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| The Bruiser | |
This column has always taken an interest in certain colorful characters and few
could be more colorful than Geoff (The Bruiser) Clark. Note that's
colorful and not colored. This article could be branded
racist for actually pointing out the color of one's skin, so we will
just note that The Bruiser's skin is a lighter shade than the average
Australian, and so is his hair - apparently an excellent qualification for being
the spokesman for the Aboriginal people. Not such an excellent qualification though are accusations about his slightly
darker past, in which he has said to have led several rape gangs against
Warrnambool woman Carol Stingel some 36 years ago. And a jury has agreed, and
awarded $AU20K against him. Ouch! $20K has got to Stingelittlebit, but not that much for the ever-sneering
Clark, who was paid over $200K per year (at the taxpayer's expense) until he
was stood down from the ATSIC chair several years ago. Nonetheless, the court's decision does raise some slightly uncomfortable
issues. It's not like there was much evidence after 36 years, and it really
came down to he said / she said. More like a sordid divorce than a rape trial. Ms Stingel's lawyers claimed that 'no sane person would put themselves
through what she has if they were lying.' Well, who knows? She may have
been expecting more than $20K. Afterwards they were saying that $100K would
have been more appropriate. Would a sane person do the same for $100K? Maybe.
Beats working. It even beats pretending to work and hanging around the
dole office waiting for the government to give you money. Actually you can do
both at the same time .. The lawyers also said that she had consistently made these claims for a very
long time. True. But 4532 repetitions do not make a truth. Except in politics
of course. Does any one else here feel concerned that someone you pissed of 36 years ago
can make an accusation of rape and force you to pay them $20K? Is there anyone in
your past who is that greedy, or that vengeful? Ex girlfriend? Jilted lover?
Promoted over some woman's head perhaps? Cut some chick off in traffic? Argue with
a feminist over a queue at a bus stop? Feeling uncomfortable? Particularly when Ms Stingel talked about the 'feeling of power' when the
decision went in her favor. Yes, rape is about power. But so is revenge.
And so is out-and-out malice. But maybe any discomfort should be short lived. That kind of thing only happens
to the proletariat n places like Warrnambool - not in the comfortable places
that the intelligentsia like us live. And besides, the $20K was just money
stolen from the taxpayer. Whether any real justice was done here or not is hard to say, but but there was
certainly poetic justice. And the Bruiser's ego took a battering. Geoff, is that a sneer on your face or
are just just unhappy so see anybody?
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