Friendlyjordies, Clementine Ford and Perfection
Name one person who is perfect. I'm happy to wait while you think on it, but I'd suggest you are probably only going to be able to come up with someone who is "pretty good" as opposed to perfect. And don't be worried about that because it was an impossible task. Nobody is actually perfect.
So why then do we expect people to act perfectly? Why are we so unforgiving of those who don't live up to our own expectations? I'm guessing when I prompted you to name someone who was perfect, you didn't nominate yourself. If you did, bravo, but you were incorrect. So why do most of us have this attitude that we are best positioned to judge others when it comes to how good and worthwhile they are?
In one of the podcasts I did last year, we discussed Modern Feminism, and sure, it was three white males discussing the topic, but again, if you listen in, it was about the place of males in feminism and what we thought some of the issues were. In this podcast I discussed, and got somewhat irritated by, some of the posts by Clementine Ford. Ms Ford is a well-known feminist with a few books published, many articles and a pretty impressive history of promoting feminism. However, somewhere along the path, I personally believe she lost her way and now feeds in negatively to the issue. Again, this was covered in the podcast above.
So what did I do?
Well, I had previously followed her on social media, I'd attended one of her talks where as one of only two males in the audience, I watched her for three-quarters of an hour (I think, was a few years back) give a presentation full of all the vile and disgusting things that men had sent her on social media. It was disgusting and offensive and I was appalled that anyone would even think that was an okay thing to do.
But...that didn't make her OWN posts to her followers okay. 'Kill all Men' being the most prominent of them. The change in the attitude of her followers was gradual, but off the back of the #metoo movement it meant that people like me, a regular white guy who supports the cause, no longer supported this BRAND of the cause. I don't want to "kill all men" and I don't find it particularly appealing. #metoo is excellent, and whilst I support those who are saying it, I'm not one of them, so they get my support from the back row.
I don't want Clementine Ford cancelled, that would be silly, but it's important to remember that young people listen and read these things. When you sit down with YOUR daughter or son and explain to them about feminism, how many times do you suggest that they should kill all men?
So I unfollowed and blocked Ms Ford. That's what I did. I also participated in a podcast (yes, my own) where I explained my reasons for disliking her approach. My fellow podcaster was less tactful about his position, but this is my blog, not his, so if you listen to the episode, keep that in mind. I discussed the issues with my daughter before the podcast and after the podcast. She doesn't want to kill anyone and she has no anger towards anyone. She is a well-balanced young person who doesn't need this kind of hatred in her current and future decision making.
Clementine Ford is not perfect.
What prompted this?
Friendlyjordies.
Most of you reading this would know who he is. I happen to find him amusing, but his political views and investigative journalism is what I like the most. The podcast natter is a bit juvenile for me (and that's saying something), but I'm probably not the audience for that bit. When I'm deciding about people like Jordan online, I look at a few things to assess how I feel about them...
- Do I share their political views? Yes
- Are they entertaining? Yes
- Are they well-researched? Yes
- Do they have some fight in them or an ability to think on the fly and debate? Yes
There's more to it than this, but that's a rough idea. It's the same for people I follow on Twitter and whilst we always have the dilemma of deciding whether or not to live in an echo chamber, friendlyjordies addresses the issues raised by the other side and answers them directly. It's not like this blog or your blog or MOST blogs, opinion pieces by people who think they can write and therefore are important. Friendlyjordies reaches in to a section of society and tells them how it is. I suspect a lot of these people would otherwise be largely disengaged voters, not being aware of much of what's going on. So for this alone he should be given a nod.
Is he perfect?
He certainly is not. He makes mistakes, he misjudges his audience, he's juvenile (which may NOT be misjudging his audience), he's a comedian and humour is FAR from black or white, he strays from topics and he regularly posts short videos that leave me thinking "this wasn't aimed at me".
Again. Not perfect.
But I don't want him to be. I want him to raise important issues, investigate them, present them with humour and rattle a few people along the way, even those on the left who seem least capable of accepting that THEY THEMSELVES aren't perfect.
So why have I been contrasting Clementine Ford and friendlyjordies? Well, aside from the fact that a lot of the haters of friendlyjordies are the lovers of Clementine Ford (and vice versa), I was thinking about the topics and issues they each present.
Is Clementine Ford ADDING to the Feminism debate? In my opinion, no. She may have done so initially, in fact I'm positive she did, but I actually know and understand feminism. I support it, I probably am one without specifically stating it to anyone who would want to know. There is nothing I personally gain now from listening to or paying attention to anything Ms Ford tweets, especially given that it has become quite aggressive and ill-targeted.
Friendlyjordies DOES add to the issues he discusses. He exposes corruption, he brings issues like destruction of koala habitat to the attention of people who may be unaware of what is happening, and through investigating the issue deeper, can follow the clues to see what is happening and why - this is often the corruption bit! Now along the way, he gets called out for his unconventional presentations and "off-colour" humour (I did say he wasn't perfect), but the issues are still important.
Again, I'm reminded of the tweet by Ricky Gervais years back when he posted a picture of two people torturing a dog and he called them cunts. Some folks objected to the language.
You really can't please some people, but that's really their own problem.
Friendlyjordies may upset you with his humour, he may upset you that he does stereotypical Italian accents, but while he's uncovering corruption and calling out behaviour that is unparliamentary at the very LEAST, I think you should stay focused on the issue, not your feelings.
We're very quick on the left to throw people in the bin if they say something we don't agree with, especially if we have a personal connection to the issue. Your feelings and opinions are important, there's no denying that, but just because you don't agree with someone 100%, it doesn't make them 100% wrong, it doesn't mean they should be cancelled and it doesn't mean they are your enemy.
Are YOU perfect?
Are THEY perfect?
The answer to both questions is the same.
llama
@SirWonderLlama
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