If only it were that simple. Most Victorians who have watched Jeff Kennett woo the Greek vote, with his stand on Slav Macedonia for populist electoral reasons, know that this is simplistic. Indeed, this polemic summarises the selective use of evidence and the ideological axe Sheehan grinds. He vents his spleen about a complaint made about an article of his which exposed Vietnamese ghettoes in Cabramatta. The complaint was made to the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission, the very same Commission that has received authorial invective throughout the book.
Personal experience explains so much about motivation and obsessions.
This is an important book for understanding our times and the enormous forces of anger that are finding expression through our political structures and media. It behooves us to read and be as well informed as we can in order to intelligently and sensitively engage the mood of our culture and the scapegoats carrying our unease. This review first appeared in Zadok Perspectives. To subscribe contact, Zadok Institute PO Box 289, Hawthorn 3122 ph.