Witch Hunts. They still happen today.
First, a little history.
The witch hunts that took place from 1480 to 1700 were in part facilitated by the negative perceptions of women during the time period of their occurrence. Statistics reveal that females typically comprised about 80% of the total amount of “witches” executed, implying that, for every male victim (and how many of them were homosexuals?), four females lost their lives.
Writing ‘The Hammer of Witches (Malleus Maleficarum)’,the monks Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger entrenched this misogynist bent into official witch-hunting doctrine. Kramer and Sprenger describe a woman as inherently more fallible than her male counterpart, and from her very nature, as one originating from an improperly bent rib, prone to evil. However, Kramer and Sprenger also write that, though women are susceptible to evil influences, they can also be “very good” when they use their impressionable qualities in a certain manner.
Given the heavily patriarchal nature of their time period, the monks may have been suggesting that the proper place of a woman is to obey male influences, so that her imperfections may be compensated for by the males’ lack of such fallibilities. The threat of being branded a witch more readily than a male would be might have served as a deterrent for women from defying the commonplace expectations imposed on them by the social and religious paradigms surrounding them.
Women like Alice Prabury, who diverged from the expected role of a woman as a mundane housekeeper and instead obtained uncommon skills to cure people and animals of diseases, were targets for persecution. The Churchwardens of Gloucestershire may have filed their accusation of witchcraft against Prabury due to their disapproval of the excessive independence that the woman manifested, as exemplified in her refusal to tell others, including the representatives of the dominant paradigm, the unique means by which she went about performing her work.
Thus creative, individualistic, and independent women were most often the targets of the two-century-long spree of witch hunts. Such persecution unfortunately destroyed many talented individuals who could have lived fulfilling lives and made tremendous advances in the arts and sciences.
Now, cast your minds back to the campaign of vilification that was unleashed by the Liberal Party against Julia Gillard, the lawful Prime Minister of Australia.
I think you can see where I am going with this.
How well-read is our own Mad Monk in the Catholic Canon? How have his perceptions of women in contemporary society been informed by what he has learnt during his years of education as a Jesuit, both at school and in the Seminary, while he was there? How has his own misogynist bent been used to inform the campaign of abuse, humiliation and vilification against Prime Minister Julia Gillard? An openly proud Atheist and Non-Conformist to the social doctrines that Tony Abbott is steeped in?
Now, of course, when Tony Abbott is accused of being a misogynist towards the Prime Minister, people spring to his defence by saying, “Look how well he gets on with his wife and daughters. Look at his Chief-Of-Staff. She is a woman! They are powerful women. He’s obviously OK with powerful women. Your accusations have no substance!” However, I put that down to a differential perspective. In Abbott’s eyes, as quoted above from ‘The Hammer of Witches’, ‘good women’ are those who behave in ways that receive approval from men, conform to the ‘Male as Dominant’ paradigm and the social and religious conformity expected of them by religious males. That is, these women are married, or single young women on the pathway to marriage, and thus conform to Tony Abbott’s idea of what a good woman is. Hence he is happy to treat them favourably. Why wouldn’t he? As people say about him, he is basically a decent person when around the people in his social milieu. Who get the tick of approval from him.
Of course, I must single out Julie Bishop for special mention here. She may not be married to her partner Peter Nattrass, or have produced any children. Also has been as career-driven as the Prime Minister was; however, she conforms in as much as she knows her place in the Tony Abbott Coalition hierarchy, and that place is as a submissive woman to ‘The Leader’. Also, how can we know what Tony Abbott’s innermost thoughts are about her? Nevertheless, Ms Bishop has not become dominant over Mr Abbott, so is not in the same category as the Prime Minister.
So, the woman who does not conform and has broken the mould, is thought to have succumbed to evil influences. Therefore is a witch and a justifiable target for persecution, in the mind of a devoutly religious man.
It certainly serves as a philosophical justification, if nothing else, and a salve to any sort of a guilty conscience Tony Abbott might have felt, if only initially and long since passed, as he began his public attacks on a woman with verbal violence of a ferocity never before witnessed in Australian politics. In fact, I’m hard pressed to think of any other female leader of a country or political party who has been so publicly demeaned by her male political opponent, as has Julia Gillard. Without remorse and relentlessly.
Finally, let me leave you with some more history about Witch Hunts(as supplied by G. Stolyarov II), to reflect upon and as it pertains to the ‘Carbon Tax Lie’ vendetta against the Prime Minister, Julia Gillard:
Political rivalries, too, were motives for accusations of witchcraft. Among the victims of such ploys was Mayor Johannes Junius, who, though entirely innocent, was confronted with a trial whose proceedings were clearly not aimed toward an objective determination of guilt or innocence, but rather at causing Junius to “confess something, whether it be true or not.” The trial was rigged against Junius, and there was to be no possible outcome but his death. Such a case could not have existed had Junius not possessed rivals who wanted him eliminated at all costs. A vacancy in the post of mayor could, after all, assist someone’s political ambitions, either to occupy the position or place into it a man acceptable to some religious or political faction with the means to carry out witch hunts.
Junius = Julia? It’s not as ridiculous a proposition as it may at first seem. Of course, an actual death is not possible. However, a political death is an eminently desirable outcome for the protagonists in our political game. And not beyond the realms of possibility, as a perfectly justifiable game plan, for our own Mad Monk.
THE PUB 
Would the Opposition love to see Rudd’s return. I believe the answer is yes. Do they want to see him come in, genuinely behind the PM, the answer is definitely no.
I believe Abbott fears this lady, with ghood reason.
“…do you think say around July, if polls aren’t good, PMJG might go voluntarily for what she sees as the good of the party.”
FFS, what the hell! What polls? Newspoll? If PMJG was to be influenced to step aside by a bunch of shonky polls then Labor deserves to lose every election for the next five decades.
Look, cut out the Nervous Nellie navel gazing and paranoid ‘what if’s’ and instead concentrate on spreading some positive opinion. Sheesh, I’m not even going to vote Labor and I’m furious that this sort of crap is being broached here as serious discussion. Talking this way is playing right into the hands of the Dark Side, they WANT you to be influenced by their rigged and paid for poll results. Sheep and lemmings wouldn’t fall for their manipulative crap, why do you? Cut. It .Out.
BB
I’m not going to forget or forgive Rudd and lackeys, however It’s got to the point now that if Rudd can in anyway prevent Abbott and co gaining Government so be it. I hate Rudd, but I hate Abbott and the Libs more.
If Rudd can’t and is still playing games, then the man’s a sociopath and needs a psychiatrist.
I reckon Labor have decided to play games with the opps. You only have to look at the yapping by the Poodle. It has been hilarious
Is it just me or has anyone else noticed the coalition are using a couple of Rudd’s phrases. e.g. ‘wining from oppo is like climbing Mt Everest’, and then on ch7 last night ‘fork in the road’. Can’t they think of their own slogans?
I would have loved to have heard this
Mr John Murphy (Reid, NSW) (16:33)
How dare Rupert Murdoch tweet: ‘Oz polls show nothing can save this miserable government. Election cannot come soon enough. People decided and tuned out months ago.’ The reason people tune out, Mr Murdoch, is because of the tripe served up in your tabloids and your cross-promotion of that tripe. Everyone knows you twist the political agenda to suit your business agenda and in so doing you crush and corrupt our democracy. We are not frightened of you and we will not surrender to your massive media power encapsulated in your tweet.
Source: Hansard
http://theaimn.com/2013/06/07/alp-to-rupert-murdoch-we-are-not-frightened-of-you-and-we-will-not-surrender/
Off-line and a little less contact over the weekend, friends. But I’ll be seeing the SA contingent tomorrow for a lunch.
Keep up the good fight!
I see it, as never been Rudd’s ability to have good policy or sell it that was the problem. It was his apparent inability to implement it.
The PM, has continue on and finished what Rudd began. They are now law. Not all as Rudd promise, but to the extent, that politics allowed. After all, politics is the art of the possible.
What is being taken to this election, is the policies of the Gillard government. These are the policies Rudd has to get out and sell. Cannot do so, unless he acknowledges that fact.
What he is selling, is the Gillard Labor government.
I believe Abbott is terrified of Julia Gillard.
I was thinking about the ‘Abbott is a great off-the-cuff speaker’ line form the link I posted earlier. It’s true, he was a good off-the-cuff speaker – once. Now he’s not. These days he won’t even take questions at a presser and he speaks from notes in parliament. PMJG has destroyed his self-confidence.
That body language analysis of the Fraudband launch adds to all this. Abbott’s behaviour that day was weird to say the least and showed us a nervous, flummoxed man who was not in control of the situation or himself, Not a leader at all.
I look forward to seeing what Julia Gillard will do to Abbott during the election campaign proper. The mere though of having to endure one debate with her must have Abbott already scared witless, but That Woman wants many debates. Abbott will be a gibbering wreck before they even start.
It is funny, when one stops to look. The support for Rudd, is coming from the Liberal camp, He rates much higher than their unpopular leader with them.
Yes, there is a little support for Rudd within Labor. Not too sure that support extends to the voters who count.
Within the Coalition, I believe that Turnbull still rates higher, in the popularity contest. Should that mean, Abbott should step down.
@PSyvret: John Bjelke-Petersen will contest Maranoa (held very comfortably by the NP’s Bruce Scott) for Clive Palmer’s party.
http://ewb0.wordpress.com/custom-badges/tawnbpm/
Good advert by thr CPSU
Check out this video on YouTube:
Jaeger
Good one!
Leone,
You are spot on. Abbott is terrified of the woman he thought he could destroy so easily. He was used to dominating females and keeping them in their place and THAT WOMAN wrote failure across his forehead and diminished him in size and stature.
I’m sure the abbott is busy making up a list of excuses as to why he can’t/won’t/shouldn’t debate PMJG. After all, the gutless wonder runs away from media pals’ questions so the mind boggles how he’d get on if he was hog tied to a podium in a debate with the one person who must look like a garden mulcher to him.
I have just been reading the comments on Lenore Taylor’s latest piece that I thought was lost, their page navigation is not stable, and about 60% comments are critical of Taylor herself or the media
see http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2013/jun/06/labor-jokers-get-back-pack?commentpage=1
The article is about Joel Fitzgibbon bagging Labor. If I remember correctly his old man used to swan around Cessnock like it was his private fiefdom, in the good old days when it was a gritty underground colliery, not like today’s gentrified Pokolbin vineyard and bush weekender territory
The debates of 2010 were fairly lame. PMJG was not very confident herself. She has since grown immensely in her role as PM, and Abbott’s lies would be cut down very easily this time around
over at the other place – I can take no credit someone is calling Christopher Pyne ‘Porky Pyne’ for his efforts yesterday.
Catalyst
Has porky pyne reared his head today?
My attitude is that the feud has hurt the ALP and starved Gillard of clear air, but I also think that attacking Rudd only helps Abbott. At first I got sucked into debating with bloggers who slagged off Gillard, but eventually realised that standing up for her (in my own little way) was only feeding the destabilisation.
The feud has to be sorted before the campaign, because whoever is the leader will not get clear air. If ALP supporters are all too busy bitching about the leader then Abbott will get a free ride. And while we all complain about government by poll, the fact is that good polls do make for more stable leadership.
I support the ALP because I think their policies best match my world view with what is politically possible and on the policy score Rudd and Gillard are very similar. I give Gillard more credit for political courage, and actually getting things done, but she credits the electorate with too much intelligence and expects them to understand what she does despite the hostile MSM filter.
I notice Rudd just came out and called Abbott a liar. I have never understood why Gillard has never been so direct? The Libs have been calling her a liar for 3 years and she never bites back.
And let’s bother to argue the “carbon tax lie”? The ALP ETS policy at the last election had a 1 year fixed carbon price, the Greens changed to 3 years before passing it. If people insist on calling the fixed price a tax it will only exist for 3 years anyway, instead of 1, and then become a trading system.
It’s not that hard to push back… which Gillard does well in parliament.
Onya, leonetwo!
I don’t care about Rudd – as long as he keeps doing what he has done in the last couple of days supporting JG and Labor I’m happy.
Gotta go and work! Keep up the good work, people, particularly the pressure on Rabbott, Credlin and the LNP.
They’re running scared!
foreverjanice
For the most part I would agree with your remarks but on this particular issue Abbott is a strange beast. There seems to be a line beyond which he can not go. Look at the cringeworthy photos of him with his wife. Body-language experts would have a field day with his sitting behind her shoulder, the obsequious look on his face, her ‘motherly’ touching of his face, the way they hold hands. Margie wears the pants in that household. I put a domestic photo of Tony and Margie in my video to correspond with “you light up the room”. In it Tony looks like a househusband reluctantly dragged into a photo-shoot with his high-flying wife. I have no doubt that when she says “jump!” he asks “how high?”.
He’s afraid of Credlin and he’s afraid of Nicola Roxon for some reason.
As with so many bullies, if his early attempts at intimidation don’t come off he finds himself at a loss with how to deal with a strong woman. This might also apply to men but I have no observational evidence either way. I suspect Julia Gillard is a peculiarity because she used to ‘play nice’ with Tony in earlier days but since assuming the PMship she has taken no crap from him. He’s in his element when he is around his ‘good girls’ but goes to water when a strong personality stands up to him.
I’m also quite confident that his daughters wrap him around their little fingers.
The expression get used a lot but Abbott really is a hollow man.
All we are hearing from ABC 24, is that Rudd is out campaigning today. Fewer words follow what the PM is doing.
Yes, Rudd will have to work hard to get the message out, that he is campaigning on behalf of the PM.
The sooner the government publicly acknowledges that Murdoch is just as much their opponent as Abbott, the better.
I posted a month or so ago that the media should be attacked at the first opportunity.
Bring THEM down, even just a few pegs, and you cut Abbott’s support base away.
For those interested, Labor has sent email seeking donations to fight the campaign. Any amount helps.
Vote1Julia is busy today, but asks me to inform youse that he has taken the complaint against the Bolt article on the Optus web site to fairly high levels within Optus corporate and is starting to get encouraging results.
every pension day I send 20 dollars,,, its the least I can do,, we have had a rise of nearly 300 dollars since labor came in we will lost it all , as abbott has said NO increment,,,,,make sure you tell =every one you know that,, I think its one that really sinks in,,, as some young people I tell I say
in the long run there will be no super left for you , or you will have to support your parents,,, I have no idea who they vote for, but the look on the face is priceless,,, there is many in the younger age group who are waiting for the legacy ( awful but true} so I just say in case, and many could not affort to help out mum and dad.
I found this post on the guardian, it was directed to the writer of the piece above the comments//
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Can you at least acknowledge that voters are equally let down by a media that ignores Greg Combet’s press club speech on climate change and that ignores Garrett’s education reforms and that ignores every other reform over the past three years in favour of soap opera reporting on the personalities of the ALP?
Yes, their stupid comments are worth reporting and they are distracting. But surely there are at least a couple of journalists worth their weight who have the ability to ignore this noise and do some good journalism on what has been the biggest reform package in a generation and the alternatives facing the nation at the next election. Instead, we’re faced with opinion piece after opinion piece from the Canberra Press Gallery that read more like something out of tv guide than serious political journalism. I’d wager that there are a couple of million of us equally let down by the media over the past three years.
If you’re sick of writing about it, just put yourselves in our shoes for a bit and try to imagine how sick we are of reading about it
==============================================================now me
at last we are able to say what needs to be said,, with out our posts not appearing
I’ve been donating much more than I can afford to Labor’s campaign every month for a few months now. It’s the least I can do to help.
https://australianlaborparty.nationbuilder.com/donate
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you never know lurkers may see the link and donate , on the spot sometimes looking for where to go is time consuming
I agree with posters here who say Abbott is scared of Julia ….I believe that to be true. I also believe that she has almost single-handedly emasculated Abbott’s public persona….’that speech’ was the killer punch & he’s had no answer since…
Just to correct victoria if I may …there were no head to head debates between Abbott/Julia during the last election. There were three tightly staged public Q&A forums in front of hand-picked audiences & introduced by David Speers …at which Abbott & Julia weren’t even on the stage together…
What will happen this year is that the ALP will insist on at least three genuine debates with a neutral mediator… Julia has already signalled this during QT this week…Abbott will be crucified (he’d probably like that 😉 ) by Julia if they go ahead …and he’ll be crucified in the media if he refuses to debate her…
Bring it on… 🙂
Sometimes alternate realities seem a distinct possibility. As proof that they might indeed exist I provide this account of yesterday’s QT from Sky News. They’ve had it up all morning. It’s nothing like the QT I saw yesterday so it must have occurred in an alternate reality, or maybe on another planet in a galaxy far, far away. Just as well only three people and a sleepy cat watch Sky.
” The Coalition on thursday drew government incompetence, national securioty, budget blow-outs and asylum seeker boats into one sharp line of attack'”
Three days old, but in case you missed it…
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-04/tasmania-ready-to-sign-onto-gonski-plan/4731376?section=tas
Tasmania ready to sign onto Gonski plan
Posted Tue Jun 4, 2013 8:55am AEST
Tasmania’s Education Minister says the state is on track to sign onto the Federal Government’s Gonski education plan within weeks.
Nick McKim told an Upper House budget estimates hearing yesterday Tasmania was almost ready to join New South Wales and the ACT in agreeing to the Gonski plan.
Sorry to contradict you, markjs1 but there was one head-to-head debate in 2010.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2010-07-25/abbott-and-gillard-trade-blows-in-leaders-debate/918510
Pundits said no clear winner and it was pretty tame. Julia called for a second debate, focussed on the economy and Tony wimped out with his infamous “when does no really mean no” comment based on the two teams’ advisors having negotiated only one debate. Three debates this time should see him emasculated.
markjs
I see Norman has found the debate I was referring to. Thanks.
denese/leonetwo
You have been much more generous than me towards the Labor campaign.
But as i mentioned earlier, every little bit helps. I recall Obama raised a great deal from small donations. The key of course, was getting lots of them!
NormanK & victoria…
Apologies for my incorrect recollection ….I must admit it was such a tame affair …that it left no lasting impression on me 😉
A couple of hours ago as part of an excellent post FedUp wrote “the PM does not appear to be a person who holds grudges.
I disagree. I believe that this strong, intelligent woman feels the hurt of all the lying shit thrown at her and all the betrayals of those who nominally are her supporters. That hurt is pushed aside as she continues her work for the ALP and for Australia but the hurt is there and deep, deep down are grudges that when the time comes will be well and truly be satisfied.
However for the present and perhaps for quite a long time to come, in the interests of the ALP.her Party and ours, the grudges will remain far below the surface. One day, in written or spoken memoirs she will let it be known exactly what she thinks of the Abbotts, the Bishops, the Pynes, the Rudds, the Fitzgibbons of the world and all of their ilk but not until the purging of the grudges can not hurt the Party.
Australia and the ALP are fortunate in having such a strong and resilient and sensible woman as our leader.
Catalyst,
Sweetie Pumpkin’ Pie NormanK was the first to come out with Porky Pyne, I believe. Complete with graphic! 😀
brianmcisme,
Hear! Hear!
A more selfless Prime Minister it would be hard to find in this day and age.
Just what Labor DIDN’T need. Shorten has caught Polls Disease:
TEN News Queensland @tennewsqld 24s
RT @Tencb: 5000 qld govt IT jobs under a cloud as @IanWalker_MP @theqldpremier move to outsource some services #qldpol
Bronwyn Hinz @BronwynHinz 47m
In case you missed it, Tasmania ‘ready to sign onto #Gonski” http://www.abc.net.au/news/2013-06-04/tasmania-ready-to-sign-onto-gonski-plan/4731376?section=tas …
All that IT and Public Service jobs are to the L/NP is Labor Voters. So get rid of them. I’m sure that’s how they think.
Lenore Taylor @lenoretaylor 4m
Doubts about convictions of Egyptian asylum seeker at heart of political storm http://gu.com/p/3gd6z/tw via @guardian
I reckon Q&A on Monday is going to be a cracker! As in, it will go off!
Mark Latham AND Craig Emerson. Oh, and someone called Malcolm Turnbull. Plus a sour-faced botch called Jennifer Hewitt. 😉
Doubts about convictions of Egyptian asylum seeker at heart of political storm http://gu.com/p/3gd6z/tw via @guardian
*cough*
How long ago did I point that out?
may be bill is saying welll is up you, no protest vote
get behind you pm and the party
reverse psychology
t comma day one