Women’s Liberation Beyond the Limitations of the State

04/11/2022

The following is an essay (of unknown quality, I don’t know) written for a university course on gender and politics.

Representation has become an extremely important facet of modern liberal democracies. From the political sphere to entertainment media and the workforce, great effort has been exerted from countless groups to ensure not just that diversity becomes the norm, but that it is visible and seen as a strength that benefits everyone. In a representative democracy, this diversity of people is meant to reflect not only the demographics of a particular nation, but bring the views, experiences, and perspectives of them to the public eye for consideration. Women, who make approximately half the global population, are one such group that has fought for centuries to achieve equal standing with men who have held the reins of power in almost all institutions of all societies in history, with few exceptions.

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Conservatism As a Disposition and a Conservative Anarchism

28/01/2022

There is much debate about whether conservatism is a fully fledged ideology or merely disposition, a way of looking at the world that looks to the past to inform the present and carefully guide the future. This is the argument, always presented as a question in textbooks or other material on conservatism but is never answered, and it is adopted by conservatives themselves to justify or explain their positions on political, cultural and social arenas. I think there is merit to the disposition argument, but more often than not it is used as a shield against genuine criticism.

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2021 Reading List (Part 3)

This is part 3 of my 2021 reading list, following on from parts 1 and 2, and the final one reaching a total of thirty books for the year. Given that last year I only read twelve, I would call that quite an improvement, and I somehow doubt I’ll read quite as many in the coming year, fingers crossed. Part 1 was fairly good, part 2 was hit and miss, but the last ten books I read this year were all great reads that I’d recommend, for the most part. Enjoy!

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A Recent Timeline of Andrew Laming

26/03/2021

My Federal MP, Andrew Laming, is in the news yet again, this time being thrown into the pool of fiends in Parliament House who can’t seem to grasp the concept of respecting women, so feel the need to try grasp at women. He has been the MP for Bowman since 2004 – 17 years this year. I first voted in 2016, so I thought it would be fun to run through his various stunts, media appearances, and mishaps in that time! (This is a list of what I remembered and found with some quick searches – if you have anymore to add, let me know!)

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Uluru Closure Is A Good Step

03/11/2019

But there is still much more work to be done. While preventing people from climbing the sacred rock is a monumental success that adheres to the wishes of our Indigenous population, I would hesitantly still consider it a more symbolic gesture than something of actual substance. I, of course, don’t mean to downplay the importance or significance of this victory that many apply to it, and it is possible – probable, even – that the fact I am not Indigenous myself plays into my opinion on the matter. It is just a single step in a much more complex issue.

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The Wrong Media Coverage on Extinction Rebellion

16/10/2019

I recently finished Brian McNair’s Introduction to Political Communication, and it was an ok read – very much an introduction to a topic I already had a fair knowledge of. It introduced a few new ideas and, mostly, a large number of specific cases that are useful/good to know. But one concept McNair mentioned is one that has angered me this past year, concerning how certain events are reported in the media.

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Political Public Relations is A Form of Propaganda

13/10/2019

My political communications lecturer was at pains to differentiate between propaganda and political public relations, but even using the definitions provided to us and the reasoning for it, I’m not sold on it. It’s the only unit I’ve actually done on a political topic, and I am already starting to see how universities frame this kind of content to fit the mould that the mainstream media and academics slowly adjust to. It actually makes me interested in doing further study into it just to observe how a course on these issues is carried out.

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Quick Quips: Blood in the Water

08/10/2019

A species of pig has been proven to use tools for specific tasks related to nesting, said to be the first known case of the animal using tools. Strange – corporate folk and politicians have been using various tools of injustice for years.
Bernie Sanders returning to the campaign trail after a heart attack is probably the best depiction of his dedication. The man isn’t perfect, but he knows what he believes in, and wants to see it happen.
Whether we continue our current system of wealth redistribution or search for better ways to create fairer distribution, sacrifices will have to be made and profits lost. To even discuss that, however, is to acknowledge our privilege against a backdrop of global poverty and devastation.

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Why Anarchism?

A year ago, I started this website, almost gave up on it immediately, and was pretty sure I didn’t want anyone except a close friend or two to know about it. Now, it’s been a whole year, I’ve obviously kept going with it, and while I hate doing so out of fear of pushing my own writing, I have no real issues telling people about it if the topic is relevant. Recently I was asked a simple question: why anarchism? The answer seems just as simple: it makes sense.

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Quick Quips: No Conscience

10/09/2019

There are many things in the world that one just hears and can’t help but think that there is no compassion, no conscience behind some of the acts carried out. Whether it’s something local or one an international stage, every day someone – including our so-called ‘leaders’ – does or says something depraved. It just keeps rising and rising. Also might need to find a new title other than ‘quick’…

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