A Phelps of an Afternoon

So. My blog last Friday caused a bit of a stir.

Some people were supportive.  Some were abusive (towards me and @Nyx2701) and were promptly unfollowed and/or blocked.

@PeterPhelpsMLC certainly hasn't been turned off twitter.  He also hasn't been banned by O'Farrell, it would seem.

In any event, Phelps and I ended up sparring for a part of this afternoon.  You can make what you like of the conversation - I'm just going to post it below as best I can.  It did shoot off in a few different directions (as conversations on twitter are wont to do) but hopefully it makes sense.

I think my view is clear, as is his.

The conversation started out this story on the Sydney Morning Herald Website.

The story explained that Conroy had been answering questions at the National Press Club on investment in Australia.  It was being broadcast on the ABC at the time. He apparently said the following:

The story wasn't particularly interesting, to me at least.  He accidentally swore, he immediately realised it was inappropriate, apologised and moved on.

The fuss the Herald made about was a little ridiculous, but par for the course in a media culture where it's "all about the clicks".

In any event, @LatikaMBourke tweeted this:

Phelps replied soon after:

My response was this:

From there the conversation kinda just flowed:

For those of you not in the know, my twitter avatar is of Jules Winnfield, a character in the brilliant Tarantino movie Pulp Fiction. Jules has, to say the least, a potty mouth.

A few people chimed in along the way:

Coming back to Peter and me:

Look, no doubt you have your own opinion about this conversation.  Maybe you think I'm being a bit precious.  I don't know.

I guess my point is this.  I'm not "offended" by anything he has said.  What I am is disappointed that someone who has been elected as my representative in this State's Upper House thinks that this is an appropriate way to behave.

Yes, I can unfollow him.  But that's not the point.  Politicians have a responsibility to act like adults and treat voters with respect.

I don't care what Peter is like in private.  I've certainly heard comments about that, but it's not the point.  If you want to get out there and engage with the community (which is a fantastic thing for a politician to do, in my opinion) then you'd better bring your courtesy with you.

If being polite is a little too hard, then we'd all rather you didn't bother.