTHING else since Kevin Rudd resigned as Foreign Minister.

This was a drama, led by a protagonist up there with the best in terms of vanity and meglamania and fed by petty infighting, not an issue of public interest. They need to sort their shit out and if - yes it may be a big if - the government can move past this now and focus on policy we'll all be better for it. But will the media pack of pavlov's dogs promote the public interest, or push for more excitement? It's easy news, it's sexy news, it fits the new instant gratification and production paradigm, and doesn't require the knowledge and resources for proper analysis.

And it's telling just how much more Twitter activity there's been in the last few days. Not to mention during QandA last week when the number of tweets sporting the #qanda hashtag seemed to plummet when the discussion finally moved on to issues of policy and genuine public interest after the halfway mark of the show.

I got sucked in - truth is, it's so much easier to tweet about Rudd, Gillard, Abbott and leadership than technical elements of policy. And it's more salacious, so it drags us in. It engages us more immediately, and we don't need to concentrate so intently to understand the content so it's easier to tweet about it at the same time - giving the impression this is what everyone wants to talk about.

But that doesn't mean it's what we want dominating the news, especially on the ABC! It doesn't mean I won't be pissed off when I tune in to Big Ideas on a Sunday and find it's been replaced with a news bulletin telling me nothing I haven't heard a hundred times already.

I'd dearly love to tweet intelligently, with an informed view on the Gonski Report, or health reforms, or disability legislation, but I don't know enough about it. I should seek out more information, but I'm just another time-poor voter who thought he could rely on the ABC to give me the meaningful side of the political debate. After the last couple of weeks I'm not so sure.

Even they are feeding us more of this crap now, because it seems to be what we want to talk about. But the fact is, most of us can't engage in the discourse on real issues because we don't know enough about them. It's a sad cycle of entertainment in shallow waters.

But at least we don't have a Prime Minister today who seems to live in the shallows, feeding an obsession with his own image. Maybe if he retreats quietly we can move the conversation back towards something meaningful before the next election.

A rant against FPDAs (Facebook public displays of affection)

Of all the social media indulgences (and I'm guilty of many) FPDAs - Facebook public displays of affection - have to be the worst; the main offender. Just ahead of unneccessarily creating acronyms.

You know, public display of affection - couples attached at the hip and lip in a social setting - but words on Facebook. Bringing anti-social behaviour to social media is a serious crime.

I may be a jaded cynic whose last proper relationship sank just before everyone jumped on board Facebook, but I'm as familiar with infatuation as I am with the sweet gratification of online attention. The addiction of connection and interaction is a great distraction from real life with its seemingly endless potential for instant gratification. It's also relatively empty most of the time. I hope once they go public they start charging to use certain elements - rather than making a dollar out of the entrenched, it will make it easier to step away.

Facebook is mostly, and probably at best, a performance stage. Its worst is the passive cries for attention and assurance. You eventually reach a point where you're so sick reading self-indulgent vague, melancholic, reassurance or concern seeking posts that you resolve to shift them to Twitter. I now try to keep my Facebook posts light-hearted, funny or sensibly activist. If a post that doesn't get at least a couple of likes and/or comments I'll regret saying it. I'm an anxiety-ridden amatuer writer, of course I still seek validation.

Everything posted on Facebook is doesn't for a wide audience - it's a one-to-many medium. Even personal messages on a friend's wall are simultaneously a broadcast to everyone else who passes by. Would you say these things to one person at a party with a microphone? If not, probably don't post it on Facebook. If you really want to shout or whisper it into a crowded street where few will care, tweet it. Otherwise have a personal conversation. And/or get a journal.

So then there are the couples. I always thought people in relationships generally used Facebook less, at least less than they would if they were single, and have some good evidence to that end. Myself included. But now it seems couples are more and more bringing their personal, intimate relationships into the public electronic domain. Sorry, that's a misuse of the word 'intimate'

It isn't a one-on-one medium unless you direct message. If there's relevance to others or its funny or ridiculing one party, completely fine. But I do not want messages about how much they love or miss each other or how many days until their wedding filling up my feed and getting in the way of things I might actually be interested in - music videos, interesting discussions and drunken photos.

FPDAs are like an infatuated couple at school passing notes in a classroom and having everyone it passes by open it (and maybe like or comment). It's just not as (eek) romantic. Aside from the personal touch (oh for a letter in the mail!) text messages or phone calls are far more effective. Cost money though right? Well use email or private message. The more you dilute a personal conversation in the ocean of the crowd the less meaningful it is to the other person.

If I read a single Valentine's Day to that effect I will defriend the perpetrators immediately. There is a certain romance about shouting your love from the rooftop; and people may applaud and celebrate with you initially, but if you don't get back down to earth soon enough they'll turn and start to throw shit at you.

I just don't think Facebook is designed, or works best as a medium for, personal communication - whether with a partner or friend (other than private messaging). Because, I'm sorry - people just don't care. And having people care is half the fun (read 'point') right?

Public statements through art are different because of their (sometimes) beauty, subtlety and personal reading.

I'm not a wowser. After being single for most of the past five years I miss the affection like Schapelle Corby misses cuddles, and you better believe when the right girl comes along I'll want my friends to share my happiness. But I won't put it in their face, in public or online.

I'm not opposed at all to displays of affection in public, but rather displays of public affection - those where the mind is focused beyond the person you're engaging. Unless, of course, they are directed at me

Affection for a crowd is an act, it just seems phoney. There is substance in subtlety, moreso in intimacy. Inctimacy being that close, personal, deep connection between two people - where outside attention is irrelevant because everyone else disappears.

Of course, it's not just couples. Some people have just lost the art of personal communication. For fuck's sake, I'm sure we've all been at a table of friends where a number of those present are online on their iPhone, or whatever one's cool now, giving in to the addiction of wider but less meaningful discourse.

The Facebook birthday wall is a farce. I've given up posting on people's walls on their birthday. If they're a friend we'll catch up or I'll send a personal message. If we're close enough for that we probably shouldn't be Facebook friends anyway. The only exceptions are where it includes a dedicated YouTube music video, which I may wish to see, or if it is my birthday. I like others to see how many people care about me.

And plenty do, don't you worry. Which is why it hurts so much when no one 'likes' my witty posts.

If you came here via Facebook...

This blog started out as a deeply personal – even private – messy, ad-hoc experiment in reconnecting with my passion for writing. The idea was planted by an ‘old friend’ last September. She said to me:

“Dear Sam. I’ve put some serious thought into how best to tell you this. I’m sure that at the end of the day until u come to this on your own – the absolute truth shall not sink in. In the spirit of the masked avenger, your creativity & passions. It should be plain to see. You need to write and maintain an annonomous [sic] agitating political blog. Love Emma”

FYI - the ‘masked avenger’ is a reference to my mild obsession with Batman.

This was a shove from someone who believed in me more than I believed in myself and – not just because it was linking me with Batman – I was more than a little flattered and motivated by it.

Much as I love politics though (check in on my Twitter feed during QandA), there are plenty of better informed people and insightful people blogging in that sphere. So I continue to explore what this blog actually is; what the primary theme or issue is, if indeed there is one, and I started with some random ramblings that, with any luck, I’ll look back on some day with (more) disgust (than I currently do).

Initially, I kept it under the radar – I don’t think I ever even told Emma about it. Enjoying the anonymity of a blog read by no-one I knew, in fact almost no-one at all, I took the opportunity to get a large weight off my chest and write a lengthy account on my life with depression.

That post was the first I actually promoted - through Twitter where, as here, I don't use my surname and am followed by very few people who actually know me. But it’s still by far the most viewed post I’ve written, and the most soul-baring. It also led to an appearance on Hungry Beast discussing my OCD, largely ending my lonely secrecy, and related embarrassment, of hiding my condition. I then released a deep sigh of relief in all circles of my life with friends, family and some work colleagues now knowing the basic details.

Still, the only posts Facebook saw were the less personal ones that I was sufficiently comfortable with, but I was no longer being too fussed about what else the clickers might find here.

Finally, a couple of weeks ago, in a somewhat narcissistic attempt to boost visits, I quietly included this blog in my Facebook profile information as my website. Since then I’ve been interested to see if any visits came here through Facebook; none, until the weekend when two came through.

Unfortunately for me, I don’t know who steps into my confessional booth. I figure distant acquaintances won’t be looking through that profile information and I do know of one person who came here via Facebook and, through the blog, found me on Twitter – someone I don’t keep in touch with much anymore, but am stoked found something of interest in my writing.

I’m becoming more and more comfortable with all of this; being more open about my thoughts and experiences, and my ongoing efforts to maintain good mental health. I'm doing so quite well, just so you know!

Not everyone will understand things written on these pages, but bless those who do, or at least try, and bugger those who don’t.

I’m also coming to realise is that if this blog does develop a dominant theme mental health is the most likely candidate. After all it is probably what I know most about, is something I am passionate about, and I’m keen to share my experiences with others.

So it will only get more personal I suppose.

I don’t know who is reading, and some who do may be known to me and get more than they bargained for!

If you came here via Facebook, I’d love to know that you stopped by and now know some of my open secrets. But you don’t need to tell me if you don’t wanna :o)

My tweet cloud

This is my tweet cloud, my most used words in tweets over the last three months (1058 tweets - shit, that many, really??).

The top words were 'People', 'Time' and 'Love'. I expected 'Love' would pop up, it's so overused it would surely show up in everyone's.

'People', I'm not so sure about; given my most prolific tweeting is during QandA and other political shows, chances are I was berating 'people' in general, and 'actually' being a little condescending... But 'Please' also made it in, so at least I'm being polite. And 'Thanks'.

And I have no idea how 'Time' placed so highly.

'Politics' as a topic clearly dominates, but as a word I'm not too surprised. 'Asylum' is there purely because of Go Back to Where You Came From and last night's Leaky Boat and QandA. I think the discussion of boats probably pushed 'Stop' up the list too. I'm not one to tell people what to do! Unless it's 'Change'.

Nice to see 'Read' and 'Melbourne' in there, suggesting some cultural content as well maybe?

'Stop'

Disappointed that I'm tweeting about 'Twitter' itself?! But the inclusion of Perth - I was only there for six days - is maybe an indication that it didn't take much to get into the cloud.

Anyway, over 1000 tweets in three months. Over 300 per month. Over 10 per day!

So 'tonight' I stay away from it and live my 'life'.

Avoiding Tweet-arrhea

After a recent bout of ‘Tweet-arrhea’ I decided to draw up some guidelines for my use of Twitter; guidelines that will no doubt be regularly broken, but provide a point of reference nonetheless. And most of it applies to Facebook as well, really.

They reflect how I personally want to use the Twitter. If you’re famous/interesting enough to tell the world when you’re going to bed, then so be it. I still don’t think anyone cares … well they shouldn’t.

These are my Twitter guidelines:

1. Don’t tweet emotionally
   Just because it’s easy to vent anger, frustration or sadness, doesn’t mean you should, and social media can be the easiest, most immediate outlet. But you’re better off taking a breath and being self-reflective rather than self-indulgent. Have a real conversation if you need to vent, and you’ll avoid wanting to delete dramatic, emotional posts later on.

2. Don’t use Twitter to communicate a message to a particular person indirectly
   I’ve done it and had it done to me, generally driven by short-term emotional bursts. Yeah, sometimes you just wanna let someone know they’re pissing you off without saying it directly to them and making a big deal of it. Twitter and Facebook allow for the vaguely veiled, passive aggressive message, with the get-out of ‘don’t assume it was about you’ if it’s taken badly. Not only is it unhealthy communication and unfair on the person your talking towards, but the rest of your followers really don’t care and will just think you’re being dramatic – because you probably are. You’ll just keep brooding, and all the while they might not have even read it. Worse still is if it’s a positive message because I’d want to hear it directly rather than wonder if it’s about me, so do the same for others.

3. Resist the urge to continually tweet to get someone’s attention, or a response
   You’ll end up posting crap and look like a loser with too much time on your hands.

4. Don’t write a series of tweets that make up an essay
   Blog it and link to it! Then you can even measure if anyone cared ... in this case, i'll leave the link...

5. Don’t tweet just because you’re bored and/or lonely
   Personal time and reflection is healthy, a need for constant connection is not.

6. Don’t tweet thoughts that seems interesting in the moment
   Even if it is something you might share with someone in your company, consider its relevance. Make it meaningful, give it broader context and appeal. Or just leave it in your head; it’s ok to keep thoughts to yourself.

7. Don’t confuse negative emotion with passion or come across as antagonistic
   People generally react better to positive comments. There’s always a positive way of saying things, even criticism.

8. Use Hashtags as a guide
   With enough followers – which I currently don’t really have – you don’t necessarily need them, but being unable to apply a relevant hashtage for meaningful catagorisation, it might be a sign that the tweet doesn’t have won’t be topical or of interest to many people. I felt like tweeting the fact that I bought a Callipo today – just because I know I’d mention it to a particular person. It’s of no interest to anyone else and there’s no Hashtag I could use that would be of any use.

9. No self-pity
   No one wants to read it. Deal with that stuff productively.

In essence, it’s about quality over quantity, tweet because you have something to say, not just because you want to, or worse, feel the need to. Don’t just post something because it seems good in the moment. Each crap tweet devalues the good ones. You don’t need to tweet every day. In fact, purposely having a tweet-free day each week is probably a good practice to keep out of bad tweeting habits.

In short, tweet thoughts that offer some kind of insight, and have the potential to make people think, smile, laugh or learn.

If it’s not fun, walk away!

Yes me, I'm talking to you!

If a tree falls in the woods, but doesn't update it's Facebook status...

I’m at the beach in Sorrento, immersed in glorious sunshine and refreshing bay water. It’s a serene, soulful, personal moment. Commitments, responsibilities, worries and all connections have been left on the shore. And then it hits – I should share this moment on Facebook.

It’s pure self-indulgence. Sure, some people may find it interesting enough to communicate their jealously – heck that’s the reason I’d post it, right – but, really, who cares? What value would it add to anyone’s day? More to the point, what focusing on other people’s reactions to this personal moment take away from my own experience of the moment.

It’s become so easy to share these little moments, that everyday occurrences that you’d usually (or should I say ‘previously’) only comment on to someone you were with at the time, or maybe saw later that day, are now broadcast to the Facebook world as if they are big news. Facebook has done to daily communication what the tabloid press did to the news – denigrated it to be about meaningless, but indulgent, lowest common denominator bites of information.

Smart phones put instant connection to this world at our fingertips 24/7. Great, but it makes for more restless shallow experiences, where the story is more important than the experience – like the camera has led many tourists to see a foreign city through a framed digital screen so they remember every element of a place they never really experienced. It almost leaves you lonely in the real world when you lose reception or just think enough’s enough. At that point, the benefit and beauty of personal reflection is lost.

Not everyone is on Facebook, and I admire those friends of mine who have resisted, though sometimes wish they could see my latest witty status update. And I do use it a fair bit, far more than I’d like. But I like to think my updates include – in their brief state – some meaning, wit or even food for thought. I’m generally not announcing my location, current activity or mood. I try to save that for conversation and if it doesn’t make it to conversation, it probably wasn’t that important.

My thinking is, if something I post isn’t ‘liked’ or commented on by any of my ‘friends’, then I shouldn’t have posted it. I like to engage with people and I want people to actually find my updates interesting, as someone who likes writing, being creative and making people laugh, think or just reflect. But when you get to the point of continually checking for comments, that’s also a sign it’s time to re-engage with the real world.

For some people it seems now that an experience isn’t real or tangible until Facebook knows about it.  If a tree falls in the woods and doesn’t update its Facebook status, did it really fall?

I also have a theory that people update less when they’re in a relationship. I haven’t really had the chance to test that myself, though I did recently have a very close friendship with a great girl who I could talk to in a way I haven’t really with anyone since my last girlfriend a few years ago. Until things went a little haywire I felt lowered urges to talk to Facebook. I had someone real to talk to. And since then I’ve wound back any vague or emotional status’. You know the ones that are just seeking questions for more information, as if the poster didn’t want to seem like they were revealing everything, but hey, since you asked… Things like ‘Karen is so angry at you’. Who Karen? Come on, we’re all wondering now and you damn well know it! But hell, I won’t give you the satisfaction of asking.

I did think once about posting that I was going to practice more self-containment from now on with my updates; until I quickly realised the irony. Telling people you are or will be a certain way is so less effective than doing it without saying anything – explicitly at least. So I’m trying.

That said, I have recently discovered Twitter, and have tried to take much of my self-indulgent rambling there; where people who don’t care about even my weird and wonderful ponderings don’t have to read them but I can still blurt them out. While I do find it a little ‘lonely’ at times, because only one of my friends follows me (the girl mentioned earlier stopped following me, I hope only temporarily as she got me on there and I liked writing things with her reading them in mind). Not that I want all my friends reading my tweets, I like to be able to just write anything that seems interesting or expresses thoughts I feel strongly about that I may not want to put on Facebook. I find Twitter a more adult forum – an information hub, a place to engage in mature discussion on just about any topic, a place for mindless banter and a sub-cultural feeding ground. If you want it to be, and use it that way anyway.

In the end, I need to continue to pull myself away from Facebook and engage in real things. Reading, writing, socialising, seeing things near and far, taking part in a range of activities, and meeting people (in person!). All the things life is about.

If I want to tell people about them, well it should make good conversation over a beer; and in the meantime I can focus on enjoying the moment.