Calling Reactionary Old Men “Dinosaurs” Won’t Help Anything At All

Contrary to popular belief, Howard Sattler is not a dinosaur. Sorry, Media Watch – neither is Alan Jones. Liberal strategist Grahame Morris isn’t one either, notwithstanding the assertions of Leigh Sales. Nor, despite his own classification to the contrary, is Ray Hadley.

One of the enduring certainties of Australian public life is that when an old white man makes an offensive or reactionary statement, commentators will line up to fling the ‘dinosaur’ charge at him. This is not a cliché which generally requires much explanation; for instance it is never specified what kind of dinosaur the talkback radio host or politician embodies; perhaps a slow-moving apatosaurus, or something rather scarier? And, curiously, the term is rarely applied to women: Bronwyn Bishop was not a ‘dinosaur’ for calling to ban hijabs in public schools, nor is the term ever levelled at Julia Gillard for her outdated views on marriage equality.

It’s time to put an end to these invidious comparisons. Here are just some reasons why.

1. It is insulting. To dinosaurs.

As any self-respecting nerd will tell you, dinosaurs are freaking awesome. They delight children (and adults) of all ages. Visit a museum of natural history, witness the internet’s treasure trove of memes affectionately mocking the length of a t-rex’s arms, re-watch Jurassic Park, and wonder to yourself whether there is anybody out there who is both aware of dinosaurs and capable of remaining unmoved by them.  

Dinosaurs are fascinating, and there are many things we don’t yet know about them. The same cannot be said about men like Alan Jones and Howard Sattler; we already know they are rude and cranky — and, as Jeff Sparrow noted last week of the ‘angry granddads’ over at The Australian, they’re drearily predictable.  It’s difficult to imagine any palaeontologist devoting energies to studying our grumpy right-wingers.

2. It lets people off the hook.

To call a person a dinosaur suggests their views are inherent in their nature; that, just as an ankylosaur cannot help its spikes, and a parasaurolophus is fated to have a distinctive head crest, so talkback radio hosts are not responsible for their backwards ways.

It’s also rather ageist to assume noxious viewpoints inevitably accompany the advancement of years. It is not only right-wing ideologues who are vulnerable to the rigours of age: most of us will be old one day, and will presumably want to have our views engaged with and critiqued rather than dismissed as the inevitable ramblings of the nearly-extinct.

3. It is strategically flawed.

As the term ‘dinosaur’ connotes great age, its use in political debate suggests inaccurately that (for instance) corrosive sexism is limited to the elderly. Calling someone a dinosaur implies that they are no more than a relic from a bygone era; that their flaws cannot be sheeted home to the rest of us, and that no self-examination is required. It allows us highly evolved mammals to freely mock them from our own virtuous vantage point — and, as such, it closes a conversation that needs to be had.

As much as we might wish it were, sexism, racism and homophobia are not restricted to a few sad old pteranodons dreaming of their glory years. As I’ve argued previously, the idea of inevitable historical progress is seductive, but dangerous: we cannot sit back and wait for ever greater enlightenment to wash over us, nor is it wise to dismiss entirely the ideals of the past.

4. It doesn’t teach us anything.

Those who are termed ‘dinosaurs’ have often spent their careers spreading outrage, ignorance and bigotry. As Crikey noted, prior to his insolent and persistent questions about the Prime Minister’s boyfriend (for which he has been sacked), Howard Sattler made callous remarks about the deaths of young offenders, stoked fears of a non-existent ‘crime wave’, and encouraged bitter resentment of asylum seekers.

We shouldn’t give these people any more attention than they deserve, but neither should we conveniently dismiss them as ageing lizards who are somehow foreign to our society. We need to look honestly at the sexism, racism and generalised anger at and fear of difference that exists throughout our country, rather than pretend that these qualities belong to a different, long-gone time.

In short, this one’s on us. Leave Littlefoot out of it.

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Sarah Burnside is a a Perth-based freelance writer and a nerd, who has written for The Age, Overland, Crikey, New Matilda and the National Times. She is interested in politics, history, policy and dinosaurs, blogs at Maintain The Beige, and tweets from @saraheburnside.