"Are gay people people? y/n": The Australian Marriage Equality Voluntary Postal Survey Thread

# What's happening?
The Australian government will ask all Australian adults to declare whether or not they want same-sex couples to be allowed to marry.

# How much will it cost?
http://www.xe.com/currencyconverter/convert/?Amount=122&From=AUD&To=USD 122 million.

# How long will it take?
Months. The process will begin soon and the result will be announced on the 15th of November.

# Why is this happening?
Parliament could introduce and pass legislation to enable marriage equality within a couple of days, but the government refuses to allow anyone to introduce such a bill.

# Why?
Because they are bigots. Sorry, there's no other way to describe it. That is seriously the only reason.

# Will the Australian Electoral Commission conduct it, just as with all formal Australia-wide votes?
No. The Australian Bureau of Statistics will conduct it.

# What?
The Australian Bureau of Statistics.

# That sounds like an organisation that manages statistics, not political votes.
Yes.

# Will it be compulsory, like every federal and state Australian election?
No.

# How's it being conducted?
By post.

# That sounds self-selecting.
It is.

# It doesn't sound like a vote either.
It's not. We're calling it a survey, because that's all it is.

# Haven't there already been surveys?
Dozens. Australians have supported marriage equality for more than a decade. Statistically accurate polling from many formal polling organisations has repeatedly and regularly proved this.

# Will this one be more accurate?
It'll be so inaccurate as to be useless. Australians who are on the electoral roll will get a form in the post, and they'll reply if they can be bothered.

# So why is it happening at all?
The government wants to give bigots the chance to swing voting in their favour, believing that will defeat calls for marriage equality.

# Why is it being conducted by post?
It's widely acknowledged that younger people, who are more likely to support marriage equality, are also less likely to properly look at their mail.

# So it's stacked against equality?
Yes. Young people will miss it if they're not yet on the electoral roll, have moved house or just don't look very hard at their junk mail. Bigoted parents will hide their kids' forms and vote no on their behalf.

# And being voluntary means interest groups will produce a disproportionate result and skew the outcome, right?
They will definitely do that.

# This sounds like it'll be disastrous for LGBTIQ mental health.
It already is. Advocacy groups are unanimously against a postal survey being used to determine equality under the law.

# Did the government consult with LGBTIQ groups on this process?
No.

# Mental health organisations?
No.

# Anyone at all?
No.

# How many people must respond if the postal survey is to have any weight?
The government won't tell us.

# Will 50,000 responses be enough?
We don't know.

# Will 12 responses be enough?
We don't know.

# Is this shit even legal?
We don't know. Various equality groups are banding together to launch two separate legal challenges in the federal High Court.

# I thought Australia was better than this.
It is. The government isn't.

# So what will people actually be voting on?
We'll be asked to vote on whether the government submits a marriage equality bill to Parliament for debate.

# Actually AA, I think you've made a mistake in your FAQ. Earlier you said the government normally submits bills to Parliament for debate, but now you're saying if yes wins this $122 million postal survey, the government will submit a bill to Parliament for debate. They're the same thing.
Yes.

# . . .
. . .

# This isn't a vote on marriage equality at all, is it?
No. It's a vote on whether the government will stop blocking marriage equality bills and allow one to be tabled in Parliament, i.e. doing the job we pay them to do.

# So what will happen if yes wins?
The government will allow one marriage equality bill, that they will write themselves, to be submitted to Parliament for debate.

# Is the bill in its final form?
No. It's still a draft and is open to consultation.

# So how do you know what's in it? Will it be real equality, or will it be full of exemptions to protect bigots? Will it accommodate trans and intersex people?
We don't know.

# Will it be finalised before the survey commences?
It doesn't look likely.

# And then you'll automatically have marriage equality, right?
No. The government will not require its members to vote for the legislation, and many MPs and senators have already said they'll vote against it.

# So... a no vote means the government will compulsorily block any attempt to legislate marriage equality, but a yes vote means they're free to vote it down if they wish?
Yes.

# How's that different from the government just introducing and debating a bill in Parliament?
It's not.

# So you're saying a yes result in the postal survey doesn't make any difference?
Yes.

# Are you at least excited that something is happening?
We are tired. We are all tired. We've been fighting this battle for more than a decade, and it's culminated in this unfairly stacked, non-binding, voluntary survey.

# Is there a better way for you to get marriage equality?
Labor, the main opposition party, has said for years that it'll simply pass legislation and give us equality within 100 days of winning an election. That election must be held by late 2019.

# What are the main arguments against marriage equality?
Who fucking cares

yeesh

This. This?! This is the government Australia got, even with compulsory voting???? Geez. My condolences. That would dishearten me something fierce if I lived there. Of course, we have our own shithead proliferation problems here in the States and they aren't under control, yet, either. Getting worse, if anything.

Can we agree to blame all this on Rupert Murdoch? So much simpler than thinking humanity is doomed due to massive design flaws.

Can we agree to blame all this on Rupert Murdoch?

Essentially yeah. He has enormous influence over the media here, and uses his outlets to actively campaign for parties like he does in the UK.

# Is this shit even legal?
We don't know. Various equality groups are banding together to launch two separate legal challenges in the federal High Court.

Longtime marriage campaigner Rodney Croome announces court challenge to postal survey

Croome says the government is exceeding its executive authority with the postal vote.

# I thought Australia was better than this.
It is. The government isn't.

Sadly I no longer think this is true. The number of COMPLETE AND UTTER ARSEHOLE CUNTS IN THE COMMUNITY who think a plebiscite is actually a good idea is proof of this.

Having watched the news this evening can we dwell on how awesome penny wong is and how much of a knuckledragging fuckstick tony abbot is.

Ed otm

Sadly I no longer think this is true. The number of COMPLETE AND UTTER ARSEHOLE CUNTS IN THE COMMUNITY who think a plebiscite is actually a good idea is proof of this.

― oh, boy, .GIF! That's where I'm a Viking! (edwardo), Wednesday, 9 August 2017 21:16 (twenty-seven minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I have seen some thoroughly vile shit today, and it's not even day 1

Penny Wong's fucking incredible senate speech (she's representing the opposition):

https://youtu.be/9noLe7f-VpI?t=321

The whole eight minutes is phenomenal, but I've cued it up to the jaw-dropping final two minutes.

https://www.buzzfeed.com/joshtaylor/this-is-all-the-respectful-debate-on-day-one-of-the-postal

Former speaker Bronwyn Bishop ran the "slippery slope" argument — conflating same-sex marriage with bestiality.

Liberal assistant minister for immigration and border protection Alex Hawke expressed concern that people may be "sued for expressing their religious freedom".

Former Prime Minister Tony Abbott suggested people vote no in the plebiscite because it's about...freedom of speech.

Openly-gay monarchist and former head of the Australian Broadcasting Authority David Flint told 2GB that people could change their genders and, using an "extreme example", go and rape women in bathrooms.

The Australian Christian Lobby (ACL) is already arguing that the plebiscite isn't about same-sex marriage but "freedom of speech" and "Safe Schools".

I have nobody to get married to but I would like to have same sex marriage with an excemption in the Law: that Christine Forster isn't allowed to get married.

Because seriously fuck her, she's quite happy to support her dickhead brother in everything about taking away other people's rights and money and transferring them to the wealthy, but when it comes to HER rights, suddenly it's all about the people. I was very rude to her when I saw her handing out HTVs for herself for Mayor of Sydney and I don't regret it.

The Penny Wong embed didn't work

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9noLe7f-VpI&t=321

fuck the embed then

xp to edwardo: She's a good argument for why her brother's worse than dog shit, but seriously fuck her other shitty tory nonsense

Lonely guy just thinking baout civil disobedience

Rules against malicious campaign material will not apply to same-sex marriage postal vote

The public won't see the proposed changes to the marriage act before they vote

I can't see any way out of this other than refusing to play the game, Australia-wide and in huge numbers

don't do that. the ACL won't.

The going theory is that if everyone except the bigots boycotts the vote, there's no way it can be seen as a representative or even fair process, and Labor will have no trouble explaining that to the electorate when it goes about changing the law in Parliament. I mean the whole process is so clearly illegitimate in so many ways (and I've woken up to discover that fmr High Court judge Michael Kirby and his partner have declared they'll boycott! Maybe that's the start of it)

Advice is not to boycott because Labor will campaign for yes while simultaneously hanging shit on Turnbull for all the abuse, all the suicides etc etc.

Meanwhile, day 2 of the Respectful Debate Campaign

Lyle Shelton, head of the Australian Christian Lobby — the loudest voice on the "no" side — refused to withdraw his claim that marriage equality will create a "stolen generation" of the children of LGBTI Australians.

ABC News Breakfast host Michael Rowland received a postcard asking if he approved of the "filthy practice" of "sodomy" and compared gay people to "brownshirts" (i.e. Nazis)

Liberal MP Andrew Laming, in a tense debate with former Labor premier Kristina Keneally on Sky News, suggested if she didn't like the debate, she could go to North Korea.

The minister now in charge of the agency responsible for surveying the public on same-sex marriage once said gay sex was "sordid behaviour" and "unnatural acts".

R E S P E C T F U L D E B A T E

Several times I have started to write some kind of cogent response to the spineless bigoted cretins backslapping each other as they grind people's identities and joy beneath their smdnmejcdnkwqeoiucwd kjcakjnacsnjklcdknjcsa kmasd FUCK YOU FUCKING SHITS.

We all need to vote so they go the fuck down. I don't even want those arseholes winning a popularity contest.

Firs of many High Court challenge hearings today before 3.30 AEDT.

I just… the effect of all this. Not going into my personal situation itt, but I'm less impacted by this than a million Australians and I'm stressed and terrified. Hate to think what it's like for people who are openly gay, trans people, kids who are scared of being themselves etc. I've been listening to The Informer podcast on Joy Melbourne and even the reporters are audibly shaken by this. It's all just so fucking harrowing.

I have to say that

# I thought Australia was better than this.
It is. The government isn't.

is a very optimistic view given our treatment of refugees. Australia isn't better than this, as we prove time and again.

On balance we're slightly better than the government in that a large number of us don't support the worst things that the whole of the government thinks is fine. I agree that Australia is largely a backwater shithole though.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=khLEbeV400M

massive thanks to flipmod is the squizzod for fixing the top post, i had no idea it was so painful to edit posts

turnbull announced he's stepping back entirely from the "campaign". goes to war against his own people, four days later runs away. strong leader my fucking arse.

ha, be fantastic if barnaby fuckface joyce loses his seat due to NZ citizenship. maybe he'll finally have that massive coronary.

iirc joyce is the only leader of a federal or state government who opposes marriage equality. so fuck him.

There are few Australian political figures I loathe more than Joyce so this would be some antidote to all the other fuckery happening atm

NZ just confirmed that Barnaby is an NZ citizen.

watching reps now, it's a mess

:D

I can see it now. Barnaby renounces, but is determined to have been ineligible to have stood previously, but now can run in the by-election. Which he then wins because he promises to protect his constituents from dykes and poofs.

This fucking country, seriously.

Can I distribute bits of paper for people to stick in their plebiscite envelopes that say this? The ABS could count them, I feel sure.

Barnaby Joyce is a CUNT:

[ ] YES
[ ] NO

Will this invalidate results? Someone give me constitutional advice.

I am starting to notice a rich vein of "I'm not a bigot but... fuck equality before the law" hot takes, because there wasn't just enough "I'm a bigot and fuck equality before the law because hurrrr" hot takes.

Which will come first the postal survey or yet another federal election?

julie bishop is attacking nz labour now? what the fuck is happening?

I am starting to notice a rich vein of "I'm not a bigot but... fuck equality before the law" hot takes, because there wasn't just enough "I'm a bigot and fuck equality before the law because hurrrr" hot takes.

i keep hearing "shut up you already have equality, it's just the word that's different", which is so clearly a batshit lie that you know they've got nothing

wtf lol

that's like 1 person with a glass of milk asking 1 person with an icecream if they can have some icecream too. "well techically you already HAVE icecream"

*throws milk at them, stabls them with broken glass*

"it's exactly like ice cream in every way, shut up and eat your ice cream"

"but it's liquid"

"i said shut up"

If we can escalate this trans-ditch stoush so much that we can provoke a sneak invasion - NZ law will prevail and we can have gay marriage and no nasty postal survey.

well our deptuy pm's a kiwi so

turnbull goes on a two day diplomatic trip and boom, west island confirmed

Does that mean Barnaby can marry the man of his choice with he goes to the NZ high commission?

yes, in fact he married kevin andrews on a cycling holiday

btw ed you've picked up the gist of our political culture damned quickly, great work

i'm watching reps question time, it's exactly like a sitcom

even the lnp's dixer was like a punchline! she asked turnbull about foreign interference, OF ALL THINGS.

plibers just asked turnbull who'll be acting pm when turnbull is away next week, turnbull said "usual arrangements", the roof came off.

every second this goes on, the postal survey implicitly dissolves further into satire.

they're tripping over their own dixers, it's like the plank x 75

What's there to know?

1) Democracy Sausage
2) Knockabout fun at question time is preferable to getting any real work done
3) Elections are preferable to getting any real work done
4) If you've exhausted your options 2 and 3 change PM and try again.
5) Fuck Barnaby Joyce, Tony Abbott and George Christiansen
6) Preference deals lead to surprises!
7) Xenephon, Katter, McGowan, Hinch, Lambie etc. - not all loons all the time
8) Fuck One Nation Pauline Hanson and her nasty tribe
9) Sovereignty was never ceded so this all should be moot anyway - ignore that one ask hard as possible
10) Democracy sausage, except when voting ing a mean, spiteful and meaningless postal survey

10 out of 10, you're hired

So when Turnbull goes away next week our Prime Minister will be a New Zealander and our Head of State is British.

efforts to keep foreigners outside our borders not so successful

Maybe we should just have a rule that you're not allowed in parliament without a second passport. Might improve things.

Of course we've already had a British-born PM with all his Sir Prince Phillip nonsense so whatever

so our queen of state is married to sir prince philip of australia, so it's all fine

*head of state

don't want to say that the government are getting desperate but Christopher Pyne was going off his nut in QT claiming that asking advice from NZ Labour meant that the ALP are probably colluding with the Chinese Communist Party as well

it's like asking a colleague for advice in NAZI GERMANY

wtf at this whole thing

australia is not like the caricatures you're used to, it's 17 times worse

also i know the cost is completely besides the point, but pay me $12.2 million and i'll conduct this survey by mail. how in the world can it cost $122 million, that's insane. seriously, someone pay me $12.2 million, i will do great things with the money.

one thing i would do: i insert the words "<<< You're a complete asshole" by the YES option

we're allowed to draw dicks on the form so

ftr it's actually true

The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) has confirmed to BuzzFeed News that ballot papers with graffiti on them will be considered valid in the upcoming same-sex marriage postal survey, as long as a "yes" or "no" vote is clearly legible.

oh no, i'm saying as administrator of the survey i would insert the words "You're a complete asshole" by the YES option on every single ballot. it's not ethical, but sometimes you have to fight fire with fire.

and by the NO option it says something like "hey, you're alright!"

that would not surprise me tbh

Legal Experts Say The Govt Definitely Fucked Up Their Postal Survey

Is the prime minister of Australia still someone named "Kevin"?

He was Prime Minister from 27th June 2013 until 18th September 2013

Though that was his second-go-round

every state and territory premier/first minister supports marriage equality. the prime minister too (i call bullshit on that but at least he claims to). so the only leader currently in power who doesn't support marriage equality is actually a kiwi.

and therefore, ironically, is the only leader who could marry a partner of the same sex if he so chose. (Said yesterday but worth saying again)

ironic then that the only nationwide political leader who opposes marriage equality is the only one who's allowed to do it by citizenship

it's pretty ironic that Barnaby Joyce could marry a man if he wanted to, when he's the only national political leader actively barring other people from doing so, don't you think

You know what's ironic? Joyce is the only leader who could get gay-married, but unlike the others he hates the gays!

so it's ironic that he can marry a man even though he's opposed to it in his capacity as a political leader

it's pretty ironic that Barnaby Joyce's head kinda looks like a kiwifruit

(as kiwifruits aren't native to New Zealand)

https://www.facebook.com/AustralianYG/posts/1721222701244749

BuzzFeed News: If we change the marriage laws in Australia that it could lead eventually to people being able to marry objects such as… the Harbour Bridge?

Abetz: Why not? Why not.

stop this sexually irresistible merry-go-round i want to get off

In Australia it is not legal to marry an object and no one has ever proposed that it should be legalised.

rip australia

rip australia

If only Australia had died right then - we would have been spared pauline hanson wearing burqa in the senate

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/06198fe84262506796a357c57eb723488f033fdd/0_238_4500_2700/master/4500.jpg?w=620&q=55&auto=format&usm=12&fit=max&s=a20ee65d2079129734fda795127d828c

good to see john clarke is still writing material from the afterlife

i was hoping it was one of those people-sized bags magicians use & she was going to make herself disappear

fuckin UGH i hate that pinchfaced hag so much

amazing that 'MP claims people want to marry a bridge' was only the dumbest thing happening in this country for about thirty minutes.

— Colley (@JamColley) August 17, 2017

If I'd supplied a burqua for Hanson I would have made it airtight.

went to the melbourne rally yesterday. estimates of 20,000+ are otm, it was properly enormous. i've never seen even half that many at a rally. it took just under half an hour for the march to funnel through one junction.

before the march started an old guy came up to about 30 of us and yelled that we were going to bleed in hell or some shit. then he threw his coffee at us and i lost my shit and screamed back at him (i have never ever done this before btw). he turned and charged right at me, and my 70 year old mother-in-law pulled me back. police chased him down the street and we never saw him again.

I was amused by the coverage yesterday that suggested that liberals in marginal seats are not altogether thrilled by the addition of 100,000 people to the electoral role (and many more updating their details) in a country with compulsory voting.

yeah, and both major parties might pitch to young people for a change

Nah young people aren't WORKING FAMILIES what are you talking about only WORKING FAMILIES matter, m9.

HARDWORKING FAMILIES OF MUMS AND DADS

WORKING FAMILIES...

...FROM WESTERN SYDNEY

HCA unanimously dismisses the 2 applications.

i'm so very Looking forward to all those op-eds from Murdoch rags telling me and my partner and the rest of my community that we're yucky filth for the next couple of months

so fucking exhausted by this, and i'm not even the target. monotony and everyone, biggest massive hugs for the next few months. not sure what i/we can do but please speak up if you need anything.

our old local barista is in the new ME ad

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pl5pEmg4N_0

Turnbull says he will vote yes but won't commit to actively campaigning.

— Josh Taylor (@joshgnosis) September 7, 2017

fearless stuff from prime minister talcum murnbull

fucking useless piece of shit

Most pointless person ever

tbf it is quite impressive how he makes blamp strainer look like a progressive man of action

apropos of nothing but eric abetz went to the trouble of blocking me on Twitter last night because I accused him of supporting Kaiser Wilhelm II

funny how bigots don't like being called bigots innit

** YOU CAN'T TAKE AWAY MY RIGHTS, I MUST BE ALLOWED TO SAY THAT HOMOSEXUALS ARE EVIL CHILD MOLESTERS **

you're a sick bigot, champ

** BLOCKED **

** LET ME SPEAK I MUST HAVE FREEDOM OF SPEECH LET ME HAVE MY SAY WE ARE NOT BIGOTS WE HAVE ~~~~~~REASONS~~~~~~ STOP SILENCING ME AND LET ME EXPLAIN MY REASONS **

so give me one single reason

** SHUT UP YOU FUCKING GAY **

every

single

time

I am very sorry for your pain / this is fucking hilarious

https://www.buzzfeed.com/bradesposito/why-macklemore-why

that actually is hilarious

our land is girt by fkn idiots

"I want to take my boys to watch the footy and I don't want the betting ads jammed down their throat, I don't want the gay marriage message jammed down their throat at the football,"

honestly, watching these hateful bigots cry about their own tactic backfiring on them is the closest thing we have to schadenfreude up to this point

pauline hanson demanding johnny farnham = vmic

on wednesday i am wearing a rainbow tie and rainbow sunglasses and rainbow umbrella and rainbow shoelaces to work, and anyone who moans can fuck themselves in the face

not that i expect anyone at my work to object, the ceo and every single person who matters is vocally and aggressively pro-equality

if they're really so pro-equality they'll fuck themselves in the face anyway then

...

btw re this:

# Is the bill in its final form?
No. It's still a draft and is open to consultation.

# So how do you know what's in it? Will it be real equality, or will it be full of exemptions to protect bigots? Will it accommodate trans and intersex people?
We don't know.

# Will it be finalised before the survey commences?
It doesn't look likely.

if they're really so pro-equality they'll fuck themselves in the face anyway then

― shackling the masses with plastic-wrapped snack picks (sic), Saturday, 11 November 2017 09:24 (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

what the fuck does that even

I was amused by AA's jarring 1-second turn from "fuck these people!" to "don't fuck them, they're lovely"

milkshake duck in reverse

paterson’s new gay-hate bill, hoo boy

^^ dis guy is hurting my personal brand yet again

Hey, look, i'm stuck sharing a surname with active criminal against humanity dud treasurer man

I feel sorry for me mate, Steve Abbott-Hitler.

fingers crossed

61.6% now we can start arguing about who has the right to buy a cake from whom.

not to be a debbie downer but 38.4% voting no still seems...very dismaying for someone in a queer little bubble

But I'll take what I can get. Hopefully a gif of Lyle Shelton or Tony Abbott crying shows up on the internet soon

someone like me* I should say

overall 61.6% is pretty good, though. I remember when prop 8 passed in california I read that 25% of residents of San Francisco voted for it. that's not a lot, but it still shocked me. I remember looking around when I would go out, thinking that 1 out of 4 people believed that my already-granted right to marriage should be taken away

spare a thought please for all those poor bakers who will have to make cakes for people they dislike

61% is lower than I'dve expected/liked, but my experience growing up, if we'd done this in the 80s it would have been at least in reverse. A lot has changed in the last 10 years and the country towns change a lot more slow.

Blaxland in NSW the most anti, and most of western Sydney resolutely against. Maybe greater proportions of Catholics? Seems to be what the census map of religion shows.

More like greater proportions of non-Caucasians with traditional ideas about marriage, I'd say.

A little close to generalising about non-Caucasians there, I’d be a touch more comfortable ascribing it to religious relief.

*belief, sorry

yes, I think religion plays a huge role

Yeah you're right. Blaxland is 20% Muslim and I imagine the yes vote was fairly low in Muslim communities. And I'm guessing that's generally why the yes vote was depressed in Western Sydney.

. @kevinandrewsmp : A Jewish baker should be able to deny an Islamic customer a wedding cake and vice versa. MORE: https://t.co/wX3tAbXkD4 pic.twitter.com/5lIekTmeRS

— Sky News Australia (@SkyNewsAust) November 15, 2017

Sorry for polluting the world just a little more with a Sky News link, but ffs

You guys have barely any Mormons or Southern Baptists though

We have western Sydney, though, knuckle draggers in the thunder dome.

Think Akron, with Parrots and worse traffic.

lol

61% is lower than I'dve expected/liked

given bigots lied wholesale and some major religious orgs actively instructed their people to oppose it, it’s a pretty good result tbh. but yes, it should have been 100%.

And still that fundamental obscenity which is a governmentally endorsed vote by the community on whether to magnanimously grant a basic human right to a long-repressed and ostracised minority.

yes

otm. turnbull will try to lap up praise but i honestly don’t think he knows what’s about to hit him.

the ugly attempted conversion of 'yes' to 'yes but'

90% of olds in my electorate voted yes fk yeah oldies

one big positive from today is that the electorates/states of a lot of the strongest LNP homophobes (Abbott, Andrews, Christensen, Abetz, Morrison et al) all came back with a majority yes

take the small victories y'all. I'm very happy about this news!

also I thought you were joking about a place called "blaxland" but ok nope

I reside in Batman, electorate-wise. I'm not sure how the names of electorates get decided but they aren't geographic.

mine is Corangamite

which is very nasty on toast

I'm in Mayo

hahah!

Nasty-on-Toast sounds like a village in Discworld

Tombot: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gregory_Blaxland

I live in More More Moreland so I cant talk

Blaxland might be the name of an explorer, but Blacktown well and truly exists (and probably voted no). And was literally named thus because it was where "the blacks" lived.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blacktown

shhhh dont tell them about Coon cheese.

somewhat ironically, or perhaps appropriately, whenever you guys teach me a new Australian place name that happens to look like it might be a spondee (two stressed syllables, i.e. sunshine, doorway), I hear it in my head to the tune of the Shopkins theme.

Blaxland, blaxland!
Blacktown, Blacktown!
etc.

wow, in three posts i've lost the train of this thread

On the other hand, we do have a popular ice cream called Golden Gaytime

you made that up

Slogan: you can't have a Gaytime on your own

http://www.streetsicecream.com.au/Brand/Golden_Gaytime.aspx

It is both true and delicious.

they are delicious! but don't buy them this summer as they're manufactured by streets, who are cutting workers' wages by ~46%

they are v good i concur

what are your most missed local foodstuffs, vg?

never in my wildest dreams did I think my home state (Queensland) would nearly match Victoria/Tasmania - and this from the only state where more people live outside the capital than in it!

I grew up in what's now in the electorate of Brisbane itself and so stoked that it nearly had as high a yes vote as Sydney and Melbourne!

i know, i’m surprised at how well the gold coast has supported it, it’s very heartening.

"Number of dickheads in Australia slumps below 5 million" http://www.chaser.com.au/national/abs/

my electorate was fifth highest Yes vote in the country, whoo

we’re at the melbourne street party and we’ve seen one person we know

I remain a bit baffled how the outer suburban Adelaide electorate that I grew up in got more of a Yes vote than the inner suburban Sydney electorate that I live in now.

forever lol at the 75% Yes vote in Warringah, suck on that onion boy

melbourne ports, third biggest yes in the country 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍🌈

emojis on ilx, i know, i don’t care today

🌈❤️🧡💛💚💙💜

b-b-b-b-but no campaign's fee fees

many xxposts to estela

missed foodstuffs:
burger rings
chicken twisties
plain old pork sausages
chips & gravy
sausage rolls
souvlaki/greek food*
indian*

* i can get them here but they’re not as good nor as ubiquitous

i also really miss salad rolls - sandwiches here have ridic amounts of meat & beetroot is not a common filling ;_;

also this is kinda embarrassing but god i miss cabana
... and strasbourg + tomato sauce sandwiches

LAMB

i miss lamb. it’s SO expensive here

sorry for sidetrack

back to ballot talk

beyond deflating hearing the barrage of calls to sbs mandarin radio claiming same-sex attraction is “sick” and “abnormal”

i’m in no way a “fuck off we’re full” type, but seriously why the fuck did you move here

xp to vg: i am impressed that your list is not a compendium of sugar forms like my australian list would be, like my nz list is

i was trying to cloak my sugar cravings by listing savory items

sugar:
jelly babies
snakes alive
fruit tingles
freckles
etc etc

i also really miss those small-town homemade baked goodies sold at sunday markets, like yo-yos made by a little old lady etc

for that reason i am making my family jelly slice for Thansgiving dessert this year (may or may not be served glad-wrapped on a styrofoam tray lol)

rank a packet of Assorted Creams veg

kingston
monte carlo
orange
shortbread
chocolate

in order of best to decent

all gr8 obv

<3 i’ve been having a fling with arnott’s venetian biscuits but monte carlos are my true love

also jelly slice glad-wrapped in a polystyrene tray is a huge winner

VG what is this “chocolate”, hast thou forsaken the DELTA CREAM?

I FORGOT WOT THEY WERE CALLED

monte carlos with that weird stretchy cream mmmm so good

Like raspberry tile adhesive

what’s the one like that one but with the chocolate filling

kensingtons?

oh you mentioned, kingstons

klassik

yknow what i miss too

chocolate mfing royals

indonesia had cheese flavoured tim tams a few years ago

cheese flavoured

cheese

the proof that i am not making that up is that you could not make that up

barf

Ween have a lot to answer for imo

bahahahahahahaha yes

my friend brought me a ton of flavored ones

pina colada tasted like a scented candle, it was horrifying

i really liked the white choc ones tho, which surprised me

i am dead against the salted caramel infiltration of tim tams, it’s the noxious weed of dessert ingredients

i love regular caramel though

salted caramel ice cream is very good. hope that it doesn't become the new pumpkin spice, however

it’s not by accident that “salted caramel” is an anagram of “serrated tussock” xp

lol

the problem i find with most salted caramel things (especially the supermarket-brand bandwagonners) is that they're not nearly salty enough

also many xps: hi autumn almanac, we're neighbours! (although partner & i are considering moving back northside or even over to trendy yarrville sometime next year)

we are the 82.0%ers

which suburb?

(we’re deep in st k)

I've started reading this, its very good:

https://www.quarterlyessay.com.au/essay/2017/09/moral-panic-101

(startled that QE is such an expensive tome to buy, but I needed a good lunch read!)

people who think marriage is, as Mojo Nixon said, a way to screw yourself up REAL good are also "people"

Sure, but in your country at least you can make that choice one way or t'other.

xps ben law’s qe should be required reading. i’ve not finished it but even the first part explains exactly what safe schools is and isn’t.

Truth. I wish I could make my dad read it. He probably wouldnt.

xps: South Melbourne, not far from the market. a lovely area if a little bougie.

i miss south melb market and the plant nursery on the tramline. I mean Brunswick is nice but I still feel like a southside gal sometimes.

also Ben's QE is one of the best things I've read this year. The hysteria and misinformation out there in relation to Safe Schools absolutely infuriates me and I'm glad a relatively high profile writer took the time to meticulously correct the record.

mono were you someone else previously on 'ere or are you a new mongrel ILXor?

Relatively new breed I think (can't remember when I joined - maybe 2012?)

September 4, 2012

don't call it a comeback

sic.xls

still so impatient. I have literally had the number of people I could go into a sham marriage DOUBLED, WHY MUST I WAIT.

Heartening conversation with my 100yo grandmother last night, who is all in favour of gay marriage and voted yes

We got a new green state mp, first indigenous woman in the state parliament too. Things are looking up.

yeah this is a clear and long-overdue turning point imo.

james: that is incredibly excellent and almost made me cry (again, for like the 70th time this week)

I had avoided even discussing the topic with anyone whose views i did not know as it was all so depressing, so this was a very nice surprise

me too, legitimately could not deal with learning who the bigots are

also you have the best grandfather

nice sizzle there pato

maybe we're meant to be surprised that bigots are falling over themselves to corrupt this

And now we can have a golden gaytime this summer.

golden gaytimes should be banned because my religious freedoms

Barrie Cassidy was pointing out the obvious on AM this morning with Jon Faine that if they push hard for "religious freedoms" around this, they shoot themselves in the foot cos hey, Islam is a religion too you idiots.

otm, can’t wait for them to accidentally defend burqas

no they'll say it's about fuckin' 'strayan fuckin' values which are Judeo-Christian and not some raghead bullshit.

why? because they are cunts.

Wearing a burqa = un-Australian
fiddling kiddies = GROUSE!

no they'll say it's about fuckin' 'strayan fuckin' values which are Judeo-Christian and not some raghead bullshit.

why? because they are cunts.

― oh, boy, .GIF! That's where I'm a Viking! (edwardo), Thursday, 23 November 2017 17:23 (two hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

look edwardo, they're only trying to strike a balance between the freedom to destroy the lives of everyone they hate and the freedom to turn every australian into a fucking handmaid

it's not their fault they're hostile fucking bigots who ignore everything about their religion the second they have a chance to kick a non-straight literally in the face

it passed!!

IT DONE

and something in the region of 900,000 people are telling lyle shelton to eat shit

finally a good thing in a terrible year

YES

i have cried several times this evening and now i am drinking pinot noir

went to trivia tonight and our team name in round 1 was "Suck shit Lyle", then in round 2 we were "Keep sucking shit Lyle"

lol

Listening to the Senate debate last week with all the “reasonable” arguments about the “rights” of bigots to cling to their bigotry was enough to erase any magnanimity toward the misguided noes. Imagine in the aftermath of the 1967 referendum, arguments being made to modify the recognition of indigenous citizens to protect the beliefs of people who really really feel that non white races are inferior. I mean, it’s their traditional belief, right? And yet all this poison was spoken righteously and entered into the parliamentary records of our country. Fuck you, bigots, I hope you squirm in your discomfort. It’s done now. Fix your hearts or die.

eat shit Lyle made my morning

That's pretty beautiful.

love my homeland for eat shit lyle <3 brings a tear it does

a genuinely admirable display of GOOD Australianness, which we've been sorely lacking recently

So who's getting an invite for January 9th?

The correct term is proposal.

went to trivia tonight and our team name in round 1 was "Suck shit Lyle", then in round 2 we were "Keep sucking shit Lyle"

― oh, boy, .GIF! That's where I'm a Viking! (edwardo), Thursday, 7 December 2017 23:06 (yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

this is excellent i am certainly stealing this

I mean, it’s their traditional belief, right? And yet all this poison was spoken righteously and entered into the parliamentary records of our country. Fuck you, bigots, I hope you squirm in your discomfort. It’s done now. Fix your hearts or die.

― attention vampire (MatthewK), Friday, 8 December 2017 00:23 (twenty hours ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

well said. what a fucking embarrassment. although it was delightful to hear christensen shriek about the cheering in the gallery, which was followed by cheering in the gallery. and the more the gallery cheered, the more it wound up the bigots. there's nothing like an angry sore loser, especially when they're fucking muck, and it's on video and in hansard for eternity. good. they can fucking die.

...it will take me a VERY VERY VERY long time to stop being weapons-grade furious with those fuck trumpets, probably never