Joh’s legacy
I’m fed up to the back teeth with people defending Joh Bjelke-Petersen by asking us to “sit down and look at the balance of the ledger”. That’s like looking at a wife-beater and saying, “Well, sure he knocked her around a bit, but you’ve got to remember — he put a roof over her head and food on the table, and he bought her some nice jewellery now and then. She just didn’t know what was good for her.”
He built roads!
Terry Lane interviewed Terry O’Gorman last Sunday afternoon on RN. His summary of Joh, was that he systematically removed civil liberties, operated a corrupt Government, and stayed in power through the magic of the gerrymander.
Gorman commented that Joh, far from being the idiot everyone assumed he was, actually was a cunning operator who used his disjointed and incoherent communications as a means to avoiding accountability.
When pressed for one good thing to say about Joh, he said he was unable to think of anything.
Having said that, he was loved by his family, and I do feel for them at this time.
Totally agree. Said as much at my place.
I didn’t want to say too much because I think I’d find it hard to maintain perspective, having grown up in political activism in the stifling atmosphere of Johburg and attended the SEQEB protests in 85 (and many others), and I’m not sure this is the right time. But he was an evil man.
Short, sharp, to the point. Best analysis of the whole fiasco yet written.
I’m South Australian. If our state politics over the past couple of decades weren’t enough, don’t ask me to understand Queensland’s. Condolences to his family. But no obit from me. He did not have my respect.
The man was an unrepentant tyrant. We shouldn’t have to mince words when ageing dictators finally pass away (okay, he was probably a fine “family man” and he made a few amusing gags by accident, that’s about as mincey as I’ll get) , so let’s not start with semi-dictators like Joh.
He was not a nice guy, his government was corrupt, he ran a police state that had no respect for the privacy of Queenslanders and he had contempt for electoral democracy.
Often, when discussing right wing assholes, I’ll say something like “at least there is satisfaction to be had in that X upset the sorts of people I like to upset”. You know, like Phillip Adams and Margo Kingston.
However, Bjelke-Petersen was a far more offensive character than useless pissants like Adams and Kingston could ever hope to be, and there is little “bright side” to the dark truth that he ruled Queensland like an oriental despot for some two decades.
Say Rob, “Fed up to the back teeth” was one of Pauline Hanson’s favourite sayings. And that previous sentence was a waste of precious bandwidth.
Hes a bit like Hitler (invokes Godwin’s Law), did a whole lot of good things for the country, state in Joh’s case, but was still an utter bastard.
What are the “whole lot” of good things Hitler did? The Autobahn, that’s one. VW, two. What else?
Good riddance to bad rubbish. I cannot write any more about Joh without resorting to a stream of invective. I am glad he is dead and I hope it was painful.
PS. I am sure he molested his family. He is scum.
Hitler loved his dog. You heathen!
Don’t you worry about that luvvies! You just worry about this here http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=3307
I guess for all Joh’s faults he wasn’t the sort of bloke to ‘hiss and yell’.
Perhaps, but I suspect that’s only because he’d be in jail if he spilled the beans.
“What are the “whole lotâ€? of good things Hitler did?”
Mostly to do with the economy. We all know his social policies were appaling.
Careful Nic — Hitler’s economy was powered by slave labour and the appropriation of resources that belonged to other people. If Howard locked Australia’s Jews and trade unionists in forced labour camps (arbeit macht frei!) and annexed New Zealand, we’d probably see a bump in GDP.
Hey Rob! Sounds like some bastards are coming over a bit market oriented with one of your sacred cows lately here at
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,15108867%255E2702,00.html
Whaddya reckon? ‘F—- them!’ eh mate? ;)
That’s like looking at a wife-beater and saying, “Well, sure he knocked her around a bit, but you’ve got to remember — he put a roof over her head and food on the table, and he bought her some nice jewellery now and then. She just didn’t know what was good for her.�
That’s the best expression of how I feel about Joh and his government I’ve read, or heard, yet. And it describes quite well Peter Beattie’s remarks on RN (Australia Talks Back). disgusting.
Good call, Robert.
Observa, when even Black Helicopter man Steve Edwards isn’t on your side on this one, you’re pretty much left wearing the tin-foil hat.
In place of a trackback.
link
Jason, I’m not defending Joh here and feel free to go poking maggotts all you like with the dead. I don’t support electoral gerrymanders, which is why I can admire a polly like Steele Hall. I don’t like crook businessmen, any more than I like crook politicians, although I’m aware of the need for pragmatic politics within a combative two party political oligopoly and a salivating attack dog media. As far as police and the law goes some of my views are expressed here at http://troppoarmadillo.ubersportingpundit.com/archives/009008.html Basically I like my coppers like Ray Whitrod, free of the extremes of interference by the Joh’s and the Dunstans. We do need to strike a proper balance with policing and soon.
The other link to public housing was referring to some problems I had with the way it had degenerated into a political football, which no longer served its consumers well. Perhaps like aboriginal affairs some are coming around to focussing on innovation and results rather than ideology.
Peter Beattie got a good stirring up for his kind words on Joh last night, at an ALP function, ha ha ha … oh, anyway. Joh’s memory will not be that positive, I do not think there is much cause for concern. The bible bashing bastard was… a bible bashing bastard.