Ever since I saw the first interview on Australian commercial television with a Muslim after September 11, 2001, I've thought that certain people shouldn't be at the helm of public debate. Of course, everyone has the right to an opinion, but some are all too ready to set an agenda when, frankly, they'd have trouble setting a watch. For those of you fortunate enough to not remember the interview, the crack journalist asking the questions was Richard Wilkins, and answering them was Anthony Mundine.
This pattern has continued recently - a talk radio station in Melbourne recently hosted an on-air discussion of the appropriateness in Australian society of the burqa. One of the key voices in the exchange... John-Michael Howsen. His lack of objectivity might have been given away by his response to the idea of ever personally talking to a Muslim - "No, I don't want to. Frankly I have no need to." And while the producers had contacted Sherene Hassan, from the Islamic Council of Victoria, to contribute, it was allegedly Howsen's protests that changed the producers' minds. After all, why would you want to hear from an Australian Muslim about whether or not the burqa is un-Australian? Picking one part of this scenario that offends me may seem to neglect the others, but beyond the xenophobic outrage wrapped in national pride, like gold leaf decorating a soiled nappy, what stuck me was this - why is someone who cut his media teeth as a leech on the arse of Hollywood celebrity culture telling anyone about what is un-Australian? By that logic, the next time my car needs a service, I'll take it to a butcher... no, I'll take it to someone who does nothing but talk about butchers.
At least, with his "Stay In The Closet" column in the Herald Sun, Jason Akermanis was writing as a footballer talking to other footballers. And he does have one convincing point... for the first AFL footballer to publicly admit being gay, he will have a tough road to walk. But it doesn't take long for the article to go sideways - the threat that such an admission could "break the fabric of a club". Is small-mindedness something to be protected, then? Trust me, it's not rare enough to be endangered. And if he is correct with this assessment, then rip away, and then a new fabric can be woven without the pointless fear.
Akermanis references other players' potential "discomfort" - ironic, considering a large part of a footballer's job is dealing with physical pain. The thing about discomfort, and awkwardness, is that they are temporary. Human beings adapt to far more arduous circumstances than being uncomfortably close to one of them.
A further irony is that, considering the backlash that Akermanis' column has received, he has probably made the football environment more conducive to the first official AFL Closet Exit. From gentle counter-argument to howls of derision, the majority of responses, from the public and the football establishment, have been of the "who gives a crap" variety. Before an obvious retort comes out, I can tie my own shoelaces, and am okay to operate cooking equipment ninety-five percent of the time, so I am not foolish enough to think that this goodwill translates directly to the locker room environment. However, considering the fortunate position professional footballers find themselves in - namely doing something that people love and do for free regularly, but for ridiculous amounts of money - they should show the heart, determination, and one-game-at-a-time grit to shut up and cope.
I honestly don't think that Akermanis is homophobic, just misguided. Waiting for a culture to change is futile; brave people are needed to bring the change. In hoping that, some day, "the environment changes to a degree where coming out isn't a big deal", Jason is waiting for Godot, when we need a person, or people to show enough courage to drag Godot onto the stage.
And if, in the scuffle, someone should accidentally knock John-Michael Howsen into the orchestra pit... I can live with that.
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Yes, when exactly did John Michael Howsen go from being an utterly irrelevant celebrity gossip reporter to being an utterly irrelevant right-wing radio loudmouth? Good job he dropped "Hollywood" from his name before presuming to speak on what it is to be Australian.
ReplyDeleteI think Akermanis has a point - inelegant though it is - inasmuch as a person's sexuality has nothing to do with what they are like as a player. It's not a question of whether someone should hide their sexuality, but whether they should reveal it when it's of no relevance to what they do, and nobody else's business. Who cares?
Having said that, since I don't have dozens of heterosexual women following me around, I see no reason why I should feel wary of homosexual men.