Friday, September 05, 2008

Own Goal of the Week

HarperCollins has announced that it will remove a chapter on how to play the didgeridoo from the Australian edition of The Daring Book for Girls. The company has also issued a statement apologising for the inclusion of the chapter.

The chapter's removal follows accusations from Dr Mark Rose, general manager of the Victorian Aboriginal Education Association, that the inclusion of the chapter was culturally insensitive. Dr Rose's comments, and HarperCollins response, gave Hun columnist, Andrew Bolt, a perfect opportunity to launch a fulminating attack on Dr Rose in particular, and aboriginal activism in general.

Bolt was also able to score points off Dr Rose by citing sources who said that, contrary to Dr Rose's belief, there was no traditional prohibition on women playing the didgeridoo.

Nice one Mark.

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