Category: Discrimination
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Empty-Nesting: You Know When It Is Time…
Photo by Mantas Hesthaven on Unsplash The old man and I became empty-nesters this week. Kurt has left the building. I swear he wasn’t pushed. We view our negotiations as closer to a manipulation that made sense – primarily, for him. Not once did we bring up the subject of our sanity in the conversation.…
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It Must Suck To Be A Vegetarian At Christmas
I never thought I’d say this, but for once I find myself in total agreement with my father’s view that political correctness has gone mad. According to The Independent newspaper in the UK, a researcher has proposed that idioms such as “bringing home the bacon” and “flogging a dead horse” should be removed from the…
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It’s OK To Be White AND A Man, Just Don’t Abuse The Privilege
Photo by Nick Fewings on Unsplash Evidently, certain people have a chip on their shoulder about the terrible onus of having white skin. I agree that it is terrible to be discriminated and victimized for your race and gender, and Pauline Hanson’s motion in the Senate last week reminded me of the backlash that has risen amongst…
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The Secret To Growth Is Curiosity
I heard the word “curiosity” mentioned in two different contexts last week. The first time was at Clementine Ford’s book launch in Sydney, for her new book “Boys Will Be Boys;” and the second was in an article in The Guardian by Celia Dodd here, about retirement. Inevitably, “retirement” is somewhat of a buzzword in my…
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And The Progress Prize For Best Father This Father’s Day Goes To…
I’d like to say an early “Happy Fathers Day” to all those men for whom fatherhood hasn’t been quite what they expected, perhaps due to their own issues, the pressures of “toxic masculinity”, or perhaps because, (as in the old man’s case), they produced a square peg. First of all, I should probably justify my…
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What Are We Teaching Our Children?
Change scares people, and none more so than older people. I can personally vouch for the fact that many of us seek comfort in our dotage. Comfortable sofas, with just the right amount of back support; comfort food; comfortable clothing, and comfortable, flat shoes. We like what we know and we know what we like…
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Make A Proper Apology, Trevor, And Learn From This Experience
Portrait of an Aboriginal woman in western dress. Part of the Walter Herbert Bradshaw collection in the exhibition Unruly Days: Territory Life 1911-1921, Museum and Art Gallery of the NT, Northern Territory. Michael J Barritt on Flickr. There is no doubt that the derogatory comment Trevor Noah made five years ago about Aboriginal women was…
LOUISA SIMMONDS 