A guest in the Nest

My previous post, the first in many months, was not meant to signify a return to blogging: it was just one of those itches I had to scratch, and frankly, I hoped nobody would notice it. Imagine my astonishment when it attracted a comment from none other than Mr. Julian Burnside QC. Without irony, I welcome Mr. Burnside as an honoured guest of the Nest, and sincerely thank him for taking the time to read and respond.

We will still have to differ on the points of commentary. I won't attempt to answer Mr. Burnside's comment, partly because it wouldn't be polite to a guest, partly because I suspect his worldview and my own are so divergent that no real dialogue is possible. But I stand by my original point, based as it was on a subjective reading of the mood and character of public comment on the Hicks verdict. That point was, and remains, that the supposed popular support for Hicks within the broader Australian community was a complete fiction. Philip K. Dick used to treasure the following definition of 'reality': "Reality is that which, when you stop thinking about it, doesn't go away." The popular support for David Hicks was precisely the kind of chimera which, the moment newspapers stopped talking about it, ceased to exist.