On Monday our Prime Minister threatened to “shirtfront” Russia’s president Vladimir Putin, triggering one of the more unusual diplomatic dialogues in recent memory. Does anyone actually think Tony Abbott would physically assault another foreign leader? I sincerely doubt it but it’s irrelevant because simply making the threat – however figuratively – is cause for dismay.
Abbott has since clarified that what he meant was that he would be having a “robust” discussion with Putin. That “shirtfront” was the language he chose to use in the first instance to indicate he wanted to hold a serious conversation with the Russian leader is telling. In Abbott’s mind there is an obvious link between asserting authority and exerting a physical threat.
And he is not alone. Yesterday radio announcer Ray Hadley had this to say about former Fairfax columnist and his long-term foe Mike Carlton.
“…when I put one on your chin, not a king hit, but when I put on your chin you’d crawl off to the coppers and whinge your head off you dog.”
Another day, another high profile Australian man resorts to threats of violence to make a point. And to whom are these threats made? Are they quietly shared? No such luck. They are broadcast to legions of Australians by men who enjoy enormous platforms, authority and influence. And it’s diabolical.
Some will argue that men and women are free to say what they like and of course, to an extent, that’s true. But it’s not to say we should accept or condone it. And it’s not to say we should dismiss the ramifications that stem from it.
When powerful men like Tony Abbott and Ray Hadley use language charged with physical threats and violence, whether it’s intentional or not, they lend it the weight of their authority. They makes violent less abhorrent and more acceptable. They condone rather than condemn violence.
And the sad, sad irony is that the consequences of a society which doesn’t condemn violence are far too visible. Yesterday while Hadley was using his vast platform to threaten another man, a group of representatives from various womens’ organisations were at a Senate hearing discussing the lack of funding and clarity around tackling domestic violence.
Domestic violence is an ugly and unpalatable national emergency and one that will almost certainly perpetuate as long as we create artificial partitions where we accept threats of violence in some realms whilst saying we condemn it in others. If we are against violence, we are against violence.
Which is it Mr Abbott and Mr Hadley?