Almost exactly two years ago, on May 30, 2004, I decided to start blogging.
I’m still not sure why, exactly. Maybe just to give me an excuse to write about things I was interested in but which, for various reasons, I’d failed to find an appropriate outlet for.
In Australia, the anarchist press is almost — but not quite — non-existent, and radical scholarship tends to be either: a) operating within a ‘Marxist’ framework; b) produced by individuals completely uninterested in building radical social movements committed to struggling against capital, state and patriarchy or c) both.
(There are, of course, many exceptions to this rule, and a great deal of interesting scholarship is being produced on contemporary struggles. But I find most of it to be produced by folks with whom I feel little real political or personal affinity… Hell, maybe I just need to get out more?)
I suppose that one of the main problems I’ve been struggling with — apart from various health-related issues — is the fact that, if this situation is going to change, I really am going to have to do it myself. By myself. Which is fine, but still a daunting prospect. And, given that I already devote a considerable proportion of my time to other anarchist projects…
Well, I guess you could say that DIY is a double-edged sword.
Still, as far this blog’s concerned, I ‘ve really only started writing regularly since late December, 2005; that is, five months or so.
Is it worth the time and the trouble? I don’t know. What do you think?
Great blog,
More info from around the world would be appreciated although it’s interesting watching the political economy of radical Oceania as it is such a tiny ecology in a vast space.
I suppose you should know that ‘bonehead’ that you used in an earlier article is a racist term. It is used by South Africans of British and other origins to refer to South Africans of Boer (Dutch or Huguenot) origin. It is a direct reference to a supposed difference in skull shape and intelligence, and Ben (who you referred to) and van Tongeren are probably Dutch to some extent (I heard that Van T is one eighth Indonesian).
The Brits supposedly invented the concentration camp in order to deal with the Boers on the Cape.
So there you have it, a reader could quite easily interpret your statements as more racist than Chingford Attack (london oi) and the Laotian curfew against non-Lao after midnight.
“Bonehead” is a racist term in South Africa? I didn’t realise.
The Broadcasting Complaints Commission of South Africa has fielded a handful of complaints. One, in 2004, was against some bloke called Mark Gillman:
A summary of its findings:
“Complainant complained that the term “bonehead schools” used by the presenter of the Mark Gillman show referred to Afrikaans schools, thereby implying that all Afrikaans people are stupid (thick headed). For the complaint to be upheld, the Tribunal would have to find that the use of the term amounted to the sanctioning, promotion or glamorization of violence against people of a particular ethnic origin, as determined by paragraph 16.1 of the Code of Conduct. The Tribunal did not agree that the inference that “bonehead” referred to Afrikaans people was the only one – it could also be a reference to intellectually challenged people. Judged in context, the use of the term did not amount to a contravention of the Code and the complaint was therefore not upheld.”
The broadcaster also stated:
“Furthermore, the term ‘bonehead’ is used by Americans, and other English-speaking countries in the world. Its Afrikaans connotation is not a necessary implication in its use.”
http://www.bccsa.co.za/templates/judgement_template_264.asp
Another complaint, made in 2006, was upheld on the basis that the term was considered to have been used explicitly in reference to Dutchmen / Afrikaaners.
http://www.bccsa.co.za/templates/judgement_template_341.asp
Other than these, I can find few other online refs to ‘bonehead’ as a racist term for South Africans of Boer descent.
In any case, when I use the term ‘bonehead’, I’m referring to that group of neo-Nazis with very short hair who ape skinhead culture. ‘Bonehead’ is sometimes also used as a synonym for dunce, dunderhead, numbskull, blockhead, lunkhead, hammerhead, knucklehead, loggerhead, muttonhead, shithead, cockhead, dickhead or fuckhead — all of which apply in my example, I believe.
FTR, Ben Weerheym is of Dutch heritage (that’s what he claims anyway), while Jack van Tongeren’s father was from Indonesia (of mixed Dutch and Javanese descent) and his mother is Irish-Australian.
I’m not convinced that my use of a term like ‘bonehead’, not having been used in reference to an Afrikaaner, should be interpreted as more racist than Chingford Attack but.
Is it worth the time and trouble? You bloody betcha! I love every word. Yibbiddee Yibbiddaa. Yes, this little message has been brought to you by Rex ‘so help me, I did not have sexual relations with that woman – unless my wife and the media have already busted me’ Hunt, everybody’s favourite fishing philanderer, the only man in the world who pays women other than his wife to have sex with him, all the while maintaining that they’re not prostitutes… Wait a minute, I’m confused. Are they not prostitutes because he’s the only man to whom they’ve charged money in exchange for sex, or are they not prostitutes because he’s not that kind of guy??? Hell. I think I need to consult the dictionary on this one.