This week, I was asked by a Year 9 student, “Miss? Do you ever want to punch a kid for being annoying?” The whole class tuned in for my response. Note that I go to boxing every morning and can throw a damn good jab, but of course I replied, “No. I do not. That is not how we handle problems. It’s not in my nature to want to harm other people when disagreements arise.”
Bob Katter confronts Nine News reporter Josh Bavas.Credit: Nine News
That very same day, politician Bob Katter held a bizarre press conference in which he became global news because he raised his fist and threatened to punch a journalist over a question about his heritage. What a relief for us all that Bob was, in his own words, “restraining” himself.
It reminded me of Labor senator Glenn Sterle, who in 2022 snapped at Bridget McKenzie that he was “gonna do me block in a minute” if she kept behaving like a “naughty little girl” and wouldn’t “be quiet”.
I don’t reckon Katter or Sterle would last five minutes in a school. Every day across Australia, teachers – most of whom are women – are in far more volatile situations handling challenging exchanges with professionalism and composure and without resorting to threats of violence.
Consider that we face a national crisis of domestic and family violence, and that since 2011, violence against teachers has increased by 80 per cent. Consider also that a recent Australian Catholic University (ACU) survey revealed that nearly 50 per cent of principals experienced physical violence and more than 54 per cent faced threats of violence in the past year.
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So don’t tell me Katter’s behaviour this week is not “over the top” and permissible because he’s 80, as his son did. Don’t tell me it’s permissible because of his “colourful character.” Don’t tell me, as smiling journo Denham Hitchcock did, that it’s just the natural expression of a “passionate Australian”. And Bob, don’t tell us it’s just you “throwing back” to your “Cloncurry roots” and “reacting as any good Cloncurry boy would”.
Six months ago, after the release of the Netflix show Adolescence, we saw widespread pearl-clutching and moral outrage about young men’s violence. We saw Jamie, the main character in the show, blow up at his female psychologist and aggressively stand over her. I’d take a guess that most teachers watching that show would not be shocked by Jamie’s aggressive outburst. They would instead be nodding knowingly, no doubt reflecting on similar experiences they’ve witnessed in schools. I, as a senior experienced teacher with almost 18 years in the classroom, can think of a few.
Newsflash: the model of violence and aggression is closer to home than the manosphere and Andrew Tate. It’s everywhere; the manosphere just packaged it up and commodified it.
