1 – 3 days before Matthews wrote that article, this is what he was saying to me on Twitter…
…proof that one persons privilege is another persons abuse.
2 – Matthews sent that tweet in response to me having a go at one of the worst offenders of the Capital Clique. Ruminator (David Cormack) used to troll me week in and week out. Cormack even threatened to release personal information about me online (I still don’t know what he was talking about) but now he has a job with the Greens and all of a sudden he wants to be friends.
Hilarious.
David sums up the reason why this Wellington Twitterati are so counter productive. Most of them have roles in or are affiliated with Wellington Labour, Wellington Greens or have roles within most of the Unions in Wellington. They’ve managed to generate more spite and conflict between the left than Marx and Trotsky ever did.
3 – The third thing that is hilarious about Matthews article is that everyone in the NZ twittersphere know exactly who he is talking about. It led to some interesting exchanges on Twitter last night when Russell Brown pointed out the awful occurrence of the Twitterati ripping into a young woman who was bullied into a suicide attempt. The double standards of this group are truly staggering. There are amongst its members Gallery Journalists, Wellington bloggers, Labour Party Wellington and Green Party Wellington activists and Union coms staff. Their desire to language police and twist ones words until they squeak is truly remarkable. Matthews says in his article that he was accused of misogyny, others have been accused of revenge porn proliferation.
Now obviously, those who have privilege get stunned, defensive and angry when they get called on it, and Twitter is a great place to be able to do that. Those of us with privilege should be challenged all the time on how we use language and what content we put out, but there is a difference between challenging someone and the blood sport that Twitter seems to degenerate into.
Bless it, but Twitter is like a boutique shop down a tiny alleyway specialised for Militant Free Bleeders and Beard Glitter aficionados where as Facebook is a a huge 20 block Mall. Social media traction works on Facebook because it’s broad and the climate is far less hostile (it’s difficult really slagging someone off when you know your Mum and Dad might be watching). Twitter however is like Game of Thrones, 140 characters and few of them are likeable.
Social media is a powerful tool politically that side steps the information and cultural gatekeepers, but with the Left factions more interested in ripping each others throats out, there’s little ability to focus on the real enemy – like Josie Pagani!
Just jokes Josie.
Yes the world of political rivalry is rough and blogging is a contact sport, but I have wondered recently at how factions on the Left seem to hate each other with more energy than they fight the Right.
If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. This house seems to have been subdivided and sold to many property speculators.
Ewww if David Cormac works for the Greens I’m never voting for them. He’s a jumped up arrogant prick. Part of the twitterati that is (unfairky) critical of you and the commented on your blog. Their sniffer in 9 it ne off voting g for Labour as well.
“This house seems to have been subdivided and sold to many property speculators.”
Indeed it has Martyn, and the problem is, of course, that most of these speculators are fucking neo-liberals.
Doesn’t that automatically banish them from the left?
We need to get the homeless into that house…
It is very interesting who they choose to attack. Public figures:
*Martyn Bradbury, and more generally his media organization, which publishes major think pieces by significant people on the left (but sometimes more widely);
*Corbyn, quite recently, who quite a few of them tried to smear as an anti-semite;
*Julian Assange, who is attacked as a rapist, despite the evidence to the contrary – and anyone else who is a privacy activist or the like;
*Other men on the left, some of whom have done work of great public benefit nationally and internationally (I’m thinking of one guy in particular who I won’t name who has since removed one of his Twitter profiles), also attacked for baseless or exaggerated sexual claims;
Easy targets on the right as well but mostly people on the left.
There’s a notable silence on refugee matters, Palestine, etc.
You’ve really got to wonder if these people really are “on the left” at all, except when it comes to “men should shut up” (often regardless of economic power).
There are some interesting things that bind them together, in terms of community, but I’m not sure being left wing is one.
I’m not happy that the Greens have recently appointed one of these people as their coms lead. He has a history as a Tory and is very much from that particular Twitter community which may have existed to an extent before their prominence on Twitter.
Don’t forget the anon tweeters who work in law.
I deleted my tweets and account this year, as I was sick of the cliquey nature of these so called educated, intellectuals.
They seem to thrive in preaching to the converted – in their own shallow pool of drooling fans. If one of their followers goes “off script” their cowardice is astounding. A passive aggressive tweet and group *high-fives*. “Boy, we showed ’em!!”
The elitist, self-destructive nature of twitter was most evident to me at the last election. Useless political tweet activism, combined with eye-rolling comments about facebookers. A place they keep reminding followers they don’t visit. Yeah, right.
Most of these bleeding heart liberals were happy to let the election slide, because they would rather bleat to their own circle, than get amongst the great unwashed on a New Zealand news fb.
So we end up with two New Zealands – not having a dialogue. They could have made a difference via fb and stood up for the party they claim to support, but they’re too afraid to comment. As they lap up lucrative contracts with the government agencies they claim to hate.
I knew it was time to leave twitter when I started to hate the left. I am the left. I fully expect the right to be fuckwits, pardon me… I’m taken aback when the left sabotage their own.
This is why we don’t have nice things.
And as I’ve pointed out on numerous occassions, it is hugely ironic that the Right – which espouses the Cult of Individualism – is more adept at working collectively, than the Left, which spouses collectivism and collegiality.
I have an idea why that is – but hey, why give ammunition to the Right to use against a weakness of the Left? (Especially free of charge.)
I’ve been a little disturbed by some of the comments recently concerning the “Twitterati”, or “those people”. Matthew’s obvious subtweet was not lost on me.
The fact is that David Cormac, and the majority of those deemed to be “Twitterati”, are in fact members or former members of Wellington’s Jewish community.
Stop the racism, attributing or suggesting nefarious to Jewish New Zealanders and their families like the Ruminator and Megapope and the rest!
I remember questioning a self professed ‘Intellectual Marxist” about where he went shopping..
Yup I got the ‘Privileged, White, Middle Class, Middle Aged Male” treatment
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