He probably won’t want to hear it, but one of Alan Jones’ greatest achievements in recent years could be what he’s done to collectively align women behind one goal.
There are the #destroyingthejoint and #destroythejoint hashtags that emerged on Twitter over the weekend, a new victory saying for women doing incredible things. Even the BBC World Service were calling up to see what the fuss was about, with media personality Jane Caro spilling all to the other side of the world Saturday night.
Then there are the conversations occurring in workplaces, around the dinner table, on blogs and attached to online stories regarding the shock jock’s Friday tirade.
Jones is well-aquainted with enemies, and he’s caused his fair share of controversy in the past. But we doubt he could have anticipated such a powerful, collective backlash to his comment that powerful women like former Victorian Police Commissioner Christiane Nixon and the Lord Mayor of Sydney Clover Moore were “destroying the joint”.
Online, the backlash has been particularly fun. It’s not aggression and nastiness that Jones’ on-air lashing generated from those annoyed by it, but rather an online community that will be quick to react to such statements in the future. One that’s more united and more powerful than ever before. And one that appreciates that sometimes, a little bit of wit and humour is helpful in responding to an attack.
As one commenter on Kate Galloway’s piece on the matter summed it up for Women’s Agenda yesterday. “We are visible. We are prominent. We refuse to back down. We are credible. We are eloquent. We are smart. We attract an electorate and we are a force against the backward Boys’Club that has prevailed for too long.
Another agreed: “Ladies and Gentlemen, collectively we have more power than a mere radio jock. If we stop listening to him, he will go away.”
So let’s stop listening, but keep talking about why such comments are unacceptable.
Did Alan Jones’ comments have some unintended, positive consequences? Let us know what you think below.