Complaint to Press Council Regarding Mark Latham's piece "Why Left Feminists Don't Like Kids"
I loathe ragebait. Most of the times I simply ignore it, but sometimes it's too horrific not to take action. But often responding with criticism circulates the piece more, increases pageviews, which simply adds to the incentives for media outlets to produce more inflammatory bullshit. Mark Latham's moronic piece today is so stupid, so dangerous, that I think the best response is to make a complaint to the Press Council for violating its own Statement of Principles. Feel free to use these points in your own complaint to the Press Council about Latham's piece. In the future, if you find a piece that warrants it, make a complaint. Hopefully media outlets feel more of a consequence than more hits. ====================================================== Mark Latham’s piece, “Why Left Feminists Don’t Like Kids” breaches the Press Councils Statement of Principles, specifically number 6:
6. Avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
Mark Latham's piece broadly criticises Lisa Pryor particularly, and apparently women generally, for taking anti-depressants if they have children. Below are a number of direct quotes from the article.
> I felt depressed myself, at the thought of a Fairfax columnist describing one of life’s great responsibilities, the raising of infant children, as requiring “neurochemical assistance”.
> Why do people like this have children in the first place? How will the children feel when they grow up and learn that they pushed their mother onto anti-depressants?
> My lifestyle has never been more satisfying. Whether it’s my daughter’s smile, my eldest son’s Aussie irreverence or the belly laughter of my youngest son – these are my anti-depressants, every hour, every day. What is Pryor going on about?
> At a personal level, it’s also cowardly: popping pills as an easy way out, instead of facing up to the responsibilities of adulthood.
Leaving aside the deep idiocy of Latham's central thesis, these comments directly impugn the use of anti-depressants by Pryor, or any young mother or parent. At a time when removing the stigma of discussing and treating mental health issues should not be more obvious, Latham and the editors of the Australian Financial Review have seen fit to publish swingeing attacks on an individual, a class of women and parents generally for using prescription anti-depressants. These statements could clearly create offence, distress and a risk to the mental health of individuals. There is no public interest justification for these ignorant, dangerous and loathsome statements that criticise parents taking medication for depression. I'm not sure Mark Latham has the emotional or intellectual capacity to understand the magnitude of shame he should feel for these statements, but perhaps at least a response from the Press Council about this matter for breaching your Principles could bring some professional embarrassment to the editors at the Australian Financial Review who clearly taken leave of their better judgement. DA Carter