In parliament, Morrison said: “It is good and right, Mr Speaker, that so many are able to gather here in this way, whether in our capital or elsewhere, and to do so peacefully to express their concerns and their very genuine and real frustrations. This is a vibrant liberal democracy, Mr Speaker. Not far from here, such marches, even now, are being met with bullets, but not here in this country, Mr Speaker; not here in this country. This is a triumph of democracy when we see these things take place.”1
This is perhaps one of the strangest things I have heard Morrison say: That women, in addition to needing to protect themselves from rape by not going out, getting drunk or being alone, should now be grateful for not being shot at for demonstrating.
It is extraordinary that he is more concerned with the fact of the March For Justice, rather than the reason women and their supporters marched. While I suspect that this effort is simply due to some ham-fisted, tone-deaf speechwriter cocking things up when asked frantically by Morrison to write something about the many, many thousands attending the march, it does make you wonder if there was more to it. After all, Morrison has done this sort of thing before. In his apology to the survivors of institutional child sexual abuse, he inserted the word ‘ritual’ into the phrase ‘crimes of ritual sexual abuse’. There was nothing ritual about the abuse they suffered, but he inserted it to give a nod to his favoured conspiracy theory demographic, the QAnon nutters. This is one of the favourite QAnon conspiracy theories that the world is run by paedophiles who eat babies and drink their blood in some sort of ritual2. In this case, I do wonder if Morrison is using the same technique to appeal to the far right and other misogynists to let them know that women have nothing to complain about; after all, they are not being ‘met with bullets’?
While I have always been struck by the similarities between Morrison and Trump, in that both are malignant narcissists, this latest effort by Morrison only makes me suspect the comparison is closer than it seemed before. In one of the presidential debates between Biden and Trump, late in 2020, the moderator Chris Wallace asked whether Trump would condemn white supremacists and tell them to stand down during protests over police killings and racism. Of course, Trump maintained that “almost everything I see is from the left wing, not from the right wing.” Then in a disturbing passage, Trump said: “Proud Boys – stand back and stand by. But I’ll tell you what… Somebody’s got to do something about Antifa and the left because this is not a right-wing problem.” The Proud Boys, a far-right, anti-immigrant, men-only group with a history of violence, took Trump’s comments as being “historic” and an endorsement3. In that light, I wonder what misogynists in Australia will make of Morrison’s comment. Will they take it as an endorsement?
As Les Stonehouse said: “Morrison, thanks for not shooting people demonstrating against violence. Now, if only women could walk through a park at night.”4
Sources
Yes, I agree. This seemed to be said to appeal to two, possibly intersecting, elements of his scumbag hardcore support group that have their equivalents in the USA. The far right huntin’, shootin’, fishin’, misogynist, brainless bogan morons and the fundamentalist christian nutjobs. Like Trump, as he is put under more pressure, as his incompetence becomes more obvious, he plays more and more to this vile base. He does that because he knows they will applaud his ignorant, revolting comments. As you say he wants that applause because, like Trump, he is a narcissist. Like Trump as he makes more of his inevitable mistakes he doubles down on them. Like Trump there is less fact in most of the things he says than there is in Mother Goose. Like Trump he is not prepared to speak to large groups of people who may be against him, not prepared to be in any arena which is not stage managed to his advantage. Like Trump he is supported in his foul behaviour by God (aka Rupert). Yes this person is the Trump mini me. What an embarrassment for our nation.
And just to reinforce the point about stage management, this is from this morning’s Guardian.
“Scott Morrison has just given his first press conference since Sunday – meaning his first since the women’s March4Justice and the attorney general, Christian Porter’s, decision to return to work and to sue the ABC and Louise Milligan for defamation. But Morrison was only asked about the PNG vaccination announcement, and one question from Channel Nine’s Chris Uhlmann about Liberal MP Nicolle Flint’s impassioned speech about sexism. The question was selected by Morrison after a staffer stood behind Uhlmann, pointing to indicate to give him the call.”
Mark,
Jeezuz! I hadn’t read that. How very Trumpesque!
Mark,
I hadn’t twigged that he never addresses any large groups; he even shuts down parliament when his idiocies are questioned. Maybe, as his ‘popularity’ declines (as it seems to be doing) he will start holding rallies like those staged by Trump; perhaps with the Proud Boys as security.
The fact that Jellyfish could see nothing wrong with suggesting “there’s nothing to see here folks, everything’s hunky-dory while we don’t shoot women in the streets” is just another example of how confected and vacuous his comments are on many topics. It’s up there with his equally ludicrous “I don’t hold a hose mate” retort, which according to him (or was it Jenny?) both explained and excused his failure to understand why it was important that a PM not holiday overseas while his nation burned.
Politicians vet their speeches and while details like statistics, dates etc may be the responsibility of their minions they can’t claim third party protection from the intent or meaning of what they say. In any case I recall Morrison saying almost the same thing about our wonderful democracy recently in another of his typical hollow-man attempts to deflect and not address the burning issue/question.
Apart from the clear inappropriateness and appalling tone-deafness of Morrison’s latest failure to confront the problem, apparently he also thinks the test of our democracy is that we don’t shoot peaceful demonstrators! I guess in Morrison’s mind we should be dancing in the streets because our conservatives have SOME limits (yet to be fully plumbed), unlike their pals in the “world’s greatest democracy”.
Jon,
If they win the next election, this nation is stuffed. The reason I say this is that they have legislated to make it easier to call out the armed forces in response to civil unrest. They used to have to wait until requested by a state, now they do not. If we do not get rid of this cabal of criminals very soon, there will be people die in the streets.
Without sounding like a conspiracy theorist myself, the Guardian newspaper ran an article on Qnon, (something like that!) extreme right wing group, and it’s Australian leader, is good friends with Morrison. His wife is Jenny Morrison’s best friend. Was her bridesmaid. She is on a gov wage iof $85,000 a year to support Morrison’s wife. This man used the same language as Morrison as in “ritual” child abuse. And states Bishop and Downer are in these abuse groups. So an extreme right wing lunatic, and Hillsong are Morrison’s close links. I think Hillsong are fairly entrenched in this gov, also nsw police chief is a Hillsong supporter. This sect has scant regard for woman, apart from a sexual, support role to men. And on top of this Morrison displays total thug like tenancies, with no regard to the truth. Hillsong is growing at a massive rate in USA, the tithe, is it called, money pledged to this sect, is in the millions and millions. Morrison would also be raking it in. Like Cormann this gov is a stepping stone to major money.
Keryn,
Yeah, I wrote something on the QAnon connection with Morrison in the middle of last year. It is here: https://blotreport.com/2020/07/06/qanon-and-morrison/
The only reason so many of these spivs get into politics is for the money. They do not seem to have a vision for the country or an appreciation of what it required to lead. They just want to get their snouts in the trough.