Fulltime Casual - An Australian Film and TV Podcast

And finally, Something Awful have a great list fake Choose Your Own adventure books on their site at the moment.

My top 3:

If i only distracted one person today from a mine numbing, spirit crushing job, then my work here is done.

Boing Boing have a cute article about McDonalds getting antsy because the term McJob is in the Dictionary.

Start paying your workers McDecent Salaries. Allow McUnions. Dont McSue Everyone That attacks you (especially me…)  and maybe the problem will McGo Away.

Drug abuse, shady dealings rampant among football’s finest.

What an awesome headline! And it’s a great read to. Good to se the team that beat us last year in the Grand Final were all shovelling Coke up their noses. My favourite line is of course:

 “You haven’t lived until you’ve had (a beauty queen) snort coke off your dick.”

Its making the front page take forever to load.

Is free! Despite the name.

It makes a pretty little mosaic of flickr images based on a tag.

thats a crappy explaination, so here’s one i prepared earlier:

Boobs.

Has been officially released for the Mac. I’m impatient, so i illegally downloaded a copy a few weeks ago, and i must say it works pretty well, but will probably kill an older Mac. Windows have had this plugin for iTunes for a few months. Get it here.

so while you wait for that, here are some of the distractions that caught my eye this morning….

GTA coming to the Wii.

Oh sweet god say its true. This story popped up about 4 months ago, and nothings chaged, but my site wasnt around four months ago…

“Nintendo has done all it can to persuade Take-Two Interactive Software to bring the Grand Theft Auto franchise to Nintendo consoles, and it is now up to the third party publisher to decide whether Rockstar Games’ immensely popular series will appear on Wii.”

So last night i was visiting one of my favourite forums, and a bit of friendly homophobia was used. To my international readers, Homophobia is the last great prejudice you can still enjoy in this country. Insult someone by insulting their race, and you’ll probably be attacked for it. Be sexist to a co-worker, and “the do-gooders” will probably complain. Thankfully, if you’re homophobic, as long as you’re funny about it, no one will care.

I pointed this out on said forum, and this was the debate that followed. I have removed the usernames of all members to protect the innocent, and the fuckwits:

Me:

Homophobia

I’ve noticed recently that homophobia goes (largely) unnoticed on these fabulous forums. it really pisses me off.

the last time i pointed this out was a few weeks ago, with a simple “can we leave homophobic comments out” which was meet by a comment of “no one cares, get over it…”

recently, the australian politics thread was peppered with homophobic responses, and very few people cared.

all this reminds me of an old d-generation skit that simply had a guy saying “what i love about australia is you can be sexist, and racist, and it doesn’t affect your social life…” in the mid eighties when that skit aired, it was true, you could be sexist and racists as much as you wanted, and you were just “having a laugh”. its interesting that homophobia wasn’t even considered in that skit.

20 years later homophobia is seen as the same socially acceptable prejudice, you can attack gays in social settings and you’re also just having a laugh. the nrl footyshow has turned this into an artform. well i think its about time we start seeing this discrimiation as the bullshit that it is and put a stop to it.

I’m sure that the admins & moderators of this forum do not condone homophobia, and i’m not saying they should have previously deleted homophobic posts. but i think all members should question any wanker that believes attacking a person based on their sexuality is acceptable.

just my two cents…

Member 1

I agree, but at the same time, I think people sometimes misunderstand the word gay, people who say gay don’t always mean it in a homophobic way…

Obviously I’m not defending the people who do use it in a derogatory way!

Gay did mean happy at one point, and I guess in a way it still does

Member 2

Of course too many people are too anal nowadays not with just homophobia..

ah i used to be a homophobe when i was younger, as I was in an old-fashioned family, now I have many friends of many preferences/perspectives and what not with sex, religion, etc etc.. fuck, they’re mates, they accept me for me, and I accept them for them.

Point is, some people find that to be acceptable to criticise people of their appearance, sexual preference, etc because they were brought up that way (american history X would be an okay example). Of course it doesn’t give them an excuse to get away with being racist/sexist if it’s in a derrogatory way…

I dont know its a wishy washy scenario where its okay to do it with close friends that jokingly do it (as I find with my mate who’s indigenous… yeah i know off topic, but yeah, indigenous and I use the N word around him, but I know its a joke. I wouldn’t say it to anyone else, nor would I use it in abuse).

I would say.. act if it offends you, but dont bother if it aint offending you or people around you or anyone else that’d read it, as I’m sure that someone who would get offended would act on their own free will on how to react to homophobic comments. They’re not weak/stupid neither

Me:

Member 2, i appreciate your response, but the point i was trying to make is that if someone said something blatantly racist, the admins would delete it. yet someones homophobic content can last forever.

yeah, i used to be homophobic too, it was common language where i grew up. and i also dig the idea of reclaiming an offensive word with friends, such as the n word you implied. but that doesnt mean you can post that word on a public forum does it?

Member 3

Easy for me to say it, but it is one of those phases that the country goes through. Social policy is dictated to a lesser degree by our political masters - having a conservative government in power who has indictaed their views strongly on same sex marriages etc etc tends to sink in after awhile.

“Poofter bashing” will always be around, just on different levels. Take aborigines - it is rare nowadays to find them called “abos”, but they are still called “darkies” etc. Some would say that term is less demeaning, but the underlying prejudice is still there.

Member 4

my question is if i am with my mates and someone said
“dont be so overly sensitiave ya big poof ” would that be ok?
and if they said it here would it be ok?

then you have the female situation where some of my female friends want to be called lesbians some want lesbo and some want dike - now i call em all girls… its far to confusing cause amoungst my friends - a dike dont wanna be called a lesbo - a lesbian dont wanna be called a dike - a lesbo wont mind being called a lesbian - a lesbo will often accept dike but wont really like dike much… so its kinda difficult to assess this - in written communications… i am sure i missed something out but you get the idea ….

Member 5

I agree,

it shouldn’t be allowed on forums like this, or any really.

I think it’s just complacency really , just because it’s common doesn’t mean it’s right.

Me:

well Member 4, i’d personally call those “girls” women, but thats just me.

the whole “dont be so overly sensitiave ya big poof ” is what i’m talking about, you’re using poof there as a socially acceptable put down. but why is it a put down? it can only be a put down if being a poof is somehow being less than a human being. since Member 2 mentioned it, could i ask, would you ever say to your mates “dont be so overly sensitiave ya big nigger ”

if the answer is no, then using the word poof aint acceptable either…

Admin 1

Who gives a toss, if you want to suck cock or enjoy some girl on girl action, be my guest. Do whatever makes you happy - depressed straight people or happy homos, hmm, not that hard to decide eh?

Anyone who can’t realise that it’s good for people to be themselves are deluding themselves.

Member 2

women? you mean kitchen-abandoners?
I suppose there should be a difference of the usage on the forum, to usage in your place/time outside the forum? (not you, i mean people)

Member 6

Any more of this and the forums could have a Gay Pride March!

Member 7

I don’t give a smurf what you are, so stop going on about it… it’s boring and quiet frankly I’m not interested or curious. This a MAC site last time I looked.

Admin 1

Ditto that.

Member 8

That is the trick. A internet forum is a public space so i don’t think homophobic language is acceptable. In private with people i know well acceptable language changes. If i am in a setting with friends who know are either gay or are not homophobic using gay in a derogatory way can be ammusing to us. However at cricket training i would never use such language because 99% of the team are completely homophobic and don’t like gay people therefore i would not indulge their bigotry. This is a public forum so i try not to insult anyone, even if from my perspective
‘i’m only joking’. No one else whether i’m joking or not.

Member 1

Admin 1 - I thought you were pro off topic subjects?

And this is more on topic than most recent threads, it’s related to the site, as opposed to nothing to do with the site.

A valid point as been made IMHO.

Admin 1

I’m for off-topic discussion, but there’s a high potential for this thread to turn into something more insidious.

Notice how I haven’t closed this thread. Just because I don’t think it should be dicussed, doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be discussed. But if turns nasty, it will be closed.

Me:

Member 6 honey, i’m not actually gay, but thanks for asking.

Member 7, i don’t give a smurf either, but the point is that the orange sofa is one of the most posted boards, and you know what, its not about macs! but i believe my gay brothers should be able to post there without getting attack, no matter how subtle the attacks may be…

ftc . . . Australia is a country which tries to base its national identity on sport, and the tougher the sport, the more the Australian male believes in the myth of his masculinity, and will push to exploit the different sexuality of others. I suppose it came as quite a shock when Sydney developed one of the largest homosexual celebrations in the world, its annual mardi gras.

Member 9

Years ago when I lived in Melbourne I met someone who later became a friend, and he told me that the first time we met and I knew of his homosexuality, he could see me building a brick wall between us in my mind. I wasn’t aware that I was doing it, so was it his own sensitive perception? I haven’t seen him for a long time but we still keep in contact, so my brick wall couldn’t have been too real.

Even on the forums which is well run we can see the various prejudices of members. They’re not necessarily sexual, but exist in a variety of ways, and I can’t see it being curbed. I agree that prejudice and discrimination should not be tolerated, and to be honest, when a thread becomes unpleasant for whatever reason, I cease to click onto it.

Edit: This forum is the Orange Sofa so it doesn’t have to be about Macs.

Me::

wow, this thread is being replied to faster than i can reply…

just to make a few things clear, i’m not gay. i’m also not saying that because i think being gay is anything to be ashamed of, but because i don’t want my views to be considered biased.

Member 9, again i understand what you mean, but i was sexist/racist/homophobic growing up, as were all my friends. because it was acceptable. today, only being homophobic is acceptable.

i really dont want this thread to turn nasty either, but seriously, if we cant have this debate without it becomin nasty, then there is no point having the debate at all.

Member 10

I am a homo. *puts hand up*

I have a pretty thick skin though, and am generally pretty politically incorrect myself most of the time… I also see a big difference in being politically incorrect and outright Hatred…so sometimes i see Homophobia and while i may react i do tend to console myself inthe fact that i am Way smarter than them to begin with.

Me:

another reason why i love you Member 10!

Member 9

You’re doing well, good on you for raising the subject.

Me:

thanks. as i said about 1 year ago, i’d love to have a beer with you and Admin 3 one day…

Member 11

Me too. *also raising hand*

Mostly, homophobia doesn’t upset me but once in a while it really gives me the shits. There’s a lot to be said for not getting overly sensitive but frankly there are still way too many unreconstructed bigots out there.

I just read through the entire Politics thread to guage just how much homophobic content was there…

Yes, there are homophobic comments - IMO made in bad taste, but if I had responded to the thread after those comments were made, I personally wouldn’t have made an issue of it. I have some good friends who are homosexual. In fact, I’m continually telling him to get his rear end over to Aussie so I can find him a good man to settle down with I personally felt that commenting on the bad taste remark would only blow it out of proportion, and empower the person who made the original remark.

As far as everyone ignoring it… there were people in the thread who pointed out that the remark was in bad taste, and there did end up being a limited discussion on the thread about the issue (IMO I feel that the originator of the initial remark didn’t take critism well and ended up the poorer in that discussion)

As far as censoring posts because of individual words or things said in bad taste… I personally hate censorship. I can’t stand seeing posts deleted because of one thing that may offend someone, somewhere, some time. I can understand in threads like the For Sale etc threads, having completely off topic posts or posts from people not interested in purchasing (or selling in the Wanted forum) can blow out a thread and can understand the reasoning behind deleting non-relevant posts… I may not appreciate it fully, but I can understand it I cannot understand the reasoning behind deleting an entire post for the usage of one phrase or word. If there are things that are found to be offensive, a first option in many forums I have been on has generally been for moderators to contact the offending party and ask for specific things to be changed, or give a warning about breach of rules.

Member 12

Yeah I think most of us would agree that putting someone down because of their race / religion / ethnic background etc is not cool except in those cases where you and your friends are open about giving each other a light hearted dig but i also think that political correctness has gone too far in our society. The trick is to find a middle ground where we are not offending anybody but still able to have a bit of comedic banter between ourselves. Hey I’m a Kiwi but some of my mates have had me in tears with their Kiwi jokes and impressions so I certainly don’t take offence at Kiwi bashing if its done in a funny way .
Stewie

Member 9

ftc . . . Admin 3 and I drink Coopers!

Member 13

Fulltime - please understand my intent is not to sir the pot, however IMHO I have not seen one thread/post whatever where your gay brothers have been attacked…

IMO this is a particularly friendly forum with most folks, however cooky they may be (sorry Member 14 ), getting along just nicely!

In actual fact most of the gay friends I have are the ones using the most homophobic terms and these are the ones who also use the n word prolifically. (When speaking to other gays etc.) Seems its okay for them to use the terms amongst themselves but if anyone else uses them.. no no no - shame on you!

Anyway none of my gay mates have macs, and none of them post here so you have nothing to fear in this regard!

Member 15

I have not noticed any blatant homophobia on this site. I think that prejudice against middle- easterners is a far greater problem in the wider community.

Admin 2

Though slightly OT mentioning this, someone a while back accused me of being homophobic, my supposedly having said something which I never did. Quite laughable when I lived round the corner from Oxford St in Sydney, worked with numerous gay people, including having gay managers who I got on well with and considering forum mods and chat ops who are gay…

But anyway…I third the I don’t give a toss comments. Though I don’t condone in the least inappropriate comments, I wouldn’t either want Australia to become somewhere so politically correct that people are afraid to speak (like the USA) - even if their speech is absurd. Anyone who is obviously a bigot or a fool will be seen clearly as such. It’s their problem.

If someone posts something you think is appropriate, click on this button - and tell us about it. Remember though, words are just that… words. Excuse the philosophy, but IMO it’s better to use adversity as a tool to strengthen yourself than attempt to suppress or destroy what you don’t like.

Member 16

I agree. There is a big difference between hatred and merely making fun, or being flippant.

I’m against censorship, even if people have stuff to say that I find hurtful or wrong. I’m also against political correctness.

Treat people as you expect to be treated basically. There shouldn’t be rules about what can and cannot be said. Some people are arseholes. Making rules that only let them be arseholes in private doesn’t change that fact.

Admin 3

I don’t see any real problem for homophobia specifically on these forums. I mean, sure - you get one or two people who might say something that’s a bit stupid, but they’re usually trolling bigots and should be ignored.

If anything is outrageously offensive in a post (and well outside the forum rules), report it by clicking this button below the post.

Admin 2

I think most prejudice is really phobia (slight side-note parallel example: people from the US say that Japan is racist, when really it’s somewhat Xenophobic - a misconception of thinking that what they see in their own back yard is what they see here) which results from the news and people associating changes in society with a particular section of society.

We’re scared of what is not in our control - which is why I’ll always say that we should take control of ourselves first and foremost.

Me:

i would say that the homophobia on this site is never blatant, because it doesnt have to be. calling someone a “poof” is as acceptable as calling someone an idiot.

sorry it took so long to reply but the the forums serach engine sucks, anyhoo, here are some moments:

Quote:
66.2% One Nation. You idealists must have given homos the big ticks!
Quote:
They seriously need quality management control.

i’ve never heard of a Dell Computer failure. if i was steve job i would seriously kick the ass of the faggot in charge of quality control.

Quote:
shut up fag.

Member 17

As far as I can tell, whenever I’ve seen a bigoted comment on this forum, it sticks out like the proverbial dogs whatnots, and the poster is seen as a goose. There usually isn’t a need to say anything, they damn themselves with their own words. Best to ignore I find, but I understand why some people take offence.

Along, long time ago, a poster innocently mentioned they were “jewed” by someone who had ripped them off. I pointed out in a polite manner by PM that they should think about what that word meant and how some might be offended. The poster amended the post, sent me a polite email back and it was sorted. No, Im not Jewish.

Me:

Admin 2, i’m sure you’re not a homophobe, so i’ll ask you, is the following acceptable?

Quote:
66.2% One Nation. You idealists must have given abo’s the big ticks! Quote:
They seriously need quality management control.

i’ve never heard of a Dell Computer failure. if i was steve job i would seriously kick the ass of the nigger in charge of quality control.

Quote:
shut up jew.

if it is, then yeah, i dont give a toss either, if it aint, well, i want some changes round here…

Member 4

i think you got the entire wrong end of the overley sensitive comment and are CHOOSEING to take offence at it - what about queer eye for the straight guy? obviously promoting that gay men have better taste in cloths etc etc… sorry mate i think that you will loose your arguement - you KNOW that they are saying *sorry mate didnt mean it that way* but are saying it in a playfull way - the big poof comment isnt a put-down at all - in fact it is saying that that you have an atribute of a specific segment of socity - now you wouldnt say sensitive ya big nigger cause thats not a charastistic of that segment of sicity but you will say that someone sings like a nigger which would be a huge compliment or - that they play sax like one… again a compliment - you might even say they are endoured like one… its about people chooseing to take offence at somethingt that is obviously not intended in that way - now if someone said something like a nigger at a kkk meeting - you would know that they were talking about ‘out of place’ if someone said like a poof at mardigras you would know they were talking about ‘fitting in’ - but you take offence at these analaligies… perhaps you would like to give me an example of an analagie where you believe that offence and defimanation of the gay community is intended

Member 18

this thread is gay close it…….. oh wait

Member 19

next thing you know, we’ll see a user with kermit the frog avatar, singing Rainbow Connection

Member 4

ok the examples…

Quote: 66.2% One Nation. You idealists must have given abo’s the big ticks!
i compeltley dont get this one - but we all know one nation isnt exactley a good roll modle so i would say this is a rude one…

Quote: They seriously need quality management control. i’ve never heard of a Dell Computer failure. if i was steve job i would seriously kick the ass of the nigger in charge of quality control.

nigger is refering to underpaid hard worker - again a negative image of a race and you can see the defmination in this sentance - i wouldnt like to see this one used overly on the site…

Quote: shut up jew.
shut up is a rude statement anyway - jews apparently ‘always complain’ and a lot of jewish commedians play on this - its difficult to say about this one - perhaps borderline - maybe with a smile its ok - but as a statement no but mostly cause of the phrase shut-up more then jew..

there are also things like ‘talking like an italian’ which would be fine - talks with hands….

Me:

Member 4: well, first i’d probably invest in a spell checker, but then i’d say that the queer eye kids are expressing themselves and are playing off the stereotypes that the community impose on gay men, and to that i say god bless em, they have every right..

but i doubt any black person would take “you sign like a nigger” as a compliment.

its hard to judge, as a white straight man…

Member 15

Must this be turned into a witchhunt?

Member 20

I’m gay and I haven’t really noticed any homophobia on this site. But I tend to keep out of most off-topic threads. They don’t really interest me.

Me:

not at all, and i don’t mean it to be. thats why i haven mentioned the names of those i’ve believed to be homophobes.

i just want to make the simple point that homophobia, regardless of how innocuous it may seem, is fucking offensive…

Member 21

Enough with the homophobia-ophobia already

Member 6

nteresting observation I’ve made after talking to many people on the street is that the first think they pipe up about is the very think they’re most insecure about. “You’re only talking to me because I’m black”"Gay”"Middle Eastern” so on and on and on… I’ve worked with asians who call other asians “gooks” Homosexuals who say “he such a fag” so on and so on. But the worst individuals are the young white folk who scream foul about all of the above like they are acting proxy for the rest of society. What a pack of gay white trash! There ya go… Pull that apart.

Member 19

Hey the Orange sofa is where i come to find out what the world greatest experts think on life’s special matters. Social interaction of a different kind.

Me:

Member 6, honey, there is no point pulling that apart, you’ve clearly show yourself as an insecure police officer who feels the need to attack the very social groups he’d love to join.

as for the fact that i’m a young white folk, yeah, i am. but my sister and mother are both gay, and that realisation would have probably been much easier for me to deal with if being gay was reaaly acceptable, not just acceptable in the sense of its-ok-to-make-fun-of-them-as-long-as-you’re-not-one-of-them…

Member 6

You sound like a frustrated teen.

Admin 3

I don’t want to come back at 10pm tonight to find this thread turned into a flamewar, so i’m going to close it now.

Everyone
If something bothers you on the forums, be that excessive swearing, prejudice, wankerisms or plain trolling: You have two options; ignore or report.

I think Member 17 sums it up nicely.
Quote:
As far as I can tell, whenever I’ve seen a bigoted comment on this forum, it sticks out like the proverbial dogs whatnots, and the poster is seen as a goose. There usually isn’t a need to say anything, they damn themselves with their own words.

CLOSED

Now you can search the web with Kevin Federline

Google must be terrified.