Ha Ha Ha to Sydney’s Twitter Mob – MercatorNet
My readers at MercatorNet, I suspect, are happily unfamiliar with the hip-hop tunes of Barkaa, the purported comedy of Nazeem Hussain, and whatever Yumi Stynes thinks of the pressing issues of the day.
Attendees at the Sydney Festival, which kicks off this week, are now similarly deprived: these artists and public figures, along with a few noisy others, have decided to boycott the event. As the organisers hastily edit the program lineup, activists and troublemakers are sniping at those yet to withdraw, and ticket-holders have been urged, lest they wander over to the wrong side of history, to request a refund.
A few readers, I also suspect, will be able to guess the reason for this kerfuffle, and you have until the end of this paragraph to consider your answers. Covid hysteria is a contender, sure. Insufficient commitment to diversity seems more likely, as there isn’t a non-binary disabled person of colour panelist anywhere to be seen. A common cause of grumpiness at these types of events is the presence of the wrong sort of speaker, so you may wonder if a conservative or right-minded thinker has been smuggled into the lineup.
Give up? Well, dear reader, there is but a single item on the bill of complaint, and well done to those who guessed correctly. Yes, it’s Israel.
Timothy Cootes. Essays. Reviews. 
Leave a Reply