No Oppo Supporters 2025 AFL General Discussion

[bedford]

I actually see it the other way around.

The parents of most convicted rapists aren’t plastered all over every media site in Australia. News Corp in particular has chosen to go to town on the couple.

What else would you expect from Murdoch , but the fact remains is that he's been found by a jury to be guilty
What about the poor girl , no one thinks about her , she said she couldn't even handle her Dad giving her a cuddle !

 

[Voula]

I saw Hayward and Ollie on the news at Carlton training. It just didn't look right .

 

[caesar88]

I actually see it the other way around.

The parents of most convicted rapists aren’t plastered all over every media site in Australia. News Corp in particular has chosen to go to town on the couple - because of who they are.

Define "go to town" though. For example, the Australian's headline today was, "We want to clear his name, and bring him home: Stephen Silvagni's plea", with the by-line saying, "AFL legend Stephen Silvagni has broken down in tears while issuing an emotional statement outside court."

Let's say the offender was not a privileged, private-school educated son of a high-profile Victorian, but instead, an every day joe, working class, on the dole, person of colour, whatever. Do you think the parents of such an offender would even get to make a statement outside the court, and if they did, it'd be represented through an "emotional" lens as afforded to the Silvagnis by the media?

 

[Dubai Quacker]

Define "go to town" though. For example, the Australian's headline today was, "We want to clear his name, and bring him home: Stephen Silvagni's plea", with the by-line saying, "AFL legend Stephen Silvagni has broken down in tears while issuing an emotional statement outside court."

Let's say the offender was not a privileged, private-school educated son of a high-profile Victorian, but instead, an every day joe, working class, on the dole, person of colour, whatever. Do you think the parents of such an offender would even get to make a statement outside the court, and if they did, it'd be represented through an "emotional" lens as afforded to the Silvagnis by the media?

No, they wouldn’t. And I do acknowledge your point.

But I’m looking at this through the lens of loving parents who haven’t done anything wrong but are clearly extremely distressed and now (for example) have the Daily Mail running stories gleefully declaring how Jo Silvagni’s career could be destroyed.

I find putting the boot into distressed parents who haven’t done anything wrong needlessly cruel - regardless of their wealth or profile.

I don’t see it as a class warfare or privilege thing. I just see it as a lack of empathy and human decency.