When this man doesn’t get his way, he publicly tells a woman he’ll “tear her a new orifice”.
Charming, no?
It gets worse. He’ll also tell a rape survivor that she’s “never had a real man” in front of colleagues, and ultimately, all of Australia.
That’s the kind of charmer this guy is.
Just as well he’s not in a position of, say, political power in Australian government. Only… HE IS.
John Williams is the NSW MP for Murray-Darling, and in April, he told a gathering of 100 National party members that he would tear the NSW Environment Minister at the time, Robyn Parker, a “new orifice”.
He knew Ms Parker had been sexually assaulted as a teenager — she’s spoken about the incident and the trauma it caused her openly — and yet, he thought it’d be acceptable to suggest she’d “never had a real man.”
At the time, Williams was making a speech which he hoped would get him approved for pre-selection in the upper house. In other words, he was trying to impress people.
Instead, he seamlessly demonstrated why it’s so goddamn hard for women to break into politics. Oh, and how to be tactless, graphically inappropriate, sexist, and cruel all in the space of 5 minutes.
But wait. It gets worse.
John Williams tried to apologise to Ms Parker for his foul comments. And by apologise, I mean, say another idiot thing that demonstrates just how deeply ingrained this man’s tactlessness is.
Here’s his “apology,” which was sent in letter form to Ms Parker:
“Regrettably, I let my emotions take over and said some things that probably destroyed my chances of a winnable place.”
“I did some serious damage to myself by letting my emotions get the better. If I had my time over again I would never have said it. It was a stupid thing to say.”
The last part is accurate – it was a stupid thing to say. Or, technically, several very stupid things said in succession.
But otherwise? John Williams? That’s not an apology. Not even close. All you’ve done there is say how sad it is that you didn’t get elected to the upper house. You’ve literally said nothing whatsoever to Robyn Parker, whom you humiliated and insulted in a room full of her peers.
Yeah, that’s not an apology.
THIS is an apology.
What John Williams should have done — what he still needs to do — is acknowledge that his comments were reprehensible, personally apologise for the trauma he may have caused, and publicly retract what he said to Ms Parker.
Frankly, he should tear himself a new career outside of public office while he’s at it.
Top Comments
The phrase "tearing a new one" isn't a threat, it's a metaphor for being unhappy with something someone has done, and expressing that anger. I've heard plenty of women use it or similar metaphors.
His comments regarding the sexual were out of line though, and he should be taken to task about it.
'tearing a new one' comes from the idea of physically assaulting someone till they are torn a new ..(i dont even know how to write this with it being acceptable on the forum. Im just going to expect that people know. If you don't google it). Whether or not it has softened in popular vernacular, it remains an insult with a pretty graphic assault connotation.
I have never been told that by a male or a female and I imagine that if someone said that to me, I'd be pretty shocked. If a man said it to me, I'd probably feel threatened. And all this aside - I simply cannot believe that you think it is ok for a politician (someone who is meant to be held up as an example) to say this.
You know if I heard that someone wanted to "tear me a new one/orifice" I'd pretty much feel it was a threat and a fairly aggressive verbal threat too. It would be interesting to hear the context of the "lovely" phrase. If our politics has sunk to that low, it's a sad indictment on the calibre of our elected representatives.
I've never heard a woman use that term………. and it is definitely meant to be threatening and an insult. His anger is expressed this way as he was out of control and angry because things were not working out the way he wanted them to.
Everything he said was out of line to most decent people out there. Makes me wonder who you hear these expressions from …… and the frequency…...
I think for some, though perhaps not for all, it is just a newer version of "rip 'em to shreds" - which was not intended as a threat of physical violence but a suggestion that a person would be metaphorically "left in tatters" after you'd finished (arguing/debating/dealing) with them.
It's also a bit like "hand them their 'ass' on a silver platter". There are neither bums nor formal cater-ware involved in that situation.
Other combative idioms include such gems as "done like a dogs dinner", "the gloves are off", "gonna eat you alive", "wipe the floor with you", and so on.
Having said that (and I note we have little context in the article, so it's difficult to accurately judge intent in this case), the man in question seems like he could do with some guidelines on the proper to way to act a supposed community leader.
And that "notpology" should become an internet meme. ~I'm most sincerely sorry that I screwed things up for myself~. Classic!
The sad part is that there are other similar characters who do make it into public office, or other leadership, and hence influential, positions in the public service or private companies. The behaviour then influences others who are quick to want to be "part of the pack". From there is becomes pretty easy to target some poor chosen individual with what can become some pretty vicious conduct. I've seen it happen right before my eyes. Good on you for calling it out - alot of people wouldn't.