Wednesday 27 March 2013

The anatomy of Green bigotry


Cultural intolerance, bigotry and hatred, wherever they may lie, are born of two basic elements; fear and the absence of any stake in the thing that is loathed.  This is demonstrated in the comparison between the hunting culture and the culture of Islam, yet increasingly a culture of hunter-hatred is accepted as a reasonable, even a responsible philosophical position, by our politicians and social welfare groups:

a)    “I hate hunters because they kill indiscriminately.”
b)    “I hate Muslims because they kill indiscriminately.”

a)    “I hate hunters because they’re cruel to animals.”
b)    “I hate Muslims because they’re cruel to animals.”
 
a)    “I hate hunters because they’re obsessed with weapons.”
b)    “I hate Muslims because they’re obsessed with weapons.” 

a)    “Hunting should be banned in Australia because it’s cruel to
         animals.” 
b)   “ Islam should be banned in Australia because it’s oppressive to
         women."

a)    “Guns should be banned in case they fall into the wrong
         hands."
b)    “Superphosphate should be banned in case it falls into Muslim
         hands."

a)    “Hunters are evil, low-life, redneck, weekend-cowboy scum.”
b)    “Muslims are evil, murdering scum with no respect for human
         life.”

There is ample evidence to support the proposition that in a very small minority of cases, opinions in both a) and b) categories are applicable. However, it is only opinions in category a) that are promoted daily by politicians, the media and anti-hunting groups, with no fear of repercussions for promoting cultural hatred. Why? The answer is simple…

First and foremost, those who seek to vilify hunters - The Greens for instance - do so in the mistaken and somewhat arrogant belief that they are the final arbiters of what is, and is not, a legitimate culture worthy of respect.

Further, the people and groups that promote the sort of intolerance demonstrated in a) are not hunters; they are not interested in hunting, nor do they understand why others are interested in its culture and practices. They have no stake in it at all, so it may be safely disposed of without consequence to them.

They have no stake in weapons ownership either. They fear guns and bows and they fear those who don’t share their fears. In fact the latter they believe to be abnormal, and therefore must be eliminated, not for society’s benefit, but for the benefit of all the ‘normal’ people who have no use for, and fear, weapons.

Of course the anti-gun lobbyist will challenge this proposition with something like;

"We have no evidence that Muslims present a threat to people here in Australia, but we do have examples of gun violence in Australia every day; and examples of mass-murder too in Port Arthur and Hoddle Street.” 

However, these same people are fond of quoting statistics about US gun violence, warning the public about America’s undesirable “guns culture” - which they say is promoted by organisations such as the National Rifle Association (NRA) - and they express concern that similar influences exist in Australia e.g. Game Council NSW.

Based on that evidentiary criterion, could it not be said that 9/11 was an act of violence promoted by the organisation known as Islam? If it is reasonable to assert that the "guns culture" is a threat to Australia based on statistics from the United States, is it not also reasonable to assert that Islam poses a similar threat based on the appalling statements and actions of some of Islam’s high-profile representatives around the world? If not, why not?

The media confronts us almost daily with images of masked machine-gun-rattling Muslins making demands and threatening unspeakable slaughter if those demands are not met. The media brings us shocking reports of the oppressive and often extremely violent treatment of woman and girls in Muslim countries. Yet it is readily acknowledged that these atrocious acts are perpetrated and perpetuated by a relatively small group of extremists, and are therefore no reason to lobby against the spread of Australia’s emerging Islamic culture.

Some will say that my analysis is simply justification for the banning of guns wherever they may be, but would that solve the problem?

The doctrinal interpretations used to justify the violence and oppression that many associate with Islam, are not prescriptive about the weapons that should be used to enforce them. Indeed violent enforcement of the ‘fundamentalist’ doctrine can be traced back a thousand years or more before guns were invented. A zero tolerance towards Islam, however, would surely go some way to preventing its establishment on Australian soil.

Let me state for the record that I harbour no fear or objection toward Islam, but like all rational people, I object, very strongly, to unnecessary violence and oppression.


I use the examples above only to demonstrate the philosophical hypocrisy of organisations such as The Greens, who, while actively promoting a climate of intolerance and hatred against the culture of hunting and weapons-ownership of which they do not approave, move swiftly to denounce any person or group that expresses concern about the spread of Islamic culture in Australia, of which they do approve, calling it bigotry and racism. 

Their reason for doing so is clear; it is a matter of personal preference, of likes and dislikes. They like Muslims, but they hate weapons and they do not trust anyone who does not also hate weapons. They hate hunting, and loath and distrust anyone who does not share the anti-hunting philosophy. They lobby ardently for an end to both weapons-ownership and hunting because their hatred of them means they stand to lose nothing by their abolition.

Politicians and lobby groups have for too long, promoted a climate of hatred and ridicule, both in the media and in the community in general, and they have done so with pride and absolute impunity. This has been possible because to date no individual or organisation has sought to prosecute them for their promotion of hatred, their vilification and cultural bigotry. Perhaps that should change?

Anyway, I’ll get outa ya way now….

5 comments:

  1. I'm not sure that I'd use Islam as the parallel to an argument re the validity of guns and hunting in Australia, BUT I appreciate the valid comparison you are making.

    You make an excellent point that a lack of understanding, no appreciation that another may want to partake in any firearms related activity and a genuine fear of guns, mostly borne of ignorance, results in confused cliques who, with no stake in these activities, would happily dispose of them without consequence.

    Maybe you're right, a class action against the defamation of Australian firearms owners and licensed shooters might set an excellent precedent against the "antis" who would see us live in a state where basic freedoms are redundant and total compliance is a is king.

    Who do we take in first? Federal? State? Or "the normal people"?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. DaggaBoy. I only used the comparison with Islam because it is topical at the moment, in much the same way anti-gun/hunting sentiment is topical, and because anti-Islamic/Muslim sentiment is something The Greens have been very vocal about e.g. the Sarah Hanson-Young petition to have the Coalition censured for fear-mongering.

      http://www.sarahhansonyoung.com/petition_to_condemn_fear_mongering

      You are quite correct, there are many other comparisons that might be drawn, some of which may be more relevant, but I doubt any is more topical right now.

      Delete
  2. and anti-farmer bigotry

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hunting is a very viable way for Muslim shooters to put meat on the table if they are rural based as halal meat can be hard to come by in some places. They should not have to face dual bigotry for this.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thankyou for that valuable insight. As I have long said, for the vast majority of us hunting is a cultural pursuit, not a sport, and clearly its cultural significance can be diverse and complex.

      Delete

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