Nile tits off over Muslim sensibilities
Tuesday December 30th 2008, 7:52 pm

If you ever get to be a politician, you’ll find there’s more than a few paths to epic failure. Somewhere at the top of the list would have to be public hypocrisy and being self-serving to the point of corruption. The Right Rev Freddy Nile has pulled a few boners in his time (largely without help, I suspect), but this would have to be the mother of all his fuckups.

In the SMH today:

Topless ban to protect Muslims and Asians: Nile

Georgina Robinson
December 30, 2008 – 1:27PM

Conservative MP Fred Nile says he wants topless bathing banned in NSW to protect Sydney’s Muslim and Asian communities.

The Reverend Nile has rejected allegations that prudishness is behind a bill he has prepared to ban nudity, including topless sunbathing, on the state’s most popular beaches.

Australia’s reputation as a conservative but culturally inclusive sociery was at risk of erosion by more liberal overseas visitors, he said.

“Our beaches should be a place where no one is offended, whether it’s their religious or cultural views,” he said.

“If they’ve come from a Middle Eastern or Asian country where women never go topless – in fact they usually wear a lot of clothing – I think it’s important to respect all the different cultures that make up Australia.”[…]

But it was a very different sensibility being protected by The Rev in the SMH a year ago…

Nile party behind anti-Muslim school rally

Wendy Frew Urban Affairs Editor
December 22, 2007

THE Christian Democratic Party is behind a mysterious group called the Committee for Public Affairs Education that organised a large meeting this week to protest against a proposed 1200-student Muslim school in Camden.

In the guise of a local residents’ action group, the CDP organised the meeting, which has been accused of inflaming anti-Muslim feeling.

The CDP leader, the Reverend Fred Nile, and Robert Balzola, a Christian lawyer and lobbyist, were key speakers on the night.

Police had to calm about 100 people outside Camden Civic Centre who could not get into the packed hall, some of whom issued threats against people of Muslim heritage.

Mr Nile told the crowd he opposed the school because Islam opposed Christianity. […]

Well played, Rev. 🙄

It does disturb me that Freddo thinks our memories are so short. The Rev’s attempt to blame the sensibilities of Muslims for his complaint is a flat-out stand-up howler.

However, seeing as how the vast majority of Australians couldn’t give a shit about religion, about all Fred’s going to get out of this is a bit more laughter and derision than usual. Mind, if Amy Winehouse starts hanging out her baps at Bondi, my opinion might change… but regardless, free-range boobies will still roam Aussie beaches, no matter what Nile, Muslims or I might think.

-weez


6 Comments so far
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It’s Fred talking about what keeps on boobing his mind. Attention Fred, we don’t jerk off in public and neither should you.

Comment by Melchior 12.31.08 @ 6:14 pm

Next thing you know, Freddo will be prising babies off their mothers’ bosoms out of fear of those innately sexual breasts (in Freddo’s eyes) from corrupting the tykes. The Rev may or may not care whether the poor defenceless infants starve to death.

Why does Fred Nile hate children so much?

Oops… that was a Steven Conroy line… 😆

Comment by weez 12.31.08 @ 7:03 pm

What’s annoying me so much about this is the sheer volume of space that his bigoted voice is allowed, you know, the level of discursive power, because Australia is a much more religious country than Australia likes to admit to, and his voice does shape discourse at women’s expense.

It’s also disappointing that mainstream news media treats it as “funny” instead of calling it out as typical misogynistic all-women-are-jezebels-god-said-so hate speech.

Comment by Non-Smiler 01.01.09 @ 9:30 am

NS, I think you both overestimate the amount of religious influence in Aus and give The Rev a lot more credit than he’s due. This is why Freddo’s being largely laughed off.

If there’s any driving force behind misogyny in Australia, you CAN, as you note, pin it on the MSM, which run stories about Paris Hilton and chase her around with cameras, while noting in the same breath that Hilton is a manufactured celebrity with no talent or other cause for notoriety aside from some bad homemade porno vids. Mindless crap that sells advertising is the enemy.

Comment by weez 01.01.09 @ 11:20 am

Well statistically more Australians attend religious venues on weekends than sporting venues. I know we like to think of ourselves as heathens but we really are not, we just like to keep it very low key.
Then there is the solid anti-woman agenda that the Howard government had going, that was largely driven by catholics such as Costello and Abbott.
I made the mistake of laughing off Fred Nile years ago, decades really, then suddenly he’s a member of parliament.
Hitler too was once laughed off as a crazy bumpkin.
I’m not trying to minimise the MSM because they have a lot worse to answer for than the Paris Hilton stories, I just think the MSM, the State and organised religion are all pretty much in bed together.

Comment by Non-Smiler 01.02.09 @ 8:11 am

The last time I looked, Australia was a democracy and bathing topless is not a crime! If women wish to go topless, that is up to them. If it offends Muslims, let them go to another beach. When they came to this country, they were asked to embrace our lifestyle – if they do not wish to do so, they are free to return to their own country and culture. Remember, they begged us to let them in, we didn’t ask them to come! I’m sick to death of all this politically correct bullshit about offending this person or the other – GET OVER IT!!! This is a DEMOCRACY – get it? People are allowed to express their views, opinions (religious or otherwise) without the fear of reprisal. This is the reason they came here in the first place, isn’t it? Fred Nile is a right-wing zealot who switches sides only when he believes that in doing so he will gain tolerance of his own bigoted, mysoginistic views.

Comment by Katie 01.09.09 @ 10:01 am



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