Ian, I agree with you that there is an inherent distrust and dislike of academics in Australia. The beauty of the Howard doctrine is though, that you don't have to be an academic to be an elite. All you have to do is to disagree with the Conservative Party of Australia's policies and Howard's opinions in particular. Now anyone can be an elite! It helps of course if you have morals, empathy and a sense of justice otherwise being an elite would be very difficult to pull off.
I wonder if Howard realises that by calling anyone who disagrees with him an elite, he is placing himself and his ideas in the inadequate category? It is only here that 'elites' are denigrated. Trudy Ian Henderson wrote: > > Laurie, > > When the message gets a bit to hot to handle of course you shoot the > messenger. This is Howard's policy. Note how those academics who support > Howard are worthy people whilst those who disagree with him are elites. > Just as with the underlying racism that exists in Australia, so there is > that underlying distrust of academics. Carolyn and myself, as academics and > therefore members of Howard's elites are constantly badgered about our > beliefs. This is not in the form of considered argument, but the constant > regurgitating of clichés that Howard et al use in their propaganda. After a > while one tends to get sick of such badgering and tends to snap. We have > recently had relatives from NZ staying with us and it was almost more than > we could stand. One of them is a frustrated writer---is not published > because not only is it bad logic but is unreadable---and this person when > Carolyn was awarded her doctorate wrote to and payed for a doctorate from a > Mickey Mouse university for a doctorate of his own to show that he was just > as good as her. Now he calls himself doctor and displays his 'accreditation' > suitably framed and displayed on his wall at home. They endeavoured every > which way to needled both Carolyn and myself, but we had agreed beforehand > to not argue in the interest of peace in our home. > > To me this is sick but is symptomatic of the attitude of people to academics > that achieve something and work hard for it. Granted, some disagree with my > ideas, but irrespective of who they are, at least I try to argue my cause, > not just accept what is served up to me by an extremely self-serving and in > my eyes amoral Government. > > Ian J. Henderson > Philosophy Department > Murdoch University > 24 Harfleur Place > Hamilton Hill > Western Australia 6163 > Email: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Tel: 61 8 9418 3792 > > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > --------------------------------------------------------------------- > RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at > http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/ until 11 March, 2001 and > Recoznettwo is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznettwo%40green.net.au/ >from > that date. > This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission >from the > copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under >the "fair > use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further >without > permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use." -- __________________________________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe, e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --------------------------------------------------------------------- RecOzNet2 has a page @ http://www.green.net.au/recoznet2 and is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznet2%40paradigm4.com.au/ until 11 March, 2001 and Recoznettwo is archived at http://www.mail-archive.com/recoznettwo%40green.net.au/ from that date. This posting is provided to the individual members of this group without permission from the copyright owner for purposes of criticism, comment, scholarship and research under the "fair use" provisions of the Federal copyright laws and it may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner, except for "fair use."
