Taking a leaf from Eddie I thought I would throw my view in on this topic. Also because I have a slightly opposing view to Eddie lol. Eddie is a dear friend so there is no malice in my post.

Firstly I would say, feel free to read Eddie’s post about this HERE. I’ll start my post with the same passage that he quoted from the Courier Mail.

A tearful Stephanie Rice has made an emotional public apology over her homophobic slur on Twitter, saying she has learnt a huge lesson.

The swimming star twice broke down in tears at a press conference she called in Sydney today as she pleaded for forgiveness over what she labelled “thoughtless and careless” comments.

Triple Olympic gold medallist Rice tweeted “Suck on that faggots!” following the Wallabies’ dramatic Tri Nations weekend win over the Springboks early on Sunday.

Now there are a lot of opposing views on this topic. My personal view is somewhere in between. For me I think this whole thing was taken way too seriously. I really don’t like the word ‘faggot’ at all, but I really didn’t take offense to this but can understand why some would. The thing is that I believe she made a careless stupid mistake. I certainly didn’t ever think there was any malice in the comment and I feel that it was a silly comment that once removed should have been the end of it. Instead she was put through a stupid public ridicule that I think did more damage than good.

I am a strong believer that political correctness is out of control and can talk for hours on specific examples however that’s not necessary. I am a firm believer that it’s about the intent. In this case, she made a mistake so a simple removal and apology was enough. We didn’t need to drive this girl into what was almost a breakdown over this.

I think we should look at the intent. Like one of Eddie’s readers mentioned it has become the same with the word “gay” which is starting to change it’s meaning again. It was once a word that meant happy, then it became a word for homosexual and now it’s changing to mean lame. However I don’t see this word dragging gay rights backwards. Again I believe in intent. I agree with Eddie that there are issues with history and also that with fame comes a responsibility to be a respectful because you are setting an example. But for me this was turned into an unnecessary media circus and was just a simple mistake with no malice and shouldn’t have gone as far as it had.

That’s my two cents.

Like

Unlike

It seems I have been AWOL for a while. Really there’s no reason and in fact I have started a lot of posts but just haven’t completed any. It’s been hectic with work mainly and I haven’t had much of a chance to get on here.

Well Brisbane’s Riverfire is tomorrow night and I can’t wait. It will be an awesome night. This year I will be at Southbank so if you see me say hi!. Ok, well there will be thousands of people there lol, but in my experience that’s when you seem to run into everyone.

Like last year I’ll be sure to take some photo’s, hopefully the camera batteries won’t mysteriously die. I love how every digital camera I’ve had seems to periodically say the batteries are flat but then they’re mysteriously full again lol.

So when it comes to posts you will find they all start appearing soon, very soon. So stay tuned. Love you all.

Like

Unlike

Well yesterday we here in Australia had an election and the day ended with a hung parliament. I’m not sure how this will turn out over the next week or two but I will say irrelevant of the outcome both major parties need to admit to the people they have failed. When you have an election within a two party system and both parties average 50% it has to be a sign. When half the country don’t want you then you certainly have to think seriously about it.

My opinion is simple. We have two major parties whom are both full of bullshit (I know, such a surprise in politics lol). What do I mean? Well I think there are a lot of factors that affected the outcome but generally we are sick of the lies and propaganda. All the public really wants is for politicians to come out and say what they really believe, what they can achieve and what they can’t, in realistic timeframes.

I don’t want promises that they won’t follow through on or use an excuse when they don’t achieve. I want strong policies. I may not agree with them but if those policies are transparent I can make an informed decision. I read through a lot of the policies that were out there prior to the election and to be honest within the two major parties I liked probably 50% of what I read. I will talk about my preferred party at a later time and talk about why.

I’m not a huge fan of politics but I have strong views on policy for this country and what I think. Whether others agree with me is not the point. Even if I am right or not is not the point. They are my views and I will stand by my decisions. You will never get one party that gets everything right, however a party that is responsible and tells it how it is will be sufficient. The thing I see is that political parties seem to forget that they have a responsibility to do what is right, fair and just. Yes they need to represent the people but they also need to make unpopular decisions if it is the right thing to do.

Unfortunately in the two party system we have one leader who seems to use his bigotry and sexism to gain popularity and another who seems to promote the Christian views whilst living in sin (doesn’t make much sense). Funny enough is that this leader has no problem accepting preferences from a formidable party that has an openly gay man at the helm.

Right now I think we need clear policy and direction with a no bullshit approach. Bring it on!

Like

Unlike

We are having a continuing debate around the issue of gay marriage around here. The debate is because it is such a hot topic at the moment (as usual) and looking at the different opinions in an objective way.

The debate is due to the fact that views are diverse not just in the straight world but also in the gay world. So where is the real issue in my mind at this point. I keep hearing the argument that marriage is a biblical tradition or tradition for straight couples and I can see where people might think this. I mean in the past marriage has been traditionally seen between straight pairs. The argument that this should remain a straight tradition seems rather slim to me. The reason being that just because the word has a historical meaning doesn’t mean that it can’t change, just look at an old dictionary versus a modern one. Also marriage is a deeply personal thing and has been performed over the centuries by non-religious people. Christianity isn’t the only instigator of marriage. In fact less and less people utilise a religious leader to perform marriage. So really that argument is void.

Also the government’s decision in Australia to maintain that marriage is between a man and a woman seems to be more a political stunt than a fair decision. I mean we have a political state that means politicians are not allowed to have personal opinions but only the opinion of the party. To avoid problems they more and more make the statement that they personally agree with the party’s policy or stance but there is no room for a different view unless they are given the ok for a conscience vote or view. So politicians are really screwed. The funny thing is there are many other religious based areas that are ok to disregard. We have a Prime Minister who technically is living in sin which is not allowed. We have Ministers who are openly gay which is not allowed. Married people cheat (more about cheating in an upcoming post) which is not allowed biblically. We live in a country where religious organisations put enormous pressure on political parties to do what they want. However we apparently live in a country where there is a separation of church and state.

When will politicians look at doing what is right and ensuring that discrimination does not exist. If you are going to make some decisions based on religious beliefs than make all of them based on religious beliefs. However sometimes politicians need to not follow the money but do what is right. Otherwise they are just followers and not leaders. Show some balls and do what is right.

Specifically the work ethic of people looking for work has been something on my mind lately. I know friends who are unemployed or have been recently and there seems to be two very distinctive groups. Those who do whatever it takes to get work and those who don’t.

I have friends who inspire me when it comes to their job hunting. If they are out of work for whatever reason they get straight in there and start looking. Of course they apply for jobs that are advertised but they don’t just rely on waiting on that call. They print copies of their resume and walk the streets walking into every business they pass handing out their resume. They don’t stop until they find something.

This is an awesome method because the reality is finding a job is all about timing. If you walk in somewhere at the right time you may get a look in without having to go through the torture of competition. If you get in when someone is looking but before they advertise you have a better shot. This attitude inspires me.

Unfortunately there are also people out there who say they want a job but really do nothing. Unfortunately I know a few like this. They actually would rather live off the government then actually contribute. These are the people who spend all their time avoiding work. They work the system by showing up for appointments as they are told to in order collect their unemployment benefits but work the system so they never really do anything.

Now some don’t have a problem with this but I find it insulting and really shows a lack of ethic. I mean the time they spend jumping through loopholes and avoiding work seems pointless when they could avoid all of these dramas by undertaking some work. Seriously they are better off financially if they work and would only have to work 15 hours a week to both be financially and get the government off their backs.

The key is that it is tax payers money which is paying for these people and I think the money would be much better spent elsewhere on helping those who need the assistance or on much needed services such as mental health or health in general. I do find these leeches annoying and I then see people who really want to do the right thing battling because they want to find a job and it all seems so unfair.

To those who really want to work I congratulate you and thank you for inspiring me.

Like

Unlike

For those of you who are Australian you will remember the old BCC/Greater Union Theme Song below. It is one of my ringtones and just makes me smile every time I hear it. In fact it makes me want to jump around. If only someone out there could turn it into a remix I would be in heaven. I mean, being a theme song it’s only 30sec long. If anyone knows a DJ, talk them into remixing this for me. You just have no idea how awesome that would be and it would make my year.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Like

Unlike

For those of you that know me, you will know that Autism and awareness of autism is something I am very passionate about.

Gabe talked about his own experience in his post Autism. I’ve talked about my own in the past but I feel like talking about it again because it also ties in to some of my feelings on stereotypes and communication. Autism or ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) is such a varied issue that for us to call it Autism doesn’t fully explain what we go through. When you think of Autistic you often think of the most extreme stereotype but that is rarely accurate. For those of us with some form of Aspergers (again often stereotyped) we are often misunderstood. For me 99% of people wouldn’t guess there was anything wrong with me other than maybe I’m a little quirky lol. However behind the scenes it is very different. So what I am going to do is talk about my personality and traits and how it affects me, although much of what I’ll say may or may not be part of the disorder, but let me share.

The first thing is that for me I get very exhausted when I have to interact with people or deal with anything emotional. I have learned to deal with it but it’s been a struggle. Often I will be tired although I can hide it but to function in the world I have had to learn to keep going. Now although this may sound normal it’s really not. My entire being is physically and emotionally exhausted to the point often that I can barely function. However over the years I have learned to hide it as much as possible.

Another trait is that I require a lot of quiet time. The reason for this is that I analyse everything in my life or work to an extreme. I have over time learned to sometimes be able to switch it off but it’s difficult. So along with the exhaustion I require quiet time to recover and bring myself back to a place that is manageable. Generally I don’t have a lot of understanding for people who don’t think rationally and my skills in reading body language have been learned as I really don’t have that ability in me. Again one trait that is generally common in aspergers is the inability to recognise body language and tones in people. So you either learn it as a language or you don’t survive in the mainstream.

However the biggest barrier for me is in relationships. Seriously it takes a special and patient person to be in a relationship with me. Naturally I am extremely loyal and often simply don’t understand people that cheat because it has never even entered my thoughts. However in a relationship I can’t comprehend it if lies are told. They don’t even have to be big ones. Even the smallest lie will send my world into a tailspin because I just don’t understand it. So the person I am with has to be incredibly honest otherwise it will be the downfall. It’s the same when it comes to someone saying one thing and doing another without honestly and openly communicating it. My mind simply can’t cope with that so again I need someone who understands that and communicates. Otherwise things don’t ever last long. However in other areas I am extremely patient. Relationships are hard work at the best of times but with someone like me I have to work much harder at it. Simply because I have to understand so much therefore I am always thinking about it. In many ways thats a positive because I always, absolutely always put my relationship first which means that whoever I am with will never need to doubt anything.

On another note due to the fact that I think very logically and instinctively I am very good at dealing with crisis because I analyse the situation and take logical quick action to fix it so in an emergency I’m the one to call lol. Due to my ability to retain enormous amounts of information combined with the logical thinking means that if you need to interpret legislation or guidelines I am great at it. I have other quirks such as if I’m anxious and in deep thought my fingers tap the air and I don’t even know it.

Overall there are lots of traits that are a part of my life which although they appear in others are amplified ten fold. I don’t have a problem with it except when stereotypes are used. This is the same with being gay. There is no real box that describes someone who is gay and yet the stereotypes are there. No matter what stereotype or box people try to put me into I will always surprise because although I may share some of the characteristics of the stereotypes I am not what people expect.

Like

Unlike