Alan Jones's vitriol

Right wing radio shock jock Alan Jones has caused an uproar with his comments about the Prime Minister Julia Gillard. Her father (which she described as her "inspiration") recently died after an illness, and Gillard spent about a week on leave mourning his loss. Jones, who has been extremely critical of the PM, has come out with this comment at a Liberal party club dinner:

''Every person in the caucus of the Labor Party knows that Julia Gillard is a liar, everybody. I will come to that in a moment. The old man recently died a few weeks ago of shame. To think that he had a daughter who told lies every time she stood for Parliament,'' Jones said Read more  

Although he's been forced to apologise (which he sort of did) sponsors are now starting to pull out of the 2GB radio station he's on, and there's even an online petition under-way to sack him, demanding "2GB and Associated Advertisers on Alan Jones' Radio Program: Immediately terminate the contract and cease association with Alan Jones".

It goes without saying what a disgusting and vile comment he's made. It makes me wonder how someone could be full of that much vitriol and hatred to say something so bad as that. Although a bit of a look in to his life does reveal perhaps some pointers in this.

It's no secret that, despite all his far right rhetoric and railing against minorities, it does appear very likely he's in the closet. In 1988 he was caught in public toilets in London by police, and charged with "outraging public decency" and "committing an indecent act". He got some big shot lawyer over there to defend against the charges and ended up getting off.

Two plain-clothes officers had been watching the underground public toilet at Broadwick Street from the roof and a nearby corner. They had seen a man in an aqua-coloured Lacoste sweater enter the toilet and became suspicious when he stayed inside for a longer than usual period.

Jones was arrested and taken to the Mayfair station, where he was charged with "outraging public decency" and "committing an indecent act". It is only fair to point out that prosecuting authorities were ultimately unprepared to present any evidence to support the charges.

A friend later said by Jones to have provided "immeasurable" assistance was the man whose new play had drawn Jones to Soho. Jones came to know Lord Jeffrey Archer through the author's book promotion tours. It is easy to see how they would have got on as there are remarkable similarities.

One year earlier Jeffrey Archer had been before a London court as the result of a sex scandal. He sued a British newspaper. The same high-order advocacy used by Archer was now made available to Jones. Archer's, and now Jones's solicitor, Lord Victor Mishcon, litigation consultant at the British legal firm Mishcon de Reya, was not a figure to be commonly found in a lowly magistrate's court. more  

It does look like the same old story again, guy in closet, hates himself, projects that hatred to others. It's just all too predictable.

Secrecy also defined Jones and his sexuality. Jones, says Masters, hides his homosexuality to preserve his listener base, 46% of whom believe homosexuality is immoral. Masters speculates that the self-imposed repression of Jones's sexual identity may have promoted a self-loathing perversely expressed as a public contempt for the openly homosexual and a worship of homophobic politicians. 

Jones may have come close to suicide in 1988 when arrested in London under anti-gay laws on charges of homosexuality and indecency in a public toilet. Although the charges were dropped, Jones continued to deny his sexuality, missing an opportunity to reach out with empathy and compassion to other minority groups like Aboriginals whose value as scapegoats to Jones's right-wing politics is untouchable. more