Sometimes smugness verges into stupidity so crystal clear that it’s like a ray of fresh air sweeping away the cobwebs until it’s as loud as a bell.
I’m speaking about Linda Reynolds.
She is a Senator from Western Australia. She doesn’t think much of this webpage nor of the views posed by others about the ongoing degradation of our military capability.
I say ongoing because once 18 year olds in the infantry needed to do 40 push ups. And when I say once, I don’t mean long ago – the kids who are entering prep this year were alive when that was still the standard.
Now some infantry soldiers only have to do 21 push ups because equality.
I know that last sentence does not actually make sense grammatically, or in any other way. But it is still the reason for this change.
And at this rate, by the time kids born in 2013 actually get to apply for a job as a front-line killer they’ll just need to identify what a bot on a playstation doing a push up looks like (and also where it sits on the gender continuum).
Anyway, I digress from the good Senator. Linda is also completely in favour of a ‘merit-based selection’ process to place females in front-line combat roles while keeping lower fitness standards for women while simultaneously advocating for complete desegregation of gender and competition based entirely on talent.
Whhooo!
I know. It is a bit of a mouthful.
It would also mean that Linda Reynolds is in favour of a process that would mean not a single woman would ever serve in the Army.
See:
Bernard, women have been integrated into the Army for over 30 years and train and serve alongside male colleagues. Merit based selection rightly rests with the chain of command. It really is time to get over it.
— Linda Reynolds (@lindareynoldswa) February 13, 2018
And see again:
Lyle, that was called the Womens Royal Australian Army Corp, which was disbanded in 1985 when women were fully integrated Army. So why don’t we take the lead from the ADF and desegregate women in sport, so men and women compete equally on talent, not by gender.?
— Linda Reynolds (@lindareynoldswa) February 13, 2018
The smug part is this: Linda tried to deflect criticism of her ‘progressive’ plans to require Defence to employ females in the infantry by arguing that elite sports should be so ‘super progressive’ as to follow Defence’s lead.
The stupid part is this: Linda argued that competitions like the AFL should not have any gender requirements at all but should select players based entirely on talent. Which would mean, in practical terms, that the AFL would begin as a men’s competition and it would also end as a men’s competition.
And the really stupidly brilliant part is this: if Linda’s suggestion for the AFL was actually implemented inside the Defence Force there would be no women in the Army at all.
It would mean that all females are required to do the same amount of push-ups as men, run as fast men and carry the same amount of gear as men. It would certainly mean an end to the female-only pre-recruit recruit course that runs for seven weeks at taxpayers’ expense to get women to the grand fitness standard of being able to muster 8 push ups.
So I’m completely against Linda Reynolds’ philosophy (because it’s not a philosophy and is instead mindless rambling) and am completely in favour of the outcome it would produce by accident.
It would end Linda Reynolds’ insane idea that it is a good idea to employ women (who are not as physically strong as men) in a role that required them to use physical strength to kill dudes.
And it would also rub out the second idea that you can defeat criticism of the first idea by placing your fingers in your ears and repeating ‘diversity will keep us safe’ until the bad guys go away.
For the record: the bad guys are not the enemy but people like me – there is no actual plan for the enemy.
Welcome the world of being Linda Reynolds. It’s a magical enigma.
Stay tuned. I’m sure this is not the last of her Alice in Wonderland wisdom…
February 15, 2018
I confidently predict the term ‘merit based selection process’ will turn out to be one of those Communist code words that conceals a multitude of ‘merit’-based criteria that have nothing to do with real merit, capability and standards. Rather, it will have everything to do with weasel rules and PC definitions/outcomes.
You could have a full ‘merit based selection process’ if Shirley gets merit points for being a rainbow ally and Dudley gets merit points for gender sensitivity and Walid gets merit points for his religious peacefulness.
February 14, 2018
This is brilliant!
Here is this barge-arsed sheila ex-Brigadier who NEVER did the same BFA (Basic Fitness Assessment) as males when she was in the Army – because the BFA requirements for women are much less than for men, aren’t they? And it’s highly probably she never did the old CFA (Combat Fitness Assessment) and absolutely certain she’s never come close to doing the current PESA.
But she has the hide to say “… women have been integrated into the Army for over 30 years and train and serve alongside male colleagues. Merit based selection rightly rests with the chain of command. It really is time to get over it”.
The Womens Royal Australian Army Corps (WRAAC) might have been disbanded in 1985 – but women have NOT been fully integrated into the Army. How can she say full integration has occurred when there have always been special rules for women allowing them to pass physical tests by achieving lesser results than the men? Such as in the BFA and other tests including the Day 1 test for the Basic Parachute Course?
If this Reynolds sheila is fair dinkum about “full integration” and the need to “desegregate women in sport, so men and women compete equally on talent, not by gender” – WONDERFUL!!
BRING IT ON!!
Because – as Bernard so rightly points out – if and when this happens – say goodbye to women in uniform! Because if the special and lesser standards for women in the BFA are struck out, meaning women have to achieve the same BFA scores as men – a whole bunch of them will NEVER pass.
EVER.
Which means the Army will have to discharge them as being unfit. Seeya ladies! There’s the door – don’t let it slap you on the derriere on the way out!
And then let’s talk about sport:
Men and women in AFL together, you say?
If the Reynolds Plan is implemented – there will NEVER be a woman in any team higher than the Manangatang Thirds.
Golf?
You will NEVER see a golfing sheila on TV – and all that prize money that currently goes to all those female golfers – well, the men will divide it up amongst themselves.
Tennis?
Sheilas playing five sets?
You’ll NEVER see the Williams sisters on TV again (added bonus: all that female grunting and groaning throughout every match will also disappear).
Track and field?
You might as well just ban women completely, because none of them will ever make it into the top levels of competition.
Brilliant idea, Senator Reynolds! Let us indeed follow the (alleged) example of the Australian Army “… so men and women compete equally on talent, not by gender”.
Because that is the day that women disappear from sport just like they will disappear from the Army.
So we all agree, then: desegregate sport and military service – let everybody compete equally on talent and not on gender.
And may the best man win!
February 13, 2018
The rabbit hole is not only deeper than we suppose, it is deeper than we can suppose.
February 13, 2018
Finally. A commonsense argument refuting the “equality” insanity.
February 13, 2018
She must watch movies were women kick men arse not in the real world.