The Media's Take on HSC English Memes

• 

  joungs on 17/10/2017 - 16:16

  +4

  Fyi this is the image of a monkey writing that the article referred to https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Cf_KQadam6U/WeSDvJJXuGI/AAAAAAAAA… obviously related to the infinite monkey theorem and nothing racist

  • 

    staiga on 17/10/2017 - 16:25

    No one knew that she was Indigenous at first either cuz the meme was posted as soon as the exam was over just for the gigs

• 

  one man clan on 17/10/2017 - 16:35

  +3

  Except there was also this response:

  "Beset with a dire sense of failure, you took to social media and sent the author of the poem vile messages: Your poem is a cancer. Go and kill yourself. It reads like a four year old wrote it. F*** you and your stupid … bulls***."

  • 

    staiga on 17/10/2017 - 16:56

    yeah but those rude lad's personal attacks have got nothing to do with the memes floating around. I'm pissed with how the poet saw the infinite monkey theorem post and misinterpreted it as racist, then sent it to the news outlets etc. so this innocent dude ended up being in the spotlight

    source:https://imgur.com/gallery/0Jz42

    • 

      bargainswarrior03 on 19/10/2017 - 15:35

      You are getting pissed that someone got pissed af a joke which could have been misinterpreted? How rude

• 

  tre180 on 17/10/2017 - 16:37

  +4

  One female student posted a screenshot of an abusive message she sent to Ellen. It stated: “What the f*** was the point of your mango bulls*** Didn’t you learn anything from last years [sic] hsc students — HELLO RACHEL CORBETT.”

  I'm no fan of the media but one of your group members sent that to an innocent author for the 'meme'. That's abuse, and if the media report on it, then tough shit.

  Another vile image shows a mashup of images from the animation Rick and Morty with the text: “I’m gonna need you to take these mangos and shove them up your butt.”

  Also, please stop ruining Rick & Morty for everyone.

• 

  staiga on 17/10/2017 - 16:45

  +1

  Yeah I agree there are a few who took it to the next level. They absolutely deserve to be condemned and shamed. But the guy enduring the most criticism is one of the first posters because the poet posted a screenshot of his post on twitter without concealing his name. Source: https://imgur.com/gallery/0Jz42

  • 

    bargainswarrior03 on 18/10/2017 - 20:43

    +1

    He posted on an online forum. There is no obligation for his name to be redacted. Let this be a lesson to be wary about what you post online because it can and will come back to haunt you. Unfortunately for this guy, nothing in cyber space. He has to live with this now.

• 

  Ahbal on 17/10/2017 - 17:44

  -2

  I remember in the 2014 HSC we had the "rainbow house" one. Suffice to say the Author got a lot of shit from that as well. It was funny.

  If words on a screen offend you, turn off your screen. I don't see the problem in HSC students having some fun/venting/being idiots after an Exam.

  • 

    staiga on 17/10/2017 - 18:21

    +1

    im defending the kids lol soz if i didnt make it clear

    • 

      Ahbal on 17/10/2017 - 19:58

      Oh it was not targeted at you, just at the journalists/media who are offended by it. My mistake.

• 

  Kail on 17/10/2017 - 18:05

  Actually curious to read the poem, but when I tried to search for it all the Google results were news stories about the "racist" meme.

  • 

    staiga on 17/10/2017 - 18:33

    +1

    here: https://i.imgur.com/UklLMGR.png

    • 

      Kail on 17/10/2017 - 18:52

      +2

      Thanks!

      It's not really my kind of poem, but to each their own.

      I wonder why they don't use some of the old classics for these exams. You can't tweet abuse to a deceased author.

      • 

        staiga on 17/10/2017 - 18:58

        +1

        lol i guess it's because they want to make sure none of the 70k students have seen the text before. some old classics r already being studied in the modules

      • 

        Kail on 17/10/2017 - 19:17

        @staiga: Oh didn't think of that, of course!

• 

  CheapskateQueen on 17/10/2017 - 23:02

  +3

  As someone who did her hsc many many many years ago, what the f*** is that? That's a poem? No mate, no.

  Cyberbullying is real, and it can be horrible. Turning your computer off doesn't actually just solve it. I think bullying is horrible and the Internet has allowed it to become mainstream. People who would never attack someone in person feel perfectly fine doing it online.

  That being said, Australia is overly PC and it annoys me. The comments had nothing to do with her race. Just because she's Aboriginal, it doesn't make insults about her poem, racist. The monkey meme pic we've all seen 1000 times before. And if I saw that meme i wouldn't have thought it had anything to do with the author being Aboriginal.

  • 

    bargainswarrior03 on 18/10/2017 - 20:41

    +1

    I hear you, the author actually received death threats and abuse via direct message online. that's some serious cyberbullying

• 

  bargainswarrior03 on 18/10/2017 - 20:25

  +3

  This is ridiculous. I have read most newspaper coverage about this. At no point did I interpret that the media was commenting on the entire HSC cohort. Why is every year 12 getting offended? If you did not participate in the online bullying, there is no need to take things so seriously. I have read some of the abuse that the author copped, absolutely ridicules. I have done my HSC, and in no way would I have ever gone online to complain about the potential unfairness of a hsc text. The question was bloody 2 marks. Life is unfair, there is no need to complain everytime something unfair happens`

  Regarding the complaint with the media posting something with the student's real name over a harmless meme. They posted this on social media, a public platform. There is no obligation to conceal this person's name. This should be a lesson to anyone posting online, be careful what you post. Just because it is arguable that it was harmless fun, does not mean someone won't get offended.

  To have a petition to get the media to apologize makes it worse. When you go out into the real world, try dealing with other adults in a similar way and see how far that will get you.

• 

  try2bhelpful on 19/10/2017 - 11:29

  +3

  So the person who posted the insulting meme is now paying the consequences for it. Welcome to the real world where what you say, under your own name, has consequences. Google is not going to be this guys friend for a while. The author did not ask for her poem to be included in the assessment and was given no warning; why should she weather abuse without being able to fight back. She is very much the innocent victim here. I get so sick of people whining that their abuse is being taken out of context, I don’t think the meme is racist but I do think it is entirely insulting and unwarranted. Sorry, but tiny violins for the moron who posted it and complete support for the author who is the real victim here.