I recently stumbledupon a recent (September 2023) podcast interview by veteran crime reporter John Silvester with two of the police involved in the death of Melbourne teenager Tyler Cassidy in Northcote in 2008. Having made some posts on the subject at that time, I thought I’d see what other commentary I’ve missed in the years since I last made reference to it: I did this outta curiosity about the aftermath, but also because one of these posts was possibly one of if not the most popular I’ve published.
What I discovered was that:
• In combination with filtering software (and my very poor Google-fu/SEO technique), the near-total obliteration of the blogosphere by corporate anti-social media means many fewer people discover it (and thereby be in a position to actually read my h0ttt takes boo-hoo).
• In 2016, a defamation action taken by one of the officers involved against a Queensland barrister for his online comments was successful and he was rewarded $150,000.
• Following a campaign by Cassidy’s mother, Tasers are now standard issue for Victoria police.
• The Southern Cross Soldiers — along with being responsible for some of the worst rap anthems I’ve ever heard — have presumably grown up and … I dunno, could be viewed as being one link in the chain connecting, say, ‘Cronulla’ (2005 — see also : Alan ‘I’m the person that’s led this charge’ Jones) to later political formations (Australian Defence League, Australian Protectionist Party) and protest movements (Reclaim Australia, United Patriots Front).
The semi-popular post referred to above — OH NOES! Southern Cross Soldiers go to war (November 23, 2008) — was published just a few weeks before Cassidy’s shooting death (December 11, 2008). Of the cast of bizarr0s active in 2008 and featured in that post, ex-APP/Party for Freedom meathead and failed Cronulla re-enactor Nick Folkes got cancer and embraced Hitler and veganism, while Luke Connors (Australia First Party/Patriotik Yoof League), Darrin Hodges and Martin Fletcher have all, hopefully, put their days of promoting race-hate behind them.
Oh and Folkes’ sometime ‘Cronulla’ comrade from Cooma, Shermon ‘The Great Aussie Patriot’ Burgess, eventually ended up Alhamdulillah converting to Islam.
LOL.
See also : ‘Bloods, Crips and Southern Cross Soldiers’ by Amelia Johns in A Critical Youth Studies for the 21st Century, Peter Kelly and Analise Kamp (eds.), Brill, 2015.
