A Hard No To The Gong Show
Another of the great radicalising forces of my 80s childhood, She-Ra
Australian politics is a deeply biased self serving gong show at the best of times but last week the curtain got pulled all the way back by Brittany Higgins, a courageous young woman who will reshape our political landscape with her brave public recount of being raped at Parliament House.
More women are coming forward with their horrific experiences with the same man, unnamed and not yet arrested because our "justice" system protects perpetrators and their privacy more than victims. A horrifying bubble of misogyny and disparity in all our corridoors of power is showing itself. Again. They have tried everything to stop Brittany for two years, this system built to protect itself and the dinosaurs with dicks who were its architects and remain its profiteers, passing spoils down the line.
Enough. Of the relentless reveal of criminal behaviour without consequence. The constant horror of femicide. The damning statistics. The horrendous domestic violence problem and the coercive control that exists at every level of our society. It is exhausting and depressing and silencing. It is triggering and maddening.
I am fed up with the complicit silence of not.all.men who rush to defend... themselves. The men who still make sexist "jokes" wildly ignorant to their impact. Who take ongoing benefit from the bias inherent. The abusive and narcissistic. The toxic and tainted who pose as something else entirely, as they slither into DMs and beyond boundaries they never respected.
The problem lies statistically and morally with men, though far fewer seem invested in fixing it. What's in it for them when status bro tips the scales relentlessly in their favour. It is always framed as a problem for women, which it undeniably is. But the responsibility for rape lies with the rapist, for abuse lies with the abuser, for feigned ignorance lies with the rapid blinker.
Empathy and entitlement have an inverse relationship. Which side have you chosen, consciously or not? Who do you protect and what do you preserve? How is it demonstrated by your actions and behaviour?
Enact change by unspooling the patriarchy that lives within. This shadow is cultural and personal. Its revolutionary front pulses in you. Stare it down.
This blog and community remains a misogyny free zone with a longstanding zero tolerance policy. If you are wildly triggered by this post or stuck in the vile clutches of this horrifying reality, please seek support.
You are not alone.
In Australia call 1800-RESPECT or visit www.1800RESPECT.org.au
Words c. Kerrie Basha 2025