[Deleted. Still off topic and arguing about moderation on the forum.]

Give a little man lots of space and he'll behave like this all the time.Send him to the time-out room if he doesn't behave in future

socratease

The poster named Houellebecq talks so much uncommon sense! As WW3 brews, pathetic dumbed-down and over educated individuals wallowing in abundance and pumped-up self-righteousness complain about a lack of equality, sexism and racism. For god's sake, there is no equality in life, it is an illusion. We are born with our problems and handicaps, or gifts and those are the cards we have been dealt in a generally indifferent universe. Equality in mariage? What nonsense. Marriage is about biology and making babies, about protection of children. Not all are eligable for marriage, which is a "pair bond" that is common in physical chemistry. Homosexuals are no different that any person born with a "disorder". They must be treated with compassion but nature is cruel, and unfortunately they must adjust to the idea that nature as precluded them from being married. The word "husband" and the word "wife" have a meaning, but the word "marriage" has no meaning if homosexuals are permitted to be husband and wife under the law of the land.

More food for thought. What is our attitude to totally inappropriate and offensive comments coming from an individual diagnosed with Asperger syndrome? What is the point of self-righteously railing against these comments that may be seen as racist, sexist, homophobic, insulting, libellous, and extremely offensive? Do you want to call the police? Let's get real, and accept that in this case, the person cannot help himself or herself, and we can only react with tolerance and stoicism, not useless punishment that only reinforces the offending behavious. I learnt at primary school that "sticks and stones will break your bones, but words will never hurt you". In a Port Macquarie local court on December 1st, a young 18 year old disadvantaged and unemployed youth was fined $1000 for a one-line Facebook comment that was a gratuitious insult to a plain clothes police officer who swore at him for riding his skateboard without a helmet. Is this justice and enlightenment? Thousands of dollars of taxpayer's money was spent by solicitors, barrister, magistrate, police officers, in response to a one-line comment on Facebook by an angry and immature young man? What a perplexing society we have, where culture is so filled with paradox and in some cases absurdity.

On the subject of free speech, one of the things I appreciate most about OLO is it lets even the most marginalised commentators express (or not, as in shal's case) their views in as unhinged a manner as they see fit.

I absolutely agree with Helen in that what Senor Sandilands said about Alison Stephenson was totally out or order, and half of me wants to sentence the little twerp to perpetual maternity ward patrol - changing babies' nappies 18 hours a day for the rest of his useful working life, and giving him a nasty electric shock every time he dry-retches. But the other half of me wants to point out that through our permissiveness surrounding free speech we have pretty good mechanisms in place for ensuring people like him are held accountable for their actions. Whether he keeps his job or not, I'm sure this little incident has led to him being de-friended by everyone who really matters - and I take comfort in that thought.

But I'm glad he feels he has the right to say what he likes, because that's the best way to find out what sort of person he is - and his reactions to the criticisms he got certainly speaks volumes. And so it goes for OLO. Better to have the whole spectrum of views brought out into the open and scrutinised accordingly, because in the end it helps us all to better understand the human condition and to live a more sensitive, inclusive, educated life.

"Intimidation and threats on the basis of race or sex are offensive and no path to equality."

Yes, but neither is PC thought control of the media.

While KS was rude and offensive, he is still one of the most entertaining radio hosts. If the PC culture is allowed to thrive, anyone vaguely interesting will be pruned and we will be left with multiple versions of the ABC, which while thoughtful and informative is as exciting as a documentary.