Politics

Methinks ’tis time to update a ‘net classic

The world needs a social justice version of John Baez’ classic simple method for rating potentially revolutionary contributions to physics AKA The Crackpot Index, to rate our never-ending “feedback” from troglodytes of assorted stripes who are convinced that not only are we Doin It Rong but that we deserve to be threatened into silence for daring to have an opinion in the first place.

Friday Hoyden: Emily Davison

Three days ago marked 100 years since the day Emily Wilding Davison, carrying out a suffragist political protest, was trampled by racehorses at the Epsom Derby and later died. I always heard it told as “threw herself under the King’s horse”, but informed discussion around the incident suggests that I shouldn’t make such a simple, firm statement about what happened. What we must not forget is how brutal the response was to all forms of activism by women demanding something as basic as the vote.

Congratulations to Norrie!

In a landmark decision with major implications for thousands of intersex, androgynous and neuter people across the country, the court on Friday upheld an appeal by Sydney activist ‘Norrie’ against a decision by the Administrative Decisions Tribunal that people must be officially registered as ‘M’ or ‘F’.

Quote Of The Day: Consider A Birdcage

If you look very closely at just one wire in the cage, you cannot see the other wires. If your conception of what is before you is determined by this myopic focus, you could look at that one wire, up and down the length of it, and be unable to see why a bird would not just fly around the wire any time it wanted to go somewhere.