Barns: Forget Henson, a bigger menace plagues the playground
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Politicians really are the most appalling of opportunists, and over the weekend they excelled themselves. Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Malcolm Turnbull, John Brumby and the federal Minister for Sport, Kate Ellis, all spent their weekend beating up on one of Australia’s finest artists, photographer Bill Henson. Mr. Henson was allowed to visit a Melbourne primary school by that school’s principal because he was looking for possible subjects for his work. Outrageous, sick, undermining of the innocence of children, a full inquiry will be held, the principal of the school will be burnt at the stake of public opinion etc, was the reaction of our political leaders. Leaving aside the fact that underpinning their collective outrage is a defamatory assertion by those politicians who joined the weekend’s bully pulpit that somehow Mr. Henson should not be allowed near children, there is also an extraordinary level of hypocrisy about the attacks. Every day of the week our political leaders allow children to be abused at schools right around Australia, because they sanction the sophisticated and relentless efforts of fast food and soft drink companies to market to children through the education system and sport. We have an obesity epidemic in this country, due in large measure the presence of too much fast food and drink in the diets of children. Only last month one of those who was crucifying Bill Henson over the weekend, John Brumby, refused to rule out the idea that McDonald’s should be allowed to sponsor educational programs in Victorian schools. On September 2 AAP reported that fast food chains “like McDonald’s will not be excluded from forming partnerships with Victorian schools, but the decision will be left to school authorities, Premier John Brumby says.” And what does Julia Gillard think of the sponsorship by Coca Cola Amatil of the Australian Literacy and Numeracy Foundation’s Remote School Project in the Northern Territory which “provides accredited literacy course work in English to classroom teachers and in First Language to teachers’ aides in Central Australia”? Kate Ellis’ disgust at Henson’s school foray was based on her wanting children to remain as innocent for as long as possible. Why then does she think it’s okay for McDonald’s to sponsor a soccer in schools program throughout New South Wales, or for Cricket Australia to take money from KFC? And do Ms Ellis, Ms Gillard, Mr Brumby think it’s okay for Krispy Crème doughnuts to facilitate junior sporting clubs and schools fundraisers by selling their fat and sugar laden product? Bill Henson’s fleeting presence at a school in Melbourne provokes a torrent of abuse from politicians, but these very same people are content to allow the children they say they care about to be exposed to companies that will ruin their short and long term health. How’s that for sickening hypocrisy. |
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18 Comments
Politicians also go into primary schools looking for children to pose for photographs with them while on the campaign trail. Hypocrisy indeed.
I find this quite breathtaking. KFC and/or Krispy Creme donuts may indeed be bad for the health of children and lead to obesity if eaten to EXCESS and maybe they shouldn’t be in kids lunches, but that is a parental decision surely. And in any case linking that to Henson and the school principal’s invitation is a complete non sequitor surely.
This article misses far too obvious a point: those putting so much effort into decrying Henson are not just distracting from other issues affecting children (of which obesity and nutrition issues are just one), they actually distract from protecting kids from real child sex abuse (involving actual sex offences usually in a highly secretive and scary way, as opposed to non-sexual nudity with parental approval and supervision). Marketing junk food to kids is just one of the miriad of issues picked up by Kevin Rudd’s statement (repeated on the weekend by Kate Ellis) “Let’s just let kids by kids”. I’m all in favour of letting kids be kids and not exposed to overly ‘adult’ practices (as, arguably, nude modelling may be considered to be). This would include kids with sporting talents forced to practice and train for hours on end, kids engaged in any form of modelling or acting professionally, as well as kids being subjected to intensive marketing campaigns. But Kate Ellis would never want her ‘let kids be kids’ statement turned into policy - our gold medal tally in the pool would be drastically smaller if teenage girls were not allowed to waste their childhoods following the black line rather than ‘being kids’.
Greg, I agree with you about Bill Henson, it’s a total beat up. I hardly think Mr Henson would have taken a single photo without long and protracted negotiations with the prospective model’s parents.
Nudity in art, both of adults and children has been around for thousands of years. In the great religious paintings of the middle ages naked children, in the form of Cherabim and Seraphim are almost universal. It stands to reason therefore that the great artists of the time used naked child models.
If the shock, horror, “Peds Under the Bed” mob want to be consistant, shouldn’t they be demanding that works by Da Vinci and Donatello etc be burnt and the roof of the Sistine Chapel sprayed a nice Duck Egg Blue to rid the world of this “kiddie porn” ?
Your slander of the fast food companies however, was total BS.
No person has ever been forced into a Maccas or KFC at gunpoint !! Nor has anyone ever been coerced into drinking Coke. If these companies want to return some of their profits to the community, why get so high handed about it ? I bet you cheer when a mining company donates a few tree seedlings to “Greening Australia.
Recent research is starting to show that the “Childhood Obesity Epidemic” doesn’t exist as [url=http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/10/04/2382147.htm]this item[/url] on the ABC web page. It was a relief to see this item as I thought I must have been going blind, because when out shopping, the number of obese people I see is definitely NOT the supposed “one in four” that “researchers” are claiming
Yes Greg, it would be terrible if the schoolkids were too fat to be photogenic! Come on, get real: isn’t the overriding issue here that the parents weren’t consulted? Or shouldn’t a “great artist” respect minor details like that?
One might add that John Brumby supports the abortion legislation in Victoria. It’s OK to knock kids off in utero but looking at them in the school yard is not on.
What a load of shite Greg Mason prattles on with!
These are completely different issues and to draw this bow is a nonsense.
I have rarely read such an hysterical rant.
Both issues are about exploitation, but to draw the comparison between food choices, in which parents are able to be vocal participants, and possible sexual exploitation, in which they clearly weren’t is going too far.
Anyway, why does he want to photograph naked young girls?
This is not about art, or food, it is about the rights of children to be protected.
“How’s that for sickening hypocrisy”. Pretty good, I`d say, but don`t expect a rational contribution from any of the politicians, mainstream media or the pundits. This is really an extension and a reinforcement of the hysteria generated by the government and media during the Henson Melbourne exhibituon. Don`t expect either the government or the media to take up the case of Frederic Tobin, referred to earlier in today`s Crikey editorial. Appalling as though his views may be, but then how far are we from Voltaire`s dictum that “I don`t agree with what you say, but I will defend to the death you right to say it”, seems like light years away! Incidentally, I didn`t realise that denying Holocaust was an international crime, something that is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan every day. But then the US is our ally in the `war on terrorism`. Yeah, right!
Tank you Crikey and Greg for for expressing some common sense, so uncommon these days.
Which all reminds of snapping Ronald McDonald in 2007 all painted up filming on the grounds of Rozelle public school on Balmain Rd in front of the twee mural. Super Size those kiddies Ron!
Greg is keeping his eye on the plot. Hensen, a renowned photographer, came to a schoolground. He is not anyone. Has he done anything illegal? Has the school done anything illegal? Have any children been harmed? NO! The people who DO abuse children are not artists taking photos. The abuse hierachy is basically this: Top of the list close family members, then de-factos and close family friends, and then an assorted basket of miscellaneous people in a very small minority, which includes clergy, youth group leaders, health care professionals, teachers sports coaches etc. Child abuse is an extremely serious matter, but it is not new and it will not be eradicated. The hysterial rubbish being pushed by the gutter press will not improve the situation for abused children. It will just sell a few more newspapers to the self rightious voyers who love to read about this stuff. The real issues our children face are the abuse of their bodies by food manufacturers, global warming and a less stable world as the economic order of Anglo Saxons on Top and Chinese underneath turns upside down.
Faris: I’ll go the preposterous Hanson and the principal should be gaoled motif and you go the processed food advertising child abuse angle…..they’ll be foaming at the mouth
Barns: O.K. Pete…….and pleease nail that Marr tw-t…..he’s rumoured to be lurking the Crikey board …..but Peter focus…… what’s really important here is that we beat that Keane b-stard in the Comment scores
Faris: Right….. just do it…..
Crikey’s Faris & Barns posts Monday 6th October regarding “Artist” Henson are poles apart. Mr Faris’s comments were exactly what i would of said if I could write like that.
I am not sure how Mr Barns could use the defense that the government should be concentrating on keeping children away from fast food instead of focusing on a man called Henson scouring schools for potential victims with the authorisation of the education department, as a Principal represents the education department. This is pornography and Mr Barns is supporting it and I cannot understand how Mr Henson has the support of some powerful people, Art, film and others????
It sickens me that this is and has happened, I question Mr Hall’s post motives why he wrote such a stupid post. Last of all it shows you how powerful people think and act differently. Aka Powers Crown prosecutor.
Greg Barns seems to have lost the plot and become quite hysterical in support of the idea that it is appropriate for anyone to come into a schoolground to check out prospective models, nude or otherwise. To compare that with fast food is ridiculous.
Greg Barns certainly knows about oportunism
Hypocritical, indeed. I wonder how many real perverts are peering through the railings at the moment.
thanks Greg for restoring some perspective to the near hysteria being run on this story. clearly a line has been crossed by Henson and or the school principal in question.
Sponsorship of children’s activities by junk and fast food companies is much more insidious, and I suspect harder for funds-strapped organisations to pass up. In the end Henson gains notoriety - when we all might otherwise ignore his peculiar artwork were there no feeding frenzy over him beaten up by news media.
There are tragic stories which out of respect for the familiies involved - simply agreed to be not reported. I refer to suicides of ordinary folk, whose lives are as important, no, way more important than the pursuits of an artist. so why the fuss over henson. why report it? beyond the local community newspaper perhaps
wait a minute if this process were followed perhaps we’d have thinner newspapers that nobody would read. hmm not a good look for our advertisers.
I was pleased that Greg Barns was able to expose the hypocrisy In media utterances about what Principals should do in schools. Principals are having more and more responsibilities heaped upon them yet are given less and less support. It is another example of how the “risk” is being moved more and more away from government and industry to working people. If education in schools is to thrive there needs to be “risk-taking.” Principals will make mistakes. Their “accountability” to their school community on this sort of issue would be a more powerful way of preventing error. High strutting critics are obscuring the nations’ unwillingness to provide adequate “free, compulsory and secular” education for our children.
I was pleased that Greg Barns was able to expose the hypocrisy in media utterances about what Principals should do in schools. Principals are having more and more responsibilities heaped upon them yet are given less and less support. It is another example of how the “risk” is being moved more and more away from government and industry to working people. If education in schools is to thrive there needs to be “risk-taking.” Principals will make mistakes. Their “accountability” to their school community on this sort of issue would be a more powerful way of preventing error. High strutting critics are obscuring the nations’ unwillingness to provide adequate “free, compulsory and secular” education for our children.