Category: Uncategorized

I have been OK with the amount of traffic this blog has attracted. However, I realised that there are a few posts that haven’t got any views yet. Here are some:

Like it or not, childcare is a necessity

Herald Sun opinion piece exposes the harms of conversion therapy

Either speech matters or it doesn’t. It can’t be both

Schools are doing away with awards

That’s just a few. Feel free to check them out. If you want to comment on any of these (or any other) posts, of course, go ahead!

I’ve reached a milestone I set for myself earlier than what I aimed for. My aim was to try and get 100 followers (that’s WP, email, Facebook page followers, Twitter and Pinterest combined) before my birthday (25 March).

I realised today that I have made it. Yay! Thank you so much for everyone’s support. Now, next aim: 200. My dream is 1,000+. 10% of the way there.

Thank you to all who are supporting this blog. 😘

In 2012, Channel 10 ran a mini series, Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms. It was based on Sandra Harvey and Lindsay’s book of the same name. It chronicled one of the most infamous crimes in Australian history – the Father’s Day Milperra Massacre.

Loyalty was everything

‘Patched’ members (full member of a gang with logo emblazoned on their jackets and vests), were expected to be loyal to the club. Anyone who was kicked out, or chose to leave a bikie club had to leave the lifestyle altogether.

Broken loyalty has been proven to have deadly consequences. It was a major factor in the Milperra Massacre between the Commancheros and Australia’s first chapter of the Bandidos.

On Thursday (10 January 2019), Melbourne’s Herald Sun did an interesting article on why men join motorcycle gangs and how they’ve changed over the decades.

Who are most likely to join motorcycle gangs and why?

Former police officer and co – author, Duncan McNab offered some insight into the personalities and backgrounds of would – be motorcycycle gang members. These included a rough childhood and involvement in juvenile crime. I couldn’t help but notice that the formerr gang member that was interviewed, Steve Utah, also killed his brother’s pet mouse when he was around eleven, (animal cruelty in childhood, can be a warning sign of an anti- social personality disorder in adulthood.

Traditionally, men who have wanted to join motorcycle gangs do so for the loyalty and brotherhood. While some men still seek commeraderie, motorcycle gangs have been more interested in businesses including prostitution, illicit drugs and tattoo parlours. The battle over illegal drug trade has seen extreme violence between rival gangs.

Violence

Content/ trigger warning: this part of the post mentions extreme violence and may be distressing or triggering to readers. Please proceed with caution.

While Australia or other countries haven’t seen an event like the Milperrra Massacre again, bikie clubs around the world have been embroiled in fierce violence.

These acts of violence include, shootings, affray (brawling) and acts of torture resulting in death. The biggest change from the seventies and eighties is that rather than loyalty, money is a major cause for much of the brutal violence.

Reactions from governments and law enforcement

Governments have tried to crack down on motorcycle gangs. In 2013, former Queensland Premier introduced a number of State laws that placed restrictions that limited the way bikies move and meet.

While the laws passed, the Newman Government recieved opposition from the Labor opposition leader, Annastacia Palaszczuk and human rights groups. Bob Katter requested amendments to protect law – abiding bikies, but the suggestions were rejected.

In 2017, the ACT introduced laws that gave police investigating bikie – related crimes more powers. Under the laws, a property where an alleged drive – by shooting or bombing had ocurred, police could declare the private property a crime scene without a warrant or cooperation from people involved.

Has the war on bikies been won?

Going by the article I talked about above, the answer is arguably no. They’re still

In 2015, Terry Goldsworthy wrote a skeptical analysis in The Conversation. He argued that there was a lack of consensus on what ‘success’ meant in combatting bikie – related crime. Healso pointed out that, in fact, most bike club members are not involved inncrime. According to Australian Crime Commission data from 2014, less than half (40%) of bikie club members have a criminal record.

While I don’t downplay crimes that bikies have been involved in, it doesn’t seem ro be the motive for many of them. Maybe the brotherhood and comraderie that men are craving is still a major factor.

Popular crowdfunding site, Patreon has caused alarm after a number of creators had their accounts removed. Accusations against creators have been hate speech and links to violent or illegal groups.

The first one I heard about was controversial film maker/ commentator, Lauren Southern. She had her Patreon account shut down after allegedly being found out for supporting Defend Europe and the charity HOPE, not Hate. According to Canada Landshow, Southern was informed that her actions with Defend Europe were likely ‘to cause loss of life’. HOPE Not Hate have recently cut ties with Defending Europe. 

Formers2 Breitbart Editor, Milo Yiannopoulos has also had his account shut down. The reason Patreon gave was Yiannopoulos’ involvement with Proud Boys, the extreme right – wing anti – immigration group.

YouTuber Sargon of Akkad (real name Carl Benjamin) has lost his Patreon account after using a racial slur in a video. However, according to Kyle Kulinski, the context was not considered, as Benjamin was apparently addressing a white supremacist group and NOT attacking people of colour. I’ve never personally watched any of Sargon videos, but it seems to me that Patreon jumped the gun on this one.

Social media scourge: who is really being targeted?

Progressive and conservative commentators have criticised social media, especially Twitter and Facebook for deleting accounts without satisfactory reason.

Both suspect a deliberate attack on people due to their views. Conservatives believe they’re the ones being purged, especially Twitter. However, progressives blame the mainstream media meddling, along with politicians and other institutions to silence dissenting voices. One issue of contention, for example, is the U.S’ involvement in the Middle East. Secular Talk’s Kyle Kulinski has accused Twitter of bending over to Saudi shareholders and censoring critics of Israel, supporters of Palestine and Iran.

Patreon as an income source

In my opinion what Patreon has done is more concerning than other social media bans. Simple reason is that Patreon allows independent artists, commentators, etc to generate income. Southern, Sargon of Akkad and Yiannopoulos have suddenly had that source of income taken from them.

Whether you agree with the people mentioned above or not, if a crime hasn’t been committed or encouraged, as someone who wants to somehow make writing, including this blog as a part of my career, I find this move from Patreon concerning. Artists, independent writers, videographers, etc should be able to try making their passion into a sustainable career.

What’s a better way?

It’s best for people to be able to say what they want, allow people to support them, and, more importantly, allow opponents to debate them. While Secular Talk and similar YouTube channels exist, justice can prevail. People will be able to hear opposing views. Different communities can be assured that at least someone with a platform and influence has their back.

Also, I encourage others to speak up and defend themself and others if need be. If you are a person of colour, then use your words to attack racial prejudice. If you a writer or content maker and a part of the LGBTQ+ community, speak up against bigotry. When you feel you can’t, rest assured that there are allies that definitely will.

Hi guys.

As you may have noticed, on the end of my posts, there is a Patreon plugin that’s supposed to link to the Glycerine Queen Media Patreon page. Or it should. I’m not sure it’s just me, but it seems that the link is broken.

If you’d like to support me on Patreon, go to http://www.patreon.com/glycerinequeenmedia. All patrons will be acknowledged and thanked on this blog.

P.S. The website for my Patreon page does actually work.

Thank you again for everyone who have stuck by this blog over the past few weeks. You’re loyalty is really, really appreciated. 🙂

I’m back, I’m back, I’m back. So sorry for the hiatus. I’ve just been in the process of moving, so haven’t had time to do much researching or blogging for the past few weeks.

Now, back into it! I’ve got a few ideas I want to write about, so watch this space!

Thank you for your patience and sticking by me. It means a lot. 🙂