Stan Gudgeon has trained his beady, jaundiced bunyip eye on leftie econo-blogger John Quiggin:
Being of the left, it goes without saying that John Quiggin is an enemy of pleasure — at least those that don’t involve curtailing the not-good-for-you joys of others.
The focus of the Bunyip ire is a supportive post by JQ about libertarian betes noires like speed cameras and high speeding fines (although JQ mounts an intriguing comment box argument that such measures don’t offend libertarian principles at all).
As a fully-paid and longstanding member of the post-moral hedonist majority, I can’t help observing a certain inconsistency between the Bunyip’s ostensibly libertarian stance on road rules and his recent disapproving post about Jim Cairns’ “cunt-struck” (if it’s good enough for Saint Gough it’s good enough for me) obsession with Junie Morosi. The censorious overtones of Howard-like moral conservatism are palpable. I suppose none of us can validly claim to have a completely logically consistent world view, but Professor Bunyip mostly strikes me as being much closer to an old-fashioned Howard conservative than any recognisable version of a “libertarian”. Alternatively, maybe he’s simply motivated by visceral dislike for anyone on the left, and dresses up his instinctive aversion with whatever rationalisation that seems to fit the sledge of the moment.
Alternatively, he’s just a hypocrite.
It is kind of amusing – in a sick way – observing the logical contortions of the high minded commentators on the Right. They don’t have double standards. It’s more triple backwards standards with a half pike and a twist.
I’ll re-read it but the first time through I did not pick up any censorious overtones at least in the moral sense. I sensed more a sorrowful albeit patronising dismissal of opportunities wasted. Maybe I was projecting my own views in general and on Cairns in particular onto the Bunyip post, but I have never sensed that the Bunyip was anything other than a social liberal.
Right and left always refer to each other as hypocrites so why waste time repeating it? For the most part, if we did not think those we disagreed with were hypocrites, we would not disagree.
James,
How about these lines?:
“… Cairns’ sudden desire to humiliate himself before the electorate (and his poor wife, Gwen) at the feet of Junie Morosi.”
“nor of her husband, David Ditchburn, who completed the happy trio. The door closed before we could ascertain their sleeping arrangements.”
“At the end, his tragedy was more than that of a middle-aged man who betrayed his wife and made himself a laughingstock.”
I’m in the fairly unique position of finding myself largely supportive of the Quiggin take on speed et al yet also strangely supportive of Professor Bunyip’s take on Cairns. Like James, I detected no whiff of moral censoriousness about sex therein, more a homilty about both the futility – and the inevitability – of sexual obsession in the aged. He was writing, of course, in an historical sense, as a young man. His point seemed to me to be more about his bewilderment at Cairns’ obdurate stupidity on this specific point rather than his moral reprehensibility.
Your clarifying points Ken don’t – at least from my perspective – alter that view.
Not sure I would go so far as to perceive the Bunyip as a social liberal however James, the Gianna baby episode springs to mind……anyway, that’s enough Bunyip boosting for one day….
Taken in the context of his attack on Gianna and Her Magic Baby[0], though, I think it’s fair to read something Bunyip says that COULD be moralising AS moralising, simply because last time (that we know of) that he made statements along a similar vein, that’s what he was getting at. Yeah.
[0] Yeah, I know Gianna explained that (and I know she didn’t need to). But one of the thrusts of Bunyip’s smear was that the child was apparently fatherless. Out of Gianna’s kid and Bunyip, though, I don’t think it’s the kid who has a better claim to being called “bastard”.
Have to say I didn’t find Bunyip’s comments particularly censorious. But perhaps this was because I’d just read PPMcG’s horrible spleen-filled diatribe. By comparison, Prof. Bunyip seemed quite kindly .
Have to say I didn’t find Bunyip’s comments particularly censorious. But perhaps this was because I’d just read PPMcG’s horrible spleen-filled diatribe. By comparison, Prof. Bunyip seemed quite kindly .
Paddy was honest I thought indeed I think it is probably the only decent thing he has written in quite some time.
I thought Moralisers were conservative christians like me rather than left wing secular humanists such as John. Has the Professor seen the light?
I’m a bit surprised so many readers don’t glean the same judgmental overtones I do from Bunyip’s post. What about inherently judgmental expressions like “humiliate”, “poor wife, Gwen” and “betrayed his wife”? How do we know the Morosi relationship involved betrayal in any sense? For all we know about Jim and Gwen’s relationship, she might have given him carte blanche to go and insert his flaccid member elsewhere and leave her in peace to curl up with a good book. It’s hardly an uncommon arrangement.
Calling someone a bastard because they disagreed with them is pretty censorious. Is there a consensus on that point?
“insert his flaccid member elsewhere”
Is that a trick Suzy taught you?
Dave – I think that’s a bit below the belt….
Dave,
Actually I haven’t needed to tackle that problem as yet, so I haven’t needed to seek anyone’s assistance. Nevertheless, the day can’t be far distant, and when it comes I know I’ll be able to count on you for expert advice from long years of experience.
Dave does raise an interesting point (groan) though, Ken.
What was the point of using the term “flaccid” when describing the in and outs of Dr Cairns’ relationship with Ms Morosi? I got the impression you were being a little censorious. It was an odd time to use parody. It seemed that you were denigrating tne relationship between the two. Unconsumated and therefore unimportant. The sentence begins with “For all we know” and the intended meaning was clear, nonetheless this lapse into censoriousness leaves your whole arguement rather impotent.
James,
I suggest the “flaccid” adjective was more flippant or dismissive of Cairns than censorious. Of course I have no inside knowledge of old Jim’s capabilities in that regard at any material time. But his reference to having a “kind of love” for Junie was interesting, and it’s certainly true that a high proportion of males in his age bracket suffer from erectile difficulties. But let’s not get too serious here. It was an essentially flippant and unthinking remark that seemed like a good idea at the time. It wasn’t, however, censorious.
To be perfectly honest, I don’t believe so-called Libertarians a la Gudgeon know what they’re on about insofar as their own beliefs go.
I like to watch.
Well that is one moral lapse you can’t have pinned on you, Niall.
“When complete ED [erectile dysfunction] is looked at–that is, the absolute inability to achieve penetration–5% of men at 40 years of age and 25% of men at 75 years of age suffer this degree of ED.”
[http://www.luhs.org/depts/urology/html/htopic14.htm]
ED is also associated with other diseases. Cairns was about 61 when the Morosi thing emerged and looked to be in good (lusty?) health. I was a teenager at the time but I thought his statement of “a kind of love” for Morosi was code. So Ken, perhaps you might have used the phrase “insert or not insert his flaccid, tumescent or tumid member” in future.
Then again, in keeping with the albeit apparently terminal convention of not speaking ill of the dead, perhaps you should imply that Cairns was at least 110% functional downstairs and was at it with JM like a box of rabbits.
(Declaration of interest: 47 yo male.)
I’m a bit surprised so many readers don’t glean the same judgmental overtones I do from Bunyip’s post.
If it’s any consolation, Ken, I got them as well.
I’m beginning to feel like an attendee at a Urology Conference………
Of course, we could discuss the effects of stress on impotence rates, and the possibly countervailing aphrodysiac effects of power (not that Cairns had any once he was sacked as Treasurer). But those might be subjects for another urology conference post.
A hard man is difficult to find, or so I’m told.
a hard man is good to find & a good man harder….(more difficult)
I knew it was something like that wen …
Hey, it’s like one of those fun IQ test questions, isn’t it?
If all good men are hard and all hard men are good, what sort of men are you likely to meet at a urology conference….?
Spectators, Wendy?
If by “urology conference” you mean this thread, I can assure you we’re all young, stunningly attractive and (for all you need to know) unattached. *ahem*
Jim: “Then again, in keeping with the albeit apparently terminal convention of not speaking ill of the dead.” That’s almost as bad as James’ puns earlier…
The Professor has been busy today, rising late to lead campus marches, chanting, and his fellow academics’ streat theatre choir to the tune of The Red Flag:
The wankers’ flag is deepest red,It flies aloft while we’re a’bedSleeping late in protest boldWhen He made us, it broke the mould
In any case, he asks me to point out that there is no inconsistency in a libertarian position and any of the views he has expressed about speed cameras, Giana’s baby and Jim Cairns’ follies.
Giana is free to have a baby; she should simply foot the bill herself, rather than operate on the assumption that taxpayers have an obligation — indeed, an eagerness — to underwrite her adventure in single motherhood.
Jim Cairns was free to conduct himself like a besotted teenager; his admirers deluded themselves, however, in imagining that the consequence of that indulgence would have been anything other than an invitation to reflect on his poor judgement.
State governments are free to monitor the highway habits of their citizens in the name of safety; they are not — or should not — be able to use safety as an excuse for a massive shakedown that erodes respect for the police and calls into question the chief qualification of any government: its purported integrity.
As for Gwen Cairns, if one decides to humiliate one’s wife, that is a personal decision. Speaking as a spouse of long standing (and suffering), the Professor believes a vow is a binding contract, even though, in his case, it subjects him to regular contact with Mrs. Bunyip’s family and the expense of supporting the product the marital union, who plays rap music far too loud.
He hopes this note clears up any confusion, and intends to be back at the lectern in the near future.
I see the Secretary is putting in some hefty overtime.
Professors at Sydney Orr U have secretaries?! Looxury!
BTW I also can’t help observing that some of the Prof’s descriptions of Mrs Bunyip are so disparaging that she’d almost certainly feel humiliated if she read them, and if the Prof wasn’t using a pseudonym. Since the chances that the Bunyip will one day be decisively unmasked are very high, we might one day be in a position to measure the comparative spousal humiliation index.
Indeed the day may come when a Bunyip’s ghost will be heard as we pass by the billabong, whimpering plaintively “Now put down that carving knife, my little poppet. I was only joking about ‘moaning and thrashing in the adjoining room’. Surely the luvvies down at the bridge club have a sense of humour? Don’t they? Aaaaagh!” It would lend a whole new meaning to the expression Right Wing Death Beast.
The Soviet Republic of Sydney Orr
This age makes me so sick that sometimes I am almost impelled to stop at a corner and start calling down curses from Heaven.
George Orwell, letter to Brenda Salkeld, 1934
Oh the unwarranted assumptions you make, Ken. First that the Professor is a man, that he is in fact married and that there is in fact a Mrs Bunyip and that he’s any more likely to be unmasked as other anonymous cowards in the blogosphere such as Strawman, 24601, Gummo Trotsky, Bargarz, EvilPundit et al et al. I excuse Yobbo because we at least know his real name. I’m not sure about Dave Ricardo. I suspect he’s even worse – using a likely sounding real name as a pseudonym.
I’ve never understood why we get so hung up over pseudonyms, we all know who the Professor is and I’m sure those others you mentioned would identify themselves if asked. Does it matter?
BTW Where was PMGs article on Jim Cairns published? I’d like to read it.
BTW2 thinking of Paddy McGuinness made me recall another Paddy, the late Paddy O’Brien – a lecturer/essayist from Western Australia. Now there is a person born to blog who left us before blogging was possible.
James – PMG piece is here: http://www.smh.com.au/text/articles/2003/10/13/1065917344008.htm
The trouble is, James, that what you “know” possibly isn’t so. Imre is constantly mentioned, but while he hasn’t publicly denied it (surely he’s aware of the guessing game as he’s an associate of Tim Blair who started the whole thing off) his non-denial this seems to be taken as affirmation by inhabitants of the blogosphere that he is indeed the Professor. He (Imre that is) may just be enjoying the game.
Call it a hang-up if you like, James, but a pseudonym is unsatisfactory because it just seems so impersonal.
Ironically, the Australian Libertarian Society website has a good sense of humour about this phenomenon, with five of its bloggers or guest bloggers sporting pseudonyms, but it defaults the Name box in its comments input with “anonymous coward”, which you overwrite with your own handle.
Ron, Jason Soon made the same accusation once. I’ll repeat what I explained to him. It’s my real name. Someone even posted a picture of another Dave Ricardo and wondered if it was me. It wasn’t.
How do we know Ron Mead is your real name?
Ron, Jason Soon made the same accusation once. I’ll repeat what I explained to him. It’s my real name. Someone even posted a picture of another Dave Ricardo and wondered if it was me. It wasn’t.
How do we know Ron Mead is your real name?
Trust me, Dave.
My name really is Tony.T.Teacher!
I have met some one who purported to be Ron Mead but he came to Darwin in a tourist bus that was wrecked on it’s next journey, so perhaps it wasn’t really Ron at all; and Ron, you told us you were a retired accountant, here at TA we only trust lawyers!
Good memory about the name of the tour group I was on, Woodsy. I only found out about the accident recently when one of our co-tourists rang me. I felt sorry for Peter Reid, who in our experience was a pretty good driver. Do you have any follow up news locally on the aftermath, Wayne, such as were there any charges etc relating to the fatality?
Trust in lawyers? Surely that’s taking religious belief too far!
Trouble with pronouns
Stanley Gudgeon, aka Professor Bunyip, aka Imre writesBeing of the left, it goes without saying that John Quiggin is an enemy of pleasure — at least those that don’t involve curtailing the not-good-for-you joys of others. (Link via Ken Parish…
Trouble with pronouns
Stanley Gudgeon, aka Professor Bunyip, aka Imre writesBeing of the left, it goes without saying that John Quiggin is an enemy of pleasure — at least those that don’t involve curtailing the not-good-for-you joys of others. (Link via Ken Parish…
Speed cameras
I HAD put together a witty and entertaining post on speed cameras in response to the flapping between Professors Quiggin and Bunyip (with Ken Parish chief pot-stirrer) but I lost it. So here’s the short version, lest I end up lumped in with John Quiggi…
Speed cameras
I HAD put together a witty and entertaining post on speed cameras in response to the flapping between Professors Quiggin and Bunyip (with Ken Parish chief pot-stirrer) but I lost it. So here’s the short version, lest I end up lumped in with John Quiggi…