The Sydney Morning Herald
Letters (extract)
Hound me not
In his book Among The Barbarians, Paul Sheehan characterises the
Australian spirit by quoting a sheepdog trainer whose charge has just
won a competition, despite having bitten a charging sheep. "An
Australian dog," he says, " is allowed to stand up for itself."
In Wednesday's Herald ("Insults and intolerance the latest tool in the
civil rights fight"), Sheehan finished his rambling spray against my
Little Johnny song I'm Sorry by calling me an "insult hound" in pursuit
of the "fox" Howard.
So why has Howard metamorphosed from sheep to fox?
Running away?
Until we have a leader who can begin to explain that a national apology
is not a matter of personal guilt, but rather the starting point for a
collective healing among black and white alike, then the polls that
Sheehan quotes will continue to reflect Howard's knee-jerk personal
reaction to the thorough research and documentation of the "Bringing
Them Home" report.
Sheehan fears that my three-minute pop song will "spread the message
that Australia is led by a racist, misogynist, homophobic man".
One can only hope.
As a gay man, I am constantly aware of Howard's use of his power to
curtail my basic rights, yet I answer back merely with satirical
bite. Sheehan's sheepdog trainer would approve. Woof.
Simon Hunt,
Surry Hills, August 10.
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