Skip to comments.
Grow a spine! The sudden raging popularity of those who stand up to the Offendotrons
JoNova ^
| 5/1/2015
| Joanne Nova
Posted on 05/01/2015 10:36:28 PM PDT by RightGeek
Theres a message here to politicians from marketers: Grow a spine, stand up for something sensible
Martin Daubney on Breitbart describes a new form of internet-era marketing. Companies that put out provocative ads predictably get attacked by the holier-than-thou. But if they stand up to the thought police, they suddenly find themselves in the middle of a social media war and at the winning end. Because they didnt cave in to the PC, they get thousands of passionate defenders online, lots of new customers, loads of free PR, and the wave breaches the social media world and spills into the mainstream. For example, Protein World got attacked for an ad with women in bikinis. They didnt pull the ad under the condemnation from the usual quarters; instead they baited the Offendotrons with a parody twitter pic of a beached whale Are you Feminist Body Ready?. In response to the furore, Protein World has added 20,000 customers and driven revenue in excess of £1 million in the last four days alone.
Likewise, BarberBarber, which does mens haircuts, banned women from its premises. It got death threats, but sales are booming, there are queues to use it, and new branches are opening. Its not just controversy sells but about calling the bluff and standing up for something. In the BarberBarber case, the offensive insult is not that women arent welcome at a place that trims beards, but that people think women are so insecure that we might be offended by a banal common-sense rule. Who is vulnerable and precious? Most women want to cheer Not me!
Daubney doesnt say it, but theres a message here for politicians, especially polite conservative ones who so frequently cave in to the namecalling bullies. The public are sick of being told what to think, treated like babies, and being called sexist, or racist, homophobic, polluting deniers, ignorant, stupid, immoral, etc.. There is a wellspring of passionate support waiting to be tapped for any politician willing to turn the tables back on the name-callers. But it is, of course, a high risk game, and those playing it need to get their house in order before they play. If they are at all sexist, racist, or homophobic etc, it will blow up in their face, and in a terminal way.
No wonder voters are cynical to the end
Politicans fail both sides of the spectrum. Left leaning politicians stand for something (though often the wrong thing on science), the left-leaning media whips them into messiahs, then they predictably fail to deliver. (Think Obama, think Rudd.) Right leaning politicians stand weakly for the same things, and pander to the outrage-crowd in an effort to avoid the flak. They aim for what they think is the middle-ground only to find they are still called misogynistic deniers (even if their deputy and chief of staff are both women and they spend billions to reduce carbon). The big-lie under the outrage crowd, or Offendotrons as Daubney brilliantly daubs them, is that they pretend they represent most people but often theyre just the loudest five or ten percent of the population. (Look out, the noisy fringe yells extremist its projection, projection, all the way down.) Conservative politicians who pander to this earn no votes from those-who-shout, but lose passionate support and feet on the ground from the 50% of the population whove had enough. And the national conversation swirls a sinkhole of nothingness while real issues beg to be noticed.
Tony Abbott stood for something when he made a blood oath to get rid of the carbon tax, but when he panders to the vested interests in the RET (Renewable Energy Target), gives money to UN Green Funds, or gives in on free speech with Section 18C, he burns off the once fired up defenders. Appeasement has a price.
For seekers of easy offendotron-targets the flak is the clue, advertising where the best targets are. Occasionally armouring up, and judiciously heading right into the flak, would be a welcome change from being driven around the paddock like a herd of sheep by a veneer of flak-spewing offendotrons on social media.
Bullying is brittle, it depends on an audacious bluff, but cracks up under pressure
Where is the politician who will brave up to the Emperors with No Clothes the little-dictators who pretend that air-conditioners control the global climate, or that windfarms can stop storms? Close relatives of offendotrons cloak themselves in science but dont even know what science is. They chant consensus, but consensus is the antithesis of science. They dont want replication, public data, or public debate, theyre anti-science but toss that term at anyone who disagrees with them. They use tricks to hide declines and pretend thats scientific. They claim one thermometer can measure 200,000 cubic kilometers of water to a hundredth of a degree and never ever protest when thermometers are placed next to hot tarmac, industrial machinery, or above asphalt in car parks. Breathlessly they swear we must reduce carbon, but they ignore the cheapest, best solutions for doing just that, and choose instead the expensive, wasteful options that reward their friends and punish their enemies. They fake-out that they want to help the poor, then deny them cheap energy. Their leaders buy waterfront properties and clock up huge flight miles, while telling us how evil air travel is and how rising seas endanger us all. Then, to top it all off, they accuse the volunteers who protest their bogus science as cynically in it only for the money.
TOPICS: Australia/New Zealand; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Editorial; Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-22 next last
Joanne Nova is a conservative Australian science writer. A number of US "conservative" Republican politicians should heed her advice.
1
posted on
05/01/2015 10:36:28 PM PDT
by
RightGeek
To: RightGeek
Perhaps the Ted Cruz campaign should give her a call.
To: American Constitutionalist
Not a half-bad idea. She sounds Palinesque and Americans would love the accent.
3
posted on
05/01/2015 10:58:14 PM PDT
by
Ken H
To: Ken H; American Constitutionalist; RightGeek
I believe I’ve seen her posts on the WattsUpWithThat blog on climate science (e.g. debunking catastrophic anthropogenic global warming).
4
posted on
05/01/2015 11:05:30 PM PDT
by
grey_whiskers
(The opinions are solely those of the author and are subject to change without notice.)
To: RightGeek
Check out the latest cover of "Golf Digest".
Last year they had a scantily clad Paulina Gretzky and got no end of flak.
They outdid themselves this year.
To: RightGeek
6
posted on
05/01/2015 11:50:34 PM PDT
by
Misterioso
(When men give up reason and freedom, the vacuum is filled by faith and force. -- Ayn Rand)
To: RightGeek
Anyone seen the new Wells Fargo Bank Commercial?
A little Deaf Girl being introduced to a Lesbian Couple that are going to Adopt her.
The Mommies use Sign Language with Subtitles, telling the Little Girl, we’re your new Mommies! It was just so quaint.
7
posted on
05/02/2015 12:09:31 AM PDT
by
Kickass Conservative
(Hillary, because it's time for a POTUS without a SCROTUS...)
To: RightGeek
Awesome post! I just wish that would catch on here, but you have to remember that Austrailian society has gone a lot farther and faster down the lefty road than we have and theier folks are a lot more fed up.
8
posted on
05/02/2015 12:44:10 AM PDT
by
BRK
To: RightGeek
>> Are you Feminist Body Ready? (beached whale)
Now that’s funny.
9
posted on
05/02/2015 12:54:53 AM PDT
by
Gene Eric
(Don't be a statist!)
To: RightGeek
To: RightGeek
Insight here. I wish some American companies and politicians had some of that.
11
posted on
05/02/2015 3:53:17 AM PDT
by
arthurus
(it's true!)
To: RightGeek
the loudest five or ten percent of the population
While it may be true that the ‘squeaky wheel’ gets the grease, more times than naught, the squeaky wheel gets removed
12
posted on
05/02/2015 4:20:55 AM PDT
by
Paisan
To: RightGeek
Say it Loud...I’m an Old White Guy and I’m Proud.
13
posted on
05/02/2015 4:40:32 AM PDT
by
Awgie
(truth is always stranger than fiction)
To: American Constitutionalist
He doesn’t need to call, he’s already doing those things.
14
posted on
05/02/2015 5:22:19 AM PDT
by
Balding_Eagle
(Is Ted Cruz himself as mean-spirited as the FR 'Click-it or Tick-it' Cruz Contingent?)
To: RightGeek
15
posted on
05/02/2015 5:39:26 AM PDT
by
VRW Conspirator
(American Jobs for American Workers)
To: RightGeek
I love that word...Offendotrons!
It sounds like what it is!
16
posted on
05/02/2015 5:41:31 AM PDT
by
rlmorel
("National success by the Democratic Party equals irretrievable ruin." Ulysses S. Grant.)
To: RightGeek
17
posted on
05/02/2015 6:42:40 AM PDT
by
Excellence
(Marine mom since April 11, 2014)
To: Balding_Eagle
I would rather say he could use this writer in some compactly in his campaign.
To: RightGeek
Where is the politician who will brave up to the Emperors with No Clothes the little-dictators who pretend that air-conditioners control the global climate, or that windfarms can stop storms? Close relatives of offendotrons cloak themselves in science but dont even know what science is. They chant consensus, but consensus is the antithesis of science. They dont want replication, public data, or public debate, theyre anti-science but toss that term at anyone who disagrees with them. Great post RightGeek...
19
posted on
05/02/2015 7:55:38 AM PDT
by
GOPJ
(The thugs loot stores. The community leaders loot cities. - Daniel Greenfield)
To: arthurus
Chick-fil-A woke up Americans. The left wasn’t able to field a gay couple at ONE fil-A per city... even with a MSM press willing to wait to ‘get their side’.
20
posted on
05/02/2015 7:57:59 AM PDT
by
GOPJ
(The thugs loot stores. The community leaders loot cities. - Daniel Greenfield)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-22 next last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson