Have The Chaser and The Shovel done a “Gleeso”* on us here at The Bug?

We categorically say NO!

But it does prove that grate minds think alike, even if those thought processes might not kick in until a day later. Here’s what happened.

On Thursday morning, as one of the items in The Bug‘s regular world-beating news briefs columns, we took this dig at Aunty Pauline, national leader of the white-indigenous One Nations people.

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Queensland One Nation Senator Pauline Hanson says she is seeking urgent action by the Albanese Government to end what she describes as a “blatant and widespread campaign of racial discrimination”.

“I am calling on Prime Minister Albanese to mobilise the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission and the Australian Human Rights Commission to take action today to stop the repeated references to ‘black Friday’ sales we have seen in recent weeks in retail advertising,” Senator Hanson said.

“All Fridays matter. What’s wrong with white Friday? I want the Prime Minister to act today to make sure this blatant and widespread campaign of racial discrimination ends as soon as possible.

“If he doesn’t act then I will lodge an official complaint with the Aunty Discrimination Commissioner myself,” she said.

***

Got it? All Fridays matter. Wadda we want! White Fridays. When do we want ’em? Now!

Then yesterday, johnny-come-lately satire sites, The Shovel and The Chaser, regaled their readers with their offerings on the same topic.

So why isn’t The Bug screaming “Gleeso! Gleeso!”

Taking a dig at Aunty Pauline over her racism is a time-honoured thing among the nation’s satire sites. The Bug has been doing it for decades. We’ve splashed before on Aunty Pauline’s horror at being duped when a Barry White album she had bought online was delivered to her door. We splashed again with “MY LOVE AFFAIR WITH COON!” when she told our readers there was no way she could be a racist because she loved coon cheese.

Thursday’s effort by The Bug was most likely not the first time Black Friday sales have been roped in to take a swipe at Aunty Pauline and her white indigenous One Nation mulletandsmallchips tribe that settled in the Ipswich region in the distant dreamtime.

We’ve probably used the line before ourselves. Maybe The Chaser and The Shovel as well.

Want another reason why we’re really nice people at The Bug and not screaming “Gleeso! Gleeso!” over and over again over yesterday’s posts?

We truly, roolly, came up with an original idea for satire some time back and later found out that one of the other satire sites had it a day earlier. It’s true. We don’t check out what The Chaser and The Shovel are doing for inspiration. If we ever get that desperate, we’ll give the game away.

We would have been rightly offended if we had been accused back then of doing a Gleeso.

The same principle applies here.

Perhaps the only thing the last two days has taught us is that maybe satire is becoming a little too predictable. Maybe we all need to lift our game because everything around us is pure satire itself nowadays. Just look at the mainstream mediocre.

Don Gordon-Brown

* Doing a Gleeso: lazily copying other people’s work and passing it off as your own.