Best and worst of your comments on news.com.au this week

The debate around Chinese swimmer Sun Yang went much further than whether Mack Horton’s podium protest was right or wrong.

Mack Horton’s decision not to stand alongside Sun Yang has been one of the biggest stories of the week.

News.com.au readers have, by and large, stood by the Australian swimming champion’s side, praising his protest as a quiet but powerful act against doping in sport.

Here’s a look back on what you had to say:

THE SUN YANG SCANDAL

When Australian swimming champion Mack Horton refused to stand on a podium alongside Sun Yang, to protest the Chinese swimmer’s previous positive drug findings, all hell broke loose on social media.

An onslaught of Sun enthusiasts that definitely weren’t Chinese spam bots targeted Horton’s old Instagram posts, calling him a “pathetic loser” and “disgusting”.

But many stood by Horton, with several news.com.au readers commending the protester’s “bravery”, likening Sun’s ilk to “school bullies”.

“It took a brave swimmer to teach China that you can’t get away with cheating and bullying to get what you want,” commented user Black Ice. “Wish others would take a leaf out of his book. But then, it’s all about money these days, isn’t it?”

Andrea made a similar point: “I totally support Horton and his quiet protest. Sun should never have been allowed to compete. His history makes the adage ‘innocent until proven guilty’ a mute point. FINA are a joke! China is a cheating country, no respect intended!”

But it also sparked a discussion about Australia’s own troubled history with doping in sport.

Commenter Maria described Horton’s supporters as “god damn hypocrites”, adding: “Look into your own backyard b4 u cast judgement”.

User TK wrote: “We seem to always have a holier than thou attitude in regard to doping in sport. It is always other countries, never Australia. We are too honest and pure to do anything like that.”

Even so, other news.com.au readers pointed out that Horton doesn’t choose his teammates, and that at the end of the day, he was the one in a race with Sun.

“It is hypocritical of Horton to target Sun with such gusto … but then stay quiet about his Australian teammates,” commented Stan.

Reader kevin hit back, arguing: “His teammates did not attack the drug testers with a hammer. Sun Yang did.”

It was a controversial moment, but most Australians appear to be on Mack Horton’s side.

THE MASTERCHEF FALLOUT

The fate of Channel 10’s MasterChef has been a major button-pusher this past week. Sh*t hit the fan, and then the fan just kept … well … spraying it everywhere.

First it was revealed George Calombaris’ company had underpaid his staff by $7.8 million, prompting calls for the MasterChef co-host to be sacked.

There was a distinct lack of sympathy for the multi-millionaire. A news.com.au poll of 8500 Australians conducted last week found 76 per cent of Australians believed Calombaris should be dropped from MasterChef over the incident.

But before that could happen, all three judges — Calombaris, Gary Mehigan and Matt Preston — simultaneously announced they were quitting the show over a pay dispute.

The irony was lost on approximately no one.

“People dream of being a chef and owning their own restaurant one day … George is no longer a role model of chefs/managers and should be removed from the TV screen immediately!” user Fair go wrote in news.com.au’s comment section.

“As if he didn’t know what he was doing, give me a break! Greed breeds greed!” added alsor.

In a rather brutal comparison, Just Saying likened Calombaris to one of the federal election’s biggest political failures: “George, you truly are the Clive Palmer of the hospitality industry!”

But maybe the surprise victim in all this was Gary Mehigan. “The irony of Calombaris going as a result of a pay dispute is poetic,” wrote AL11. “Pompous foodie Matt, fake George, and the other guy have all made a good living out of the dumbing-down of Australian TV.”

Imagine working at becoming a famous chef, amassing a combined social media following of over 500,000 people, and co-hosting two further television shows, only to be referred to as “the other guy”. Poor Gazz.

It’s been a big, terrible week for MasterChef.

THE GREAT ULURU DEBATE

The nation is still being plagued by this ongoing debate over whether people should be allowed to climb Uluru. Cheers Pauline.

We say plagued because as you scroll through the comments, things here get real weird, real fast.

Take, for example, Tanya, a news.com.au commenter who proclaimed she’d be “happy to sit in a prison” to defend her right to climb the rock. Hear that? Prison. Tanya is willing to be jailed over a giant collection of solidified mineral grains she no doubt visits once every 30 years. The Anangu people are allegedly quivering.

Another reader, rj, said it wasn’t fair because “Aboriginals … are really immigrants like all our descendants”. This commenter presumably wagged a lot during Year 8 history.

On a more serious note, a key issue readers frequently raised was the fate of Uluru’s tourism economy if visitors were banned from climbing.

“If I can’t climb it I have no need to go out there so I will spend my tourist money elsewhere,” threatened rs.

“Only us Aussies can carry on so much over a bloody rock...... They’ll lose heaps of tourists and money now. But I suppose our incompetent government will compensate them,” wrote troy.

Good news! We already have the stats on this. Parks Australia, the Canberra-run body responsible for the maintenance of Uluru, says the ban will not have a drastic impact on tourism numbers or the local economy.

The body said more than 395,000 people visited the Uluru-Kata National Park between June 2018 and June 2019 — about 20 per cent more than the previous year. Of them, just 13 per cent also climbed the rock.

Northern Territory Senator Malarndirri McCarthy also addressed the issue, saying “there will continue to be employment at the rock” and that ensuring the area’s economic future “has been a very methodical planned process for quite a number of years”.

Pauline Hanson has been very vocal against the Uluru climbing ban.

THE BRUTAL REALITY OF AGED CARE WORKERS

Lady Gaga once rightfully described social media as “the toilet of the internet”, namely due to all the negativity in comment sections.

But this story about Tahlia Stagg, a young woman who described the brutal daily workload she and her colleagues face in the aged care system, shows that people can be super generous giving credit where credit’s due.

Ms Stagg detailed her hectic workload, with intense nine-hour shifts that involve a series of involved tasks caring for the elderly, from cleaning their bedrooms and bathrooms to getting them washed, dressed and ready for meals.

“I fully respect those that choose to look after our elders,” commented news.com.au reader Jacko316. “They often don’t get the recognition they deserve.”

“Nothing put complete respect for the people of this profession, can’t be easy,” added dan.

Likewise, Terry@CBD said: “Hats off to anyone and everyone that works in a care role. You are truly are the unsung heroes of our society. No one recognises or remembers your efforts except for a brief few days. Thanks to all of you.”

Now it’s your turn. Keep the conversation going and comment below