A supporting reaction to this article: http://iainhall.wordpress.com/2010/11/03/ethicist-finds-that-leftists-are-bigoted-and-morally-bankrupt/

[Deleted for abuse.]

Mirko, we have never met, so I can't say whether I like you or not.

It's your arguments, riddled with self-righteous twaddle and superficial argument that I find wanting. But that's not to say I wouldn't find you likable, on meeting.

I wonder how many of Australia's left would even bother reading your essay, hanging as it does from a single thread of a foolish act by an angry young man (who should have thrown pink bunny slippers with floppy ears, because they are more colourful and less likely to harm if on target, and in my opinion would have better highlighted the moment); would have read this far, to reach your very silly and typically uninsightful statement:

"There are still some important social justice battles to be won. Nearly all of them are overseas, especially world hunger and animal suffering. Paradoxically, the abundant middle-class society which the left were integral in forging militates against them getting out of their comfort zone to connect with the defining moral issues of our time."

Since I have read it, could you kindly do me the service if identifying the important social justice battles you say are yet to be won, here in Australia?

PS No rabbit was harmed in writing this post

Hahah :) amazing stuff.

THE LEFT.
It turns out that the supposedly warm and fuzzy left are anything but that. Intoxicated by self-righteous irrelevance they've developed an addiction to anger pills and suffer from a hyperventilation disorder.

Gee..that's such a surprise :)

then...

numerous demands to my employers to sack me for saying what I think and even the occasional demonstration by some time-rich, agenda-poor anti-moralisers who are defeated by the practical ramifications of the concept of free speech.

Oh I love that... (been there..experienced it)

Mirko is of course way off track in his sympathy for Muslims in that he does not differentiate between intolerance of Islamic INtolerance and simple generalized intolerance of 'the other'.

Mirko needs to do some more research on that area.

THE RIGHT
The right don't have any more smarts than their opponents but - mothers take note - are certainly nicer. They rarely throw hissy fits and seem to have a deficient vocabulary when it comes to name calling. Some even show embryonic signs of a sense of humour.

*big smile* for Marco.

PS...those left wing 'hissy fits' can be quite a spectacle..I'm determined to video some soon.

Mirko, interesting but you really should have gone a little further in finding the reason for your observed truth.

It really is quite simple old mate.

The home of the left has moved from those radical unions, the members of which were too busy, & probably too disinterested in folk like you, to rush into print.

Yes the home of the left is now in academia. It is only in our temples of so called higher education that you will find great herds of lefties grazing. The pickings are so rich in these temples, that just a couple of hours grazing will give sustenance for many days.

Thus the members of these herds have the time to read your discourse, stew on your suggestions, & reply with their well stewed venom.

The answer is to give these people something more useful to fill their time.

Firstly we could require a full 15 hours academic work per week, 48 weeks each & every year.

Secondly they should be required to spend 20 hours each week etc, with pick & shovel, working on the road. They would now all be able to work out their frustrations on something solid, rather than a key board, & actually claim to have done something useful with their lives. It should also give them a better perspective on real life, on which to base their philosophe.

As this is unlikely to happen before the revolution, I’m afraid you will have to get used to those nasty rants

Mirko, was your article an attempt at distraction? The SHOES were thrown at A WAR CRIMINAL.

Did you write any articles when John Howard sent WAR PLANES and SOLDIERS to bomb and invade other countries?

I think what Mirko is saying is that it is far ruder to throw missiles at politicians out of indignation than it is to drop them on the homes of innocents in foreign countries.

The Howard haters in this thread have proven Mirko's point.

Howard is not a bad person because he joined and supported a war which the Australian left disagreed with and continues to disagree with.

If you disagree with Howard, you are more than welcome to say so. But when you cite the Iraq war as a justification for throwing shoes at the ex-PM you are showing your lack of civility and only discrediting yourself.

If you really believe you are right, then try to engage in rational discussion with those you disagree with in order to understand their viewpoint and test your own. That's a far better approach than throwing shoes at your opponent or spewing out vitriol.

"Before I disclose my data nailing the left..."
-Mirko

Speaking as a student of science, I feel it is incumbent upon me to point out that data is not the plural of anecdote.

"Most of my writing is informed by one underlying principle. It's called utilitarianism....I also oppose euthanasia, abortion."
-Mirko

Clearly not the utilitarianism that I'm familiar with, that of Mill & Bentham. For I am also largely utilitarianist, and it leads me to support abortion and euthanasia.

"Mirko, was your article an attempt at distraction? The SHOES were thrown at A WAR CRIMINAL.

Did you write any articles when John Howard sent WAR PLANES and SOLDIERS to bomb and invade other countries?"

So when do we get shoes thrown at Bob Hawke, (Gulf War I), Kevin Rudd (GWII and Afghanistan Supporter), Julia Gillard (GWII and Afghanistan Supporter)

Or is it only John Howard who qualifies in your mind as a WAR CRIMINAL, why is that? Besides blind hatered of conservatives that is.

When did the ICC determine John Howard was a war criminal, or is that just your opinion?

I don't completely agree with Mirko, or disagree completely, but clearly some people feel there is a need for abuse and calls for censorship, when disagreeing with an opinion.

Dear Mirko,

that was an interesting blend of flighty, self-promoting declamation. I have to wonder if you've ever come up with anything useful or noteworthy in your impressive oeuvre, because I've never heard of you? So I'm one from the left you haven't provoked. Indeed if this groundless tirade is anything to go by I wonder if your claims add up; that your "data" "nails" the Left. To begin with, despite your piebald politics I would put you firmly in the conservative camp, which would explain your assertion that leftist rants far outnumber "polite" dissent from the "certainly nicer" right. This doesn't tally with Phillip Adams's legendary accounts of his hate-mail from the right, who apparently unable to couch their contempt sufficiently in profanities, are wont to post him the occasional turd as well. How many turds have you received from the left to date? Now that would be far more tangible data.

As for the content of your article, there are some things I agree with: it's true that the left has been rebelling without a cause (a reform agenda degenerated into PC), and I also believe in animal rights. But utilitarianism is a form of bureaucracy that promotes a dehumanisingly homogeneous existence, and in any case in practice is a vicious nationalism that cares nothing for human rights outside its boarders.

It's about time the Left did "see the light", that the only worthwhile "cause" is to overthrow this rotten system (how you can reconcile it with animal rights is beyond me). The fact that so many people are rebellious and depressed, even within our boarders, is a pretty good indication for mine that life is not what it should be---that is that humanity is demeaned qua its potential.

So what makes you think you've seen the light?

It is SO sad that you seem to think that to find social justice battles you must look overseas. Australia has the worst disability support system in the developed world - almost devoid of support at all. Just think of all those young parents who cannot get essential therapies and early intervention for their kids, people who wait so long for wheelchairs that they've outgrown them when they arrive and all those elderly parents who have cared for a lifetime and still have nowhere for their son or daughter to go. This is not a lucky country if you're disabled or if you have a disabled family member - no human flourishing here. The need for disability reform and the proposed National Disability Insurance Fund has been the No 1 Campaign suggestion on the Get Up site. But it's not sexy or attractive enough for them, either. Remember, one day it could be you or it could be yours.

A brief search found a number of references to work Mirko has done questioning the legality of certain wars. I didn't find a piece specifically condemning Howard for his role in those wars but it's clear that Mirko has not ignored the issues around the legality of the wars.

Is throwing an object at someone considered a legitimate protest? If someone threw their shoes at their ex but did not hit them would that be considered a legitimate expression of their disgust?

I suspect that it could generally be considered an assault. If so then is it a vigilante action? Is it Ok for those who believe someone else has done wrong (but who poses no immediate threat) to take the law into their own hands?

R0bert

An interesting Article,Mirko, I hope that your job is safe.

Your mention of the ABC made me smile.

Had you tried to publish this artice on an ABC Site the "unbiased" Moderator would have blue pencilled it out of existance.

Dear Mirko,
I have an interesting old British book in which you might be interested. It is titled "Manners and Rules of Good Society". The author is not referred to by name, but only as "a member of the aristocracy". It is a very "nice" book.
It gives expert advice about the courtesy and deference required in "good society", and was written early last century while the British were still stomping around India and other colonies.
From a modern standpoint, it is a hilarious read, and has about as much pertinence to the reality of ordinary human interaction as does your article's assumption that good behaviour is only to be found in those of a certain political persuasion.

Mirko,you DESERVE A SHOE THROWN AT YOU,PAL. What makes you think that miserable, unwashed,pathetic specimen of something barely human belongs to the left? Does anyone really know from where it crawled out to throw his shoe?

socratease

"rebellions without causes can be nothing other than character destroying?

But James Dean got Natalie Wood. That's something.

Crickey, there really still is a lot of stupidity on the loose out there.. I always believed wars are started as a retaliation to stupidity but lately it seems they just opened a Pandora's box of closet idiots.

[Deleted for flaming.]

Apologies I only meant to use the term 'idiot' in reference to the shoe thrower not the author.

Who is this 'Left' and 'Right' that the author is referring to? He seems to divide the world into two opposing parts in a crude, binary fashion, painting himself as some kind of detached, benevolent observer of those two imaginary 'sides'.

This arbitrary division of all political positions into either a 'Left' camp or a 'Right' camp seems painfully simplistic, pointless and counterproductive. Does conjuring up a vague, amorphous entity and then duelling with it really constitute a valuable, rational argument? Can anyone seriously describe this article as anything but such a duel?

For the truth, the truth and nothing but the truth re the legacy that the war criminal Howard helped bequeath the people of Iraq why not check out Erasing Iraq:The Human Cost of Carnage at:

http://erasingiraq.com

Although the first war against Iraq was essentially a beat-up based on lies, it was done on a legal basis according to the norms of international law.

By contrast Johnnies war was entirely illegal. He is therefore technically and legally a war criminal.

The left could well be a mirage Mirko, don’t be fooled!

For OpEdNews: Chris Hedges - Writer
From Truthdig

The American left is a phantom. It is conjured up by the right wing to tag Barack Obama as a socialist and used by the liberal class to justify its complacency and lethargy. It diverts attention from corporate power. It perpetuates the myth of a democratic system that is influenced by the votes of citizens, political platforms and the work of legislators. It keeps the world neatly divided into a left and a right. The phantom left functions as a convenient scapegoat. The right wing blames it for moral degeneration and fiscal chaos. The liberal class uses it to call for "moderation." And while we waste our time talking nonsense, the engines of corporate power--masked, ruthless and unexamined--happily devour the state.

I repeat my earlier point about the Howard haters in this thread proving Mirko correct.

socratease said that "What makes you think that miserable, unwashed,pathetic specimen of something barely human belongs to the left? Does anyone really know from where it crawled out to throw his shoe?".

There is no doubt the shoe-thrower is left-wing, as Andrew Bolt has demonstrated: http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/the_uniform_activist_down_to_his_clown_shoes/

http://blogs.news.com.au/heraldsun/andrewbolt/index.php/heraldsun/comments/column_the_shoes_of_a_clown/

AJFA the posts below the piece by Andrew Bolt don't exactly help Mirko's case though.

R0bert

The author makes some pretty vitriolic statements about the Left based on one act by a shoe throwing activist. I am surprised the article was approved given the personal attacks on people who do not share the author's right wing agenda.

Raising the self-righteousness of the Left without acknowledging the same of the Right is self-serving and dishonest. Just look at the latest trends and self righteousness in the rhetoric of the Tea Party movement. To ignore the real threats that this movement poses to democracy, fairness and egalitarian society is one-eyed and dangerous. Palin made a comment recently about the Conservatives "taking back their Government" as if the Right assumes ownership of government when government is for the people, not any one group with only corporate interests at heart.

The author need hold no fear about the Left in Australia - it is non-existent and there is not much to distinguish between the Coalition and the ALP on most fronts. This fear-mongering trend is concerning in only that it pushes the agenda further to the Right than is desirable while fighting off imaginary enemies of the Left.

Ho Hum

The new left:-

Realizes the futility of open protest and social anarchy ; the lessons learned by the left in Vietnam were simply that wars are stopped from within the ranks of those on the front line in the armed forces. Protest was not the catalyst to caseation of war in Vietnam, mutiny was.

The problem we in Australia have is the foolish and slavish following of traditions by military personnel to false notions of Nationalism based on a belief in the fantasy of the ANZAC’s.

The answer from the right to this weakness is the raising of private armies.

AJFA,

We all know what the shoe throwing symbolised - disgust and contempt at Howard's role as a minion of the U.S. neocons that cooked up the platform for the invasion of Iraq.
It's not a matter of "hating" Howard. It's a matter of having our stomachs turned by the sheer lack of foresight and wisdom - and by the sycophantic display of servile flattery regularly acted out by him during his fawning contacts with the Bush Administration.

Poirot

Put simply;

Howard was the “Puppet Dictator of the Puppet State”

I'm a proud supporter of the left and I firmly believe this author has no idea what he's talking about. He is arrogant, ignorant and totally uneducated. Such people should not be allowed to voice their views. He should probably be locked up.

ozzie, haha, that's hilarious.

I'm sure you don't mean that anyone who disagrees with the left, should be locked up, do you?

Ozzie,

When you write, 'this author has no idea what he's talking about. He is arrogant, ignorant and totally uneducated. Such people should not be allowed to voice their views. He should probably be locked up', are you seriously suggesting that people with views other than your own should not be allowed to express them, and should be jailed if they do ?

Some of us very old Lefties would find that attitude appalling, on many grounds:

* who is presuming to oversee which views are permissible, and which views should be silenced, either by threat or direct repression ?

* surely even you can imagine if the shoe was on the other foot, as it were: what would happen to the Left ? Wouldn't such threats act to terrorise people into silence ? Wouldn't that be the point of threatening imprisonment (and what else, for worse 'crimes' ?

* surely a more involved society presupposes a freer flow of ideas, outrageous, hum-drum, stupid, incisive, and active discussion and passionate disagreements ?

I guess the tendency towards stalinist repression amongst what passes for the Left is constantly, spontaneously, evolving, thrown up by a daily sense of ineffectuality, incoherence and disengagement from the real world. Meanwhile, in other parts of the world, people ARE being imprisoned for expressing their views: even Ozzie has probably heard of cases.

Joe

Mirko, I agree, "I cant say to much" Oh, but then the left have now lost their shoes and want, demand, that the state must replace them, always at the taxpayers expense, and they don't think these prescriptive outlays will effect interest rates, as they are lost, in their labor party spin and whitewash, a no problem green nirvana state of mind, producing nothingness, just a mess, at some others expense, what hypocrisy, but what’s new, the left always thought it would be a free ride, just look at the greens bob brown and his labor labouring mates.

Did the ABC drive the thrower home and supply him with a new pair of pumps?