Get Off Your Backside & Take Responsibility For Yourself

That probably got your attention. I should add its not personally directed at you, unless you are in one of the groups on my hit list.

A few things have happened recently regarding the culture of entitlement and victimhood. We really need to be talking about this stuff. Freely, openly and, honestly.   

I’ll start by saying I was delighted with the announcement from the High Court of Australia confirming they have thrown out the challenge by four former federal MP’s to retaining Gold Passes entitling them to free travel for life. They are now entitled to 10 domestic free trips per year. This greedy bunch; Barry Cunningham, Tony Lamb and Barry Cohen (Labor) John Moore (Liberal) wanted more.

It has emerged, this High Court decision has saved taxpayers MILLIONS on top of our annual $40MILLION pension bill; current payments to former politicians.  Had the High Court upheld the appeal, 350 ex-MPs and 100 spouses would have benefitted. So well done and three cheers to the seven member bench of the Court.

Yesterday, Linda Burney, Labor MP was in printed sprouting on about domestic violence within the indigenous community. Ms Burney highlighted one particular case that resulted in the death of a young woman. Yes, it is both very sad and appalling. Yes, there’s a problem. But I object to this statement.  “The blame for that murder lies firmly with the person who committed the crime but the failure of the system is the result of government funding cuts.” Every time it comes back to money.

Ms Burney went to say, “The violent history of colonisation, policies of forced removal and the breakdown of kinship structures have long-lasting legacies. It must engage those in communities already battling the issue.”

Ms Burney goes on to lay blame at the feet of Liberal state and federal governments. Stating Policy failures rest with government, not communities who have been crying out for decades offering solutions, only to be ­ignored.

These problems are not new. Ms Burney wants to blame the problems on our violent history, forced removal and the breakdown of kinship structures, they didn’t happen yesterday. How many more years have to be spent on trying to fix these issues? We already contribute millions and millions annually to indigenous causes. So from where I sit, it’s not about money or which government is in power. It’s about the status of victimhood and entitlement. Take ownership and fix the problems yourselves.

I read an interesting article recently. It was about peacekeeping and justice. They made some excellent points. This one really resonated; it was about claims of deservingness. How that can lead to societies where rights and access to state resources depends on what group you belong to rather than on fairness and equality. So, special rights can present a problem for social justice.

Based on research conducted by Vamik Volkan the article also highlighted victims tend to behave selfishly. This is led by a sense of entitlement to ‘equal the score’. We see this behaviour a lot during the indigenous discourse. I’ve been wronged so you pay. Professor Volkan observed such “exaggerated entitlement” in studying groups of victims that make claims for their own group regardless of the costs and consequences for others. In the globalised field of peacebuilding, the status of victimhood has experienced an “upgrading”. Victims have had an almost sacred “aura” now.

We are really struggling as a society in Australia to keep up with the demands on the public purse. We have been warned time and again we are living beyond our means. But still they line up for more. This is the point Professor Volkan is making. Where we have entrenched entitlement it is all about them and their group. They don't consider or care about anyone else. It's so selfish.  

How many times do we have to hear I’m entitled because of what happened two hundred ago? Or  the stock standard I’m entitled because I can’t get a job. More likely far too many are not prepared to sacrifice anything in the efforts to actually get a job. Then we have those who are ripping off the system based on both entitlement and victimhood. The list is too long. To long to cover each group but disability cheats are way at the top.  

Get off your bums and do something constructive with your lives should be the message we send. Whenever sobs stories emerge I am reminded of the wonderful Nick Vujicic. Nick is an Aussie. He was born with no arms or legs. His motto, “No arms, no legs, no worries.” Nick has a career, a family and a wonderfully productive life. Pity more didn’t follow his lead. If he can do it. So can so many others who will never have to face the challenges Nick has.

Whilst the example of greedy politicians and, our indigenous are coming from different standpoints the mindsets are the same. My group deserves more than your group. We see the same with many welfare recipients. Recently we were made aware of whole families feeding off the public purse, year, after year, after year. The trouble with these entitlement parasites is people who really need and deserve help are struggling to get it. Worse still, they have political parties doing their bidding for them. It’s galling when you think it about it. We pay politicians (who rip us off) to do the bidding for the ‘entitlement’ “victimhood’ industry to rip us off even more.

“A society where victims become the protagonists based on the ‘compassion and entitlement economy’ based on the ‘commoditisation of so called suffering’. Entitlement and victimhood has become extremely profitable bringing with it self-appointed moral authority crusaders, contrived political legitimacy and significant economic victimhood industry benefits.”

Oh what an incestuous society we have created.

The Rise of the Victim Industry and Culture

There was a column in the Australian today covering last nights Q&A program on ABC. The column addressed among other points Brendan O'Neill's and Mitch Fifield's debate on free speech and offshore detention. As usual, the comments varied. I posted a comment along similar lines to this blog. 

In the same Australian, Nick Cater had an even more direct column where he talked of HRC's Tim Southphommasane's grievance industry' seeing  bigots everywhere. It's worth a read. 

This piece tells you a lot about Tim Southphommasane. He said, "If someone says to me they’re not even going to try to pronounce my name, that doesn’t necessarily send a good signal,” the race relations commissioner told The Australian Financial Review in a revealing interview this month

“It says that they’re not even bothered to treat me with respect. How would they feel if they were told that every day — that people weren’t going to even try to pronounce their name?”

Well, guess what Mr Southphommasane, I can’t pronounce your name and I wouldn’t try. Nothing to do with lack of respect, simply, I would prefer not to make and ass of myself trying. To mispronounce your name can be viewed by some people as an insult. So stop being a drama queen in trying to make a case of something as banal as people not attempting to pronounce your name. Time to grow up. 

Within our society today we have entire groups of people who have decided they exist to take offence at things. For some, I suspect  it gives their life meaning. I am a victim, therefore I am. They hold the view, they have an inherent right never to be touched by anything as shocking as being offended. If they are, their response is, the offender is going to have to pay. As if any “show me the money” payment would ever take away genuine hurt.

Feeding off this new cultural industry, we have the “victim industry” profiteers and exploiters. Hence the new Insult Business is flourishing. There are more and more people making  a lot of money out of it. Just look at what we pay the Human Rights Commissioners. 

This culture of offence is made up of all sorts of people who are hypersensitive to life. Where the slightest comments can result in you being reported to the "thought police." For heaven's sake just look at the ludicrous QUT case. Where, in anyone's language reasonably sensible (if someone sarcastic) questions and comments  (given the circumstances) resulted in students paying up to avoid prosecution and in one case being pursued by the HRC. What an abuse of power that is. 

In this new "Victim Culture" a wrong turn of phrase, a simple word, can result in someone taking issue with it and us. When they do, all hell can break loose. Well, guess what folks we will never go through life and not be offended. It just isn't going to happen. If we were honest with ourselves we are all racists and bigots to a degree. It’s when it goes too far, we have a problem. 

There are groups of people I don't like or trust. Perhaps this will change in the future, but for now, it’s how I feel. I will continue to voice my opinion, hopefully in a constructive way. I hold the belief,  it's OK to criticise or constructively comment but it’s not OK to physically attack, abuse or hound people. But that's just my approach. 

We must NEVER cave into industries, groups or individuals who seek to control how we think, what we say and or how we act. When in reality we are simply being human and exercising our right to free thought and free speech. Groups and individuals who condemn and vilify us for holding and presenting a different opinion must not win. That is not to say I condone bullying. I most certainly don't. 

The new “Victim Industry and Culture” has gone way too far. They are a form of extremists. It has to be defeated before it's too late.