‘Woke’ didn’t make Triple M’s Marty Sheargold go on sexist Matildas rant | David Penberthy

Being sacked as a boor who disgraced your boss has been around a lot longer than “woke”, writes David Penberthy.

It’s become a refrain for the modern era – the assertion that in this age of political correctness “you can’t say nuthin no more”.

And it’s been put by more than a few people over the past few days after Marty Sheargold was given his marching orders from the Triple M radio network.

It’s kind of true. Sometimes it feels like you can’t say nuthin no more.

But it’s also total garbage, in that it serves as an excuse for conduct and comments which have nothing to do with the rise of “woke”, but are simply the result of mainstream standards of decency being brought to bear.

There is no doubt that “woke” exists.

The world is now home to a small army of left-wing worrywarts who occupy their time seeking offence in everything.

In book publishing, they now employ sensitivity readers to make sure every depiction in children’s literature ticks the right boxes of race, colour, religion, gender equity and sexual identity.

Marty Sheargold hosts Triple M breakfast (Pic March 2023) Picture: Supplied/Triple M

A number of Dr Seuss books are now out of publication, their quaint 1950s depictions of some nationalities no longer seen as merely the product of the times, but a form of unbridled hatefulness with no place in the modern world.

Universities have given us the concept of “micro-aggressions” where a simple and curious question asking someone about their background can be construed as a form of racial profiling.

It’s a handy invention where the self-obsessed can find grievance in what was once a polite and friendly form of human interaction.

Multiple comic routines and television shows now find themselves the subject of revisionist assessment, set against the modern-day strictures of PC.

And not that any fun-loving Mexicans would care but modern day trendies fret about people wearing sombreros for Cinco De Mayo, labelling it “cultural appropriation”.

So “woke” does exist.

But so to does something that’s been around for a really long time.

Making a total bloody pig of yourself.

Being boorish. Being hateful. Being a card-carrying idiot who’s upset a whole heap of innocent and undeserving people.

Being such an embarrassment to your employer that they rightly terminate your contract, in the accurate knowledge there is no audience for the s**t you’re shovelling, and no advertiser which would sully its brand by being associated with your program.

Claiming to be a victim of “woke” has become a refuge for people who quite simply are tasteless and don’t understand or care about the genuine offence they’ve caused.

Former footy show host Sam Newman poses with notorious neo-Nazis Blair Cottrell and Thomas Sewell after a controversial podcast. Picture: X

Take poor old Sam Newman.

Sam for a long time was a funny bloke on the TV every Thursday night during the footy season.

In its earlier incarnation I watched and enjoyed The Footy Show, back when it was hosted by Eddie McGuire with Trevor Marmalade behind the bar and Sam on the panel.

There was an edginess to it which made it appealing.

It was a refreshing change from all the other po-faced football shows which treated sport with the same tedious seriousness with which the ABC treats elections.

Fast forward to 2025 and here’s poor old Sam doing some podcast in his spare room where he’s interviewing neo-Nazis.

I have heard the “you can’t say nuthin no more” brigade proffer that defence on behalf of Newman after his recent podcast outrage.

It’s rubbish.

There is nothing “woke” about condemning or shunning Newman over that recent interview.

There has always been a line which people should not cross.

You can argue the toss as to where the line should be placed.

It is definitely placed on the other side of platforming deranged, hateful people who think the Holocaust either didn’t happen, or that if it did, the Jews had it coming anyway.

Marty Sheargold is not a victim of “woke”. His demise does not prove the maxim that you can’t say nuthin no more.

Indeed, the fact he did say what he said shows you can still say all sorts of things.

But if those things are truly repellent, as the things he said were, they will come at a personal cost.

Not because there’s some vast PC conspiracy where the faceless feminazis will run you out of town.

But because most people know hateful garbage when they hear it, and will shun you and your program accordingly.

The decision of Southern Cross Austereo is a wholly defensible business decision by an organisation smart enough to identify a risk to its reputation and to act swiftly to defuse it.

Woke is real and the fact it’s real is one of the key reasons Donald Trump returned as president. People like the idea the shackles are off and you can speak your mind more freely.

But there’s a point at which bluntness descends into boorishness.

One of the downsides of Trump’s return is seeing his more moronic and bigoted supporters treating his victory as a signal they can now do and say anything.

I saw some repellent tweets after his victory where people using their real names, professions and with a stated allegiance to the Republican Party were boasting they now used the n-word in front of their kids, and believed every American had the right to do so under the First Amendment.

This isn’t a response to woke; it’s just confirmation they’re complete scumbags.

The likes of Newman and Sheargold aren’t victims. They’re a reminder the only thing worse than “woke” is the idea you can act like a pig, or give a platform to people who are genuinely repellent, then claim to be a victim when you get smashed in the court of public opinion.

Woke might be a new thing but good taste has always been with us, and there’s nothing woke about that.

Originally published as ‘Woke’ didn’t make Triple M’s Marty Sheargold go on sexist Matildas rant | David Penberthy