Friday 18 March 2011

Personal and Private: Law vs Grau

Bryan Law may be as subtle as a brick on a steam train. Or maybe some just don't get him.

On Monday, Law responded to story on CairnsBlog about the Labor Party's treatment of Cairns ETU union organiser, Stuey Traill.

"Just when you think the ALP can't get any more stupid than it already is..." Bryan Law commented. "Who are these people who believe the Labor movement is their own personal plaything?"

"Let's face it, Mike Bailey, Desley Boyle, and Tim Grau would be slave-owners if they thought they could get away with it. Scabs."

Bryan, who has already been before a judge as a result of pissing off current Labor MP Desley Boyle, has this time drawn that wrath of Cairns ALP president, who is widely-tipped to be selected as their candidate, without an open and transparent plebiscite. Sporting and community identity, Richie Bates, is also seeking the nomination.

Tim Grau didn't take to kindly to his name and the term "slave-owners" appearing in the same sentence, and fired off a message to Law.

He marked his email to Bryan Law "Personal and Private."

"I’m not inclined to pay any attention to 'personal and private' " Law told CairnsBlog. "Mr Grau was responding to my public comment about him and the Labor party, therefore it is not a confidential debate. I also don't know Tim and therefore any conversation we have is clearly not private."

Tim Grau, writing from his Springboard email address, wrote...

"We have not met, but am aware you have expressed strong critical views about me in a number of public forums," Tim Grau wrote. "As we have not met at all and you don't know me, all of your comments have been wrong and ill-informed. I have chosen to ignore them as simply that."

"However, my attention has recently been brought to a comment you made on the CairnsBlog stating I would be a 'slave-owner' if I thought I could get away with it," Grau wrote to Bryan Law.

"My mother is a black American who grew up in the segregated South from the 1930s. I am therefore also a African American and a direct decedent of slaves. I find your latest unprovoked attack on me highly and deeply offensive. Further having had relatives who were leaders in the American civil rights movement, your comments are beneath contempt."

"But then you've never met me and don't know me. If you had, and did, perhaps you'd know this about me and not make such offensive comments," Tim Grau wrote. "Bryan, as someone who professes to believe in the goodness of humanity, the principles of equality, justice, cooperation and respect, I've yet to see it any of your public statements about me. "

Bryan Law took his right of reply. He marked his email "TOP SECRET – ONGOING STRUGGLE."

"Dear Tim, it’s true I’ve never met you. It’s less true that I’ve been critical of you," Bryan Law wrote. "I am critical of your ALP candidacy for Cairns, and 'strongly' critical of the condition of Labor politics in Cairns, Queensland and Australia. The behaviour of your Party since 2001, particularly its pandering to racism and warmongering, has led me to my current position."

"You and I have no personal relationship. Whatever you write to me is political in nature, and as far as I am concerned is public material – which I will publish," Law wrote. "Stop hiding behind your mother, and your un-named “relatives” who you assert played leadership roles in the US civil rights movement. I will be impressed with any action you take for social justice, but I give you no credit for the actions of your relatives. Those who act deserve the credit. Feel free to inform me and the electorate of your achievements to date in the field of civil rights."

"Right now in Cairns there is a clear re-emergence of racism, and a sector of the populace which is calling for segregation here. There are calls in the on-line comments of the Cairns Post to keep Aborigines out of the CBD. I have not seen any public comment about this from you, or from any of your Party officials or MLAs. Your Party has done nothing to defend an equitable, just society in Cairns," Bryan Law wrote to Tim Grau.

"Indeed, your Party is responsible for the insult to native title rights that is the Wild Rivers legislation."

"I suggest that your strategy of hiding your intentions from the electorate is meant to maximise the benefit to you of running under the generic Labor brand, given that you have no local achievements on which to stand. A key side-effect of this strategy is that you are absent from political debates in the community, offer no leadership on issues of social justice, and appear to stand for nothing."

"I believe that you do have a slave-owner’s mentality," Bryan Law wrote.

"The way you play Party politics establishes a diminished role for grass-roots members, who are relegated to the status of automaton parroting the Party line, and obeying Party directions, while having no input into decisions. Your Party’s moves to suspend and expel Stu Traill from the ALP is clear evidence to me, and many others, that the ALP has no loyalty to working class folk and is now just one more Party of bosses. I fully intend to continue my criticisms of the ALP because, in my view, it is now an impediment to peace and social justice."

"Of course, I will cease my criticisms of your candidacy as soon as you announce that you will not be a candidate. It’s not personal Tim, it’s political."

"I’d be happy to share a yarn and a cuppa with you anytime you feel like it, but I intend to continue my efforts towards a more peaceful and just world until my dying breath."

"If you don’t appreciate an honestly expressed opinion, you will not enjoy meeting with me. Nor I you," Bryan Law concluded.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

This just demonstrates what a low life grub Bryan Law is and what an unethical disgraceful publication the Cairnsblog is for publishing what was clearly a very personal matter for TIm Grau

Alison Alloway said...

Bryan Law loves to judge and tag people without knowing his facts.

Alison Alloway said...

Fist, he dubs Kev Byrne a "racist" without knowing the full facts behind Byrne's decision to bus the Lockhart River people back to their communities all those years ago. Law does not know the number of murders or "floaters" found in the fountain for example. I have provided evidence to "cairnsblog" before that those Lockhart people KNEW well beforehand that they were being bussed back to Lockhart and that they agreed. Byrne acted responsibly due to the circumstances.

David and Michael do the world said...

If Law cannot see that his comment may be deeply personally offensive to Grau and does not have the good grace to apologise and say he made a mistake, I pity him.

Bryan Law said...

Gee Alison, I was talking about Tim Grau and the ALP. I thought elections were about exercising judgement. It seems you think they're about tribal loyalty.

KB daoesn't have a monopoly on racism in Cairns. The ALP commands a fair bit of it to.

Unknown said...

Just because an opinion is expressed honestly, doesn't mean it's not bullshit. Bryan, I don't know you, so you can also consider this a public communication. Your attack on Grau (whom I also don't know) is flat out wrong. How can you possibly interpret calling someone a "scab" and a would-be slave owner as anything other than personal? So, even on your own terms, your attack is an epic fail. I don't think I've read a weaker justification for ad hominem in a long time. Again, I don't know you, but I feel equally entitled now to draw a conclusion about you and assume that from the look of you you've never thought of apologising for anything in your life.

Unknown said...

so its OK for you to take offence to the Cairns Post calling you a "serial pest" (and ask for a retraction) but not OK for Tim to take offence when you call him a "would be slave-owner" ?

Unknown said...

The always verbose and opinionated Bryan Law seems uncharacteristically quiet on this story. Perhaps finally, finally he's realised his offensive comments have over stepped the line way too far this time. We are all waiting for your unreserved apology to Tim Grau. Bryan???? Bryan??? Bryan????

Bryan Law said...

John, what can I say? Do you think politics is for children? And little Timmy has a hurty knee, so we all have to look after his feelings.

Tim and his Elk have perverted our democracy, stolen our public estate, and would turn us into slaves if they could.

You apologise to him if you like. I'd rather organise to stop him.

Bryan Outlaw said...

Law sez "he'd rather organise"?

He couldn't organise a cock -up in a whorehouse. Bryans the kind of guy who does nothing but takes credit for everything. Why isn't he locked up like promised by the court?

Unknown said...

As well as an abusive arrogant bully Bryan Law is illiterate - "ELK" surely he means "ilk". Give up Bryan your rants are just that: Rants from an illiterate irrelevant abusive bully. And you claim to be a peace activist. You are a fraud!

Frank Arthur said...

While I don't agree with everything Bryan Law says, his remarks are worthy of ongoing debate, especially any agenda to keep Aboriginal people out of Cairns CBD (which if true are deplorable).