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August 12, 2005
Flip the Bird
Have you ever wondered just how rude you were being when you flip the bird*? Well the Australian Senate had to decide on that very point yesterday. Despite some opinions (Prime Minister John Howard says it was unacceptable and wrong for Nationals senator Julian McGauran to make a rude finger gesture in the Senate), the senate ruling was that gesture is unseemly but not obscene.
Personally I think the highlight of the debate was the serve handed out by Sen. Ron Boswell on the inappropriately named leader of the Greens (Bob Brown**). Bobby was leading the attack on Sen. McGauran*** for being offensive which was pretty ripe given his own background and his amazingly childish response to visiting dignitaries in the past.
So, next time you feel the urge to flip-the-bird - just remember that you are merely being unseemly. If you intended a more extreme insult, you may want to consider changing to a two-finger salute or perhaps mouthing some epithets to go with the action.
Verse 8 (from Am I Right, tune is 'If You're Happy and You Know it'):
If your nine-to-five job's stinking, flip the bird
If you're not that good at thinking, flip the bird
If you're working for the man
If the sh*t has hit the fan
If you have to kiss the Gran
Flip the bird
[* Also known as the "middle-finger-salute"...]
[** Had I been in the chamber, I probably would have added some kind words to leader of the watermelon party - something along the lines of "your mother wears army boots"...]
[*** Disturbingly, McGauran used the wrong finger. Which implies that either he is inexperienced or dumb. I hope it was inexperience because it looks like this season of 'Parliament on TV' is going to a lot of fun.]
Posted by Peskie at August 12, 2005 12:00 PM
