905 Joyce and morality
It’s been a busy week for this
blogger (10 blogs! Don’t miss Babylon Berlin and
Seinfeld), but today - in view of the ever-present Me Too issue - I had to ask this question: Are we allowed to moralise around Barnaby Joyce? The answer is: Yes. And I'm not talking about him leaving his wife & children and getting with his lover.
This is the letter I wrote to the newspaper:
It’s reported that Joyce finally agreed
his position was untenable, after an allegation of a sexual assault was
levelled at him. What is the allegation? A few years back, at an awards
ceremony, a somewhat drunk Joyce pinched a female on the bottom! He
strenuously denies the allegation, as does the PM’s office. And this was
what finally brought the man undone?!
Note to all politicians, entertainers,
sports people, anyone in the public eye (anyone really): When confronted
with an allegation like that, there is one reasonable response available to
you: “I don’t remember the incident, but if it happened, I unreservedly
apologise. That sort of behaviour is utterly reprehensible and I do not condone
it under any circumstances, drunk or not.”
The other possible response, “It didn’t
happen, I will strenuously defend myself against the allegation” is just not
reasonable. It shows the defender as being morally lacking and, in the case of
a politician, lacking judgement and thus being unfit for any job.
Carsten Burmeister, Mosman