Identity politics has lost the plot with Bandt rant
HOW much of a tedious bore would you have to be to be triggered by a sweet expression of admiration for a long-term partner? We have an answer to that, writes Caroline Marcus.
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NOTHING better illustrates how joyless the Greens-voting, identity politics-obsessed crowd is than the recent reaction to Adam Bandt’s calling his wife “hot”.
The response to the social media post was so hysterical, you’d be forgiven for thinking the Greens MP had admitted to belting his spouse while simultaneously fat-shaming her.
“With hot wife at Bangarra’s opening night of ‘Dark Emu’,” Bandt captioned a photograph of the smiling couple on Thursday, along with a kiss emoticon.
Cue the faux-rage.
“Does your wife have a name?” one follower typed. “Is she only defined by her relationship to you and her perceived attractiveness? I thought we were better than this.”
“Poor judgment,” another raved. “Women in the public eye are sexually objectified enough and you are alienating your progressive support base by contributing to that …. Have a firm word with your social media adviser or hire one if you are in danger of misjudged Trumpish outbursts like this.”
Surely, if it were Trumpish, he’d be slobbering over another woman — likely a centrefold model he’d paid off — not his wife.
To Bandt’s credit, he didn’t buckle and remove the post, as politicians seem so wont to doing at the mildest whiff of an impending pile-on.
Even wife Claudia Perkins stepped in to back him.
“It’s OK everyone, I’m completely fine with this post! It was just a reference to how hot we are for each other even after 11 years together,” Perkins tapped out, accompanied by more emoticons.
It soon became hard to separate satire from the genuine as the replies to Perkins included accusations of “internalised misogyny” and “cisgender privilege”.
How much of a tedious bore would you have to be to be triggered by a sweet expression of admiration for a long-term partner?
Instead, these social justice warriors should be enraged by Bandt’s time-wasting, substance-less attacks on Peter Dutton over the au pair saga, his disgraceful accusations of Jim Molan as a war criminal and his desire to see our borders reopened to the detriment of both national security and the safety of refugees making the treacherous passage by sea.
In an age where one in three marriages end in divorce, usually after a period of 12 years, we should be celebrating the fact a couple have stayed committed to one another.
Personally, I’d be flattered if my husband took to social media to make a public declaration of love but like many Aussie blokes, he’s more likely to post about his footy team’s latest win.
Ah well.
Caroline Marcus is the host of Saturday Edition and Sunday Edition on Sky News.
@carolinemarcus