Pimpin ain't easy for Ewart Brown & his Mau Mau thugs

Pimpin ain't easy By Christian Dunleavy on March 29, 2010 | Feedback | More

Emerging PLP hatchet man Marc Bean is getting some attention for using the Senate floor to call environmental group BEST a 'muppet show', and then after being called out has upped the ante 'pimps and prostitutes' reference.

I feel compelled to weigh in here because I seem to recall a couple of rent-a-protestors being sent over to harass my employer after I used the term 'media whore' in reference to the outgoing Premier in 2007 and his love of mugging for the camera.

I'm glad that the PLP has come around and implicitly acknowledged that I was trailblazing, and I must say much I chose much more interesting language than 'pimp' or 'prostitute', which is Mr. Bean's primary offense.

His attack lacks creativity and originality. It's just crude, and lazy. Simply throwing out 'pimps and prostitutes' is really missing an opportunity to add a little creative license. He needs to get a bit more original and creative.

You see, the beauty of the term 'media whore' versus 'pimps and prostitutes' is that it says so much with two simple words. You know precisely what a media whore is as soon as you hear it (I didn't create the term but it's an all time favourite). Its beauty is its all encompassing brevity. Pimps and prostitutes doesn't have that same effect, it's low hanging fruit

These attacks are also weak on the substance on a guy like Stuart Hayward and BEST. Stuart, who I don't really know other than his public profile, is clearly committed to the cause of environmentalism - throughout his life. To try and suggest that he is some tool of the ever expanding Combined Opposition makes the pimps and prostitutes allegation more inflammatory than illuminating. Stuart has been an independent MP and an equal opportunity critic who admittedly has been applying a lot of heat to the PLP in the past few years. But he's got a lot of company in that regard.

Back to Mr. Bean. In 2007 the now Senator then candidate was previewing his flair for the overdramatic by calling the UBP 'neo-fascists' who wanted to lock everyone up when they (rightly) called for urgent action to arrest violent gang crime.

At the time I gave Mr. Bean a new award, the DIngbat of the Day, for his stupid and incendiary comments. Later that day I received an email from Mr. Bean saying that I was being disrespectful by calling him a Dingbat.

After a short exchange I decided to amend the post to "Hyberbole of the Day" as it was meant more in jest than an insult. The 'dingbat' can still be seen in the filename of the post.

So I would suggest that Mr. Bean take a look in the mirror and do a little self-assessment, ask himself what his reaction would be if someone called him a muppet or a pimp and a prostitute for expressing his political views. i suspect he'd argue that like my dingbat reference it was disrespectful and unhelpful for generating civil discourse in our country.

He'd be right.

But, judging by his release today that UBP Senate Leader Michael Dunkley is 'ignorant and arrogant' - an accusation that I might add would immediately send the PLP thought police into a frenzy if leveled by (white) Michael Dunkley against anyone in the (black) PLP - he's got a long way to go.