Wednesday, November 28, 2007

Tipping Under the New Government

Tipping is open.

There's not much to say about the weekend games really. Sydney vs the Roar was distinctly underwhelming, and nothing happened on the table.

But Saturday night was very emotional for me, and as I talk a little about politics I apologise to anyone it may offend.

The last Federal election left me gutted. Ok, no secret - I have not enjoyed the Howard Government one bit. From the time he got in 11 years ago I have felt my society get less creative, less adventurous, more fearful and at worst, more bigoted and ugly. For me this was not just a series of events and statements, it was a deep, foreboding feeling. The world became different, and in a bad way, and after the last election I just felt that the slide might be terminal, and I switched off politics.

I remained religiously detached from this election campaign, basically for my own emotional protection. Until about a week before anyway. It was not until the Wednesday before that I heard myself risking my soul by uttering the phrase to a friend, "I think Rudd will win it."

Drinking whiskey with a friend on Saturday night, it was a long time after it should have been obvious that I allowed myself to believe it (even though I was wearing my trusty frangipani). I was an emotional power station. At 9.30, after only a few drinks mind you, I threw up. It was just emotion, bottled and finally released. I felt like I was on ecstasy, and struggled to communicate or think. I could only feel, relieved and recharged, blissed.

I felt like partying forever and I could hear parties across the suburb, but at about 11.30 I just crashed, and dreamed all night. The dreams were tactile, just reaching out and touching things. Not people but objects with texture and shape, and each object felt perfect, sublime, like it was meant to be just there and just like that. When I woke at about 5am I wept and wept for my beautiful country.

We will be disillusioned with this government in no time of course. That's normal and right. But this is not the arrogant mafiosa bunch of thugs that the last Labor government seemed to be. This is a very fresh bunch of people, including some strong, impressive (far from token) chicks, and no doubt given the nature of the result quite a sprinkling of loose cannons. Couple this with the sort of cooperative federalism that seems possible, for things like education, hospitals and national environmental issues like the Murray-Darling. Then couple it with the probability of a balance of power in the Senate of either Greens or independents or both. These three things make me feel we might get some very creative environmental legislation in particular, which is far overdue. I think we'll also get a reinvigoration of initiative from the grass-roots, who can (I think) throw off their fear to think and act creatively, critically and differently.

We are in a new world. For the moment, the A-League seemed to pause, and the table looks the same as last week. But the A-League goes on.

May the games be beautiful in all the right ways, and go the bloody Roar!

14 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yes, Hamish the table didn't change at all after four not so interesting draws in round 14. At least the election made sure there is something that kept me very busy and didn't have to watch the football too much.
Hope no draws this weekend and here are my tips for round 15:

Phoenix 2 Adelaide 1
Roar 1 Jets 0
CCM 1 Sydney 0
Glory 1 Victory 2

cheers,

November 28, 2007 11:08 am  
Blogger Mike Salter said...

Nice rant Hamish. ;-)

It was a joyful night for me too. The most socially regressive, cynical and ultimately dangerous government of my lifetime (if one of the most economically successful as well) finally gone. Happy times.

Well, that was a truly shite A-League weekend...what can we expect for the next one?

I'll go:

WP 1-1 AU
QR 2-1 NUJ
CCM 2-2 SFC
PG 2-0 MV

November 28, 2007 11:56 am  
Blogger john said...

Wellies 2 Adelaide 2 (how tied are the wellies going to be after their Beckhamfest?)
Roar 1 Jets 0
CCM 1 Sydney 1 (how tied are Sydney FC after their Beckhamfest - if only Juninho was fit - is Bridges out?)
Glory 3 Victory 2

November 28, 2007 8:18 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

My ever-hopeful predictions:

Wellington 2
Adelaide 1

Queensland 2
Newcastle 2

Central Coast 2
Sydney 0

Perth 0
Melbourne 2

November 29, 2007 10:25 am  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Phoenix 2 Adelaide 0
With a game against Becks coming up, the NZ boys should be fired up for this clash. The Reds frankly have looked pretty pedestrian over the past few weeks, and unless they can find a solution quickly, could well be tripped up badly here.

Roar 2 Jets 0
Looks like Zullo and Moore are out, but the Roar have some very capable replacements to bring in. The Jets have been grinding out results rather than being impressive, and it's hard to see the Qld boys playing as badly as they did against Sydney last week.

Mariners 1 Sydney FC 1
Sydney had a bit of fun midweek against the Galaxy, and that might be just what they needed to spark themselves up. Against the Mariners' defence though, it's going to be a tough ask.

Glory 0 Victory 0
Two teams that have flattered to deceive this year. After last week's result (albeit with 10 men) against Wellington, the Vics will be low on confidence. While Perth have improved, they're still a bunch of scrappers who eke out results (their 4-1 flogging of Newcastle notwithstanding). I can see the Glory returing to its early season form with a run of boring draws.

November 29, 2007 3:23 pm  
Blogger Jeccy56 said...

Sydney was awesome! Even managed to get my photo taken with Beckham! Not that I'm a fan or anything. LOL

Phoenix 1 Adelaide 1
Roar 2 Jets 1
Mariners 3 Sydney 2
Glory 0 Victory 2

November 29, 2007 6:58 pm  
Blogger Whistler said...

Phoenix 0
Adelaide 1

Roar 1
Jets 0

Mariners 2
Sydney 1

Glory 0
Victory 1

November 29, 2007 7:00 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

if your dreams were of tactility, perhaps the tactile was but a longing made flesh...you are a transcendant bastard, arent you Hamish |-)..

Phoenix 1
Adelaide 1

Roar 1
Jets 0

Mariners 2
Sydney 1

Glory 2
Victory 1

McKew 3
How... oh sorry.

November 29, 2007 8:22 pm  
Blogger Eamonn said...

Glory 4 Victory 1
Wellington 2 Adelaide 1
Mariner 1 Sydney1
Roar 2 Jets 1

A Queensland PM, Libs in disarray, 80,000 at a friendly, it's all gone mad in Australia

November 30, 2007 8:25 am  
Blogger Neil said...

Here are my tips for the upcoming round:

Roar 1 Newcastle 1
Wellington 1 Adelaide 1
Mariners 2 Sydney 2
Melbourne 2 Perth 1

Melbourne to make some ground up on the top four.

Wayne - don't think "sorry" is in Howard's vocabulary

November 30, 2007 11:48 am  
Blogger The Round Ball Analyst said...

a strange ritual has come over me in the past few weeks, something i havent experienced in 11.5 yrs ...i've been buying the herald of a morning and not flicking straight to the football...there's been a detour to the political pages on the way for a spot of peter hartcher and phil coorey...

a sign of engagement?

...or perhaps a distraction from the real issue at hand, staying engaged on the football;

WP 1 v AU 2
QR 1 v NJ 1
CCM 1 v SFC 1
PG 0 v MV 0

I so hope I'm wrong and there a goals galore and plenty of entertainment!!

November 30, 2007 12:52 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Great post Hamish. Like you I tried to disingage from politics. But for me the election of disenchantment was in 2001, when Howard used xenophobia to win that election. From then on I was not sure whether the country that I was living in was the one I thought it was.

Even with Howard gone I agree with PollieGraph at New Matilda

But remember: many voted for these Coalition Members of Parliament. Back in 2004, and before. They were people who voted for Howard when he told them that he, their Prime Minister, would decide who came here, and who did not, and these people cheered him on. They weren’t interested in international law, or refugees, or the plight of single parents, or the future of the earth. They weren’t interested in politics, or rights at work, or dignity. They knew their Prime Minister said something and did another, and couldn’t care less, voted for him anyway.

It was the downgrading of their conditions, their pay etc. that swung voters back to Labor.

Anyway, I was in a quandry on Saturday night. Victory was playing Wellington at Telstra Dome. So was it the game or the elections? I forfeited the game and went to the house of friends I go and see the football with who had Foxtel. So we could see the game on one telly and Kerry, Julia and Nick on another.

I think it was when Julia Gilliard cautiously called the election for the ALP that Wellington equlilised.

But I didn't care really the victory I wanted was happening.

Rudd will be OK but no radical by any stretch of the imagination. But at least we won't go on the path of greed and fear, into parochialism and paranoia, selfishness and racism, bigotry and corruption, and other dark places in the Australian psyche where we never should have gone. As Mungo McCullum has stated.

And bloody hell. A Prime Minister and a Treasurer from Queensland. You need the Roar to win the Premiership and you'll have the trifecta!

November 30, 2007 9:40 pm  
Blogger john said...

Hope you get this for the next round uncle Hamish

wellies 0 v Perth 1
Syd 0 v Newc 0
Melb 0 v adel 3
Roar 1 CCM 0

December 05, 2007 10:29 pm  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Good post.

November 11, 2008 11:51 am  

Post a Comment

<< Home