Murdoch gets The Don right

By David Ayliffe

I never thought I’d be lauding Melbourne’s trashy Herald-Sun for getting something right but this headline is perfect. I once worked for Rupert Murdoch’s media conglomerate at the birth of the schism when the correctly named News Ltd was in its early days of limiting news.

Never shook hands with him, but I did see him passing by and I will rue it till the day I die. Or something like that.

Cut the nonsense. The Herald-Sun one of the best tabloids in Australia for limiting news for News Ltd brandished this wonderful headline calling President Grump for what he really is, The Don with his very own Mafia. Ok, it doesn’t have “The” there, but I wonder if the editor really wanted to put that ‘The” there in the title but felt he couldn’t risk it.

Ah the Don. Meaning thereof “[Italian, title of respect, from donno, literally, lord, from Latin dominus]: a powerful Mafia leader. I think I know which one fits best.

A reel on Instagram shows a clip from one of my favourite old TV series with Batman and Robin discussing the Penguin running for public office in Gotham City. Batman tells Robin; “I don’t think there’s any danger of the Penguin being elected, Robin. The people of Gotham city are not as simple minded as he might think.” Plus he says there’s a city ordinance that prevents convicted felons from being elected. Pity.

I’ve got to ask, where are Batman and Robin when you really need them? They’ve disappeared and the world is left with “The Joker”.

On Facebook I’ve got involved in some serious and silly discussions about the ‘don’t be ridiculous it wasn’t a Nazi salute Nazi salute’ business. For those who think the purist Musk was just expressing childlike enthusiasm for his hero and the seat of power, the view wasn’t shared by Neo Nazis in Europe and probably here too who declared on their platforms; “We’re Back!”

I’ve got to ask, where are Batman and Robin when you really need them? They’ve disappeared and the world is left with “The Joker”.

On Facebook I’ve got involved in some serious and silly discussions about the don’t be ridiculous it wasn’t a Nazi salute Nazi salute business. For those who think the purist Musk was just expressing childlike enthusiasm for his hero and the seat of power, the view wasn’t shared by Neo Nazis in Europe and probably here too who declared on their platforms “We’re Back!”

Then a Baptist minister I knew posted on Facebook that he doesn’t normally post on Facebook because of all the noise that goes on and in his rare post he included this sentence: “So when Trump doesn’t like something a privileged, powerful, white female bishop says, you are outraged. But when Biden jailed Bevelyn Beatty Williams, an African American woman for praying outside an abortion clinic, we didn’t hear you speaking truth to power then.”

I rallied in defence of the good bishop who simply pleaded for mercy for all the people that Trump doesn’t like who are going to be outed in America in many and varied ways. I didn’t comment about Biden and Bevelyn Beatty Williams and yes, I was wrong not to. I could have commented that Biden could have done a lot more for Julian Assange too.

I did say that I have problems with Biden but that I still believed he was better for the world than Trump will be.

Some of the problems I have with Biden, the American, Australian and other administrations is the commitment to building massive arsenals with money that could save lives, provide health care and a possible decent living for people who can’t provide for themselves. And as much as I love the Jewish people and abhor what history has done to them, I also find it wicked that western armaments have been poured into Israel so that it could decimate Gaza and create what is estimated to be something like 20,000 orphans. Orphans who will grow up to be adults with memories of what happened to make them orphans. Is it reasonable to consider many of those people will find love and forgiveness for Israel all but impossible to achieve?

And we have horrible antisemitic abuse happening in our capital cities – synagogues and childcare centres attacked and in some cases destroyed. I hate that. It makes me sick. But then at the beginning of the war I predicted that Netanyahu and his cronies would fuel antisemitism in the biggest way since World War II and the Don then.

Hard to be positive these days. Hard to keep fueling my vision for a kinder world with a Kindness Pledge and children’s books focussing on Kindness. Bloody hard. But we have to keep on going. We have to resist the haters, the blood thirsty and those who will build walls to keep others out, including diabetics who now, thank you Mr Grump, will not be able to afford their medication because of one of the documents he has signed.

Just wait and see what happens when more and more families see loved ones dying for lack of health care whilst the King and Courtiers sup and dine in luxury.

See what happens when families recognise that in reality there have always been more than just two genders. Not every boy has been a Sylvester Stalone nor every girl sweet and demure. Just imagine when people remember that some babies are born with male and female genitalia and others with chromosomes that don’t match their bodies.

Some wise and empathic people of all faiths may begin to recognise what the Jewish Talmud taught that there were not two but eight genders. Amazing and today we have science that proves it.

I started off trying to be funny. I’m finishing just angry. Better watch some Batman and Robin.

* * * * *

About David Ayliffe: In my spare time that doesn’t exist I’m trying to get children, families, schools and people everywhere to recognise and value Kindness in daily life and community. It applies also to electing kind leaders. You can sign The Kindness Pledge here and read more about it and The Zorzles refugees who transform a village.

Also by David Ayliffe: What if Chicago or Brisbane was Gaza?

 

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