Thursday, November 10, 2011

Netball, Gruen Planet & ballistic anger

This will be the last post until Sunday. I am going away.

Yesterday's post here was Carbon tax, the Sydney/Gunnedah/Bowen Basin & coal seam gas. As it happened, last night's ABC Gruen Planet focused on mining advertising including coal seam gas.

Watching the program I got so angry. I had to take eldest to a late night netball match after the show, and I was trying to explain my anger to her. It wasn't easy.

The Gruen Planet focuses on the tricks used by advertisers and can be quite funny. Trying to articulate my anger to Helen, I ended by defining it in this way.

The panelists had moved from judgements about advertising to comments on the issues on which the advertising was based. And in their judgements on issues they knew bugger all. They got laughs through playing to certain stereotypes. They had no idea of history or context, so their comments on the target market place for certain ads completely missed the point.

Helen is remarkably tolerant where her father is concerned, one of the reasons I love her so dearly. She explained context, purpose etc. But I remained angry, stewing about it overnight.

I suppose that I should explain here that I have something of a natural sympathy for the anti goal seam gas protestors. If I wear that hat, then the biases built into the Gruen Planet actually help the cause. But I also want good policy, policy that takes varying needs into account. And we don't have that.

Stewing overnight, I wrote Coal seam gas & the rise of political and policy stupidity, the first in a two part series. I will follow up when I get back from Melbourne.

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