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Wed 16 Jun, 2004 02:57 am
So - crap television spawns real life protest....
I was sooooooooooooo proud of him - what do you think?
Big Brother evictee explains protest
18:02 AEST Tue Jun 15 2004
Controversial Big Brother reality television show evictee Merlin Luck returned to the show to explain his silent protest action when evicted on Sunday night.
Luck created turmoil on the set of Big Brother when he arrived on stage with his mouth taped shut holding a sign on a piece of white sheet which read Free Th (sic) Refugees.
The 24-year-old Sydneysider returned to the Ten Network's extended Big Brother eviction nomination show to explain the stunt was designed to put the mandatory-detention issue back into the public spotlight.
Luck apologised to show host Gretel Killeen for his actions, which she perceived as aggressive.
He also apologised to young children and their parents who may have been scared by the stunt.
"I guess that I really put you on the spot in a massive way," Luck told Killeen.
"That was a consequence of my actions that I regret and I do know that I owe you an apology.
"I really want to apologise especially to the young children that were in the crowd and also watched it on TV who didn't understand what was happening and who got quite upset, confused and even scared.
"That was another consequence I didn't think through."
Luck said he had no other regrets about his action.
"The reason I did it was because I feel so passionately for the cause," he said.
"Children who are in detention centres now and who have lived in detention centres all their life ... the pain and suffering that those children are going through, and I hope that justifies the actions I took."
Luck said he had been surprised at the media reaction to the stunt.
"People don't want to talk about the issues yet, people want to talk about the stunt," he said.
"At the end of the day my objective was never to put myself on a pedestal and say `hey I have the solutions'.
"My objective was to thrust the issue of mandatory detention (of asylum seekers) in the country into the media."
Luck's actions were celebrated by pro-refugee groups and chastised by talk back radio callers, who condemned the German-born resident for criticising Australia's refugee policy.
Luck said he now intended to become an Australia citizen.
He revealed he had planned the protest months before entering the house and sewed the sign inside a T-shirt patch on the night before he was locked away.
All contestants are thoroughly searched before entering the house.
Luck said he planned to give away most of his prizes to charity.
He intends to sell the car he won and to split the money between Amnesty International and the Kids Helpline.
He said he would keep two mobile phones he won and give a holiday prize to his mother.
Definitely the first good thing to ever come out of that show.
Who is this Gretel anyway? An ex-Womens Studies major who fell into a good gig? "All men are aggresive by nature..." Umm, honey, being political is not always about agression. I'm proud of him just from what I've read here.
No - Gretel is cool, really - I think she just meant it felt very aggressive to her personally - being trapped on stage for a long show that was sposed to be mainly talking to Merlin, with him with his mouth taped shut. Must have been very difficult to stay cool - she actually, from the bits I saw, defended him from the outraged teeny-bopper creampuff heads in the audience.
I hope his celebrity brings such cream filled small folk to thinking about the issues.
As for his concerns re the children - I can see his point - but would not that have been the perfect catalyst for their parents to discuss the issues with them? Assuming their parents gave a damn, she said bitterly....
dlowan wrote:No - Gretel is cool, really - I think she just meant it felt very aggressive to her personally - being trapped on stage for a long show that was sposed to be mainly talking to Merlin, with him with his mouth taped shut. Must have been very difficult to stay cool - she actually, from the bits I saw, defended him from the outraged teeny-bopper creampuff heads in the audience.
I hope his celebrity brings such cream filled small folk to thinking about the issues.
As for his concerns re the children - I can see his point - but would not that have been the perfect catalyst for their parents to discuss the issues with them? Assuming their parents gave a damn, she said bitterly....
Absolutely. I think it would have been the perfect catalyst for a serious discussion. It annoys me to hell that a. parents feel such an overwhelming need to 'protect' their children from reality rather than talk sensibly about it and not treat their kids like morons, and b. parents who don't give a crap, as you stated. Grrrrrr....
It is a bit sad though, that he can't spell 'the', isn't it? I'll chalk it up to an emotional painto.
Gotta love our Immigration Minister!:
Merlin passion in protest
From Sydney Confidential
14jun04
CONFIDENTIAL yesterday had the pleasure more than one million TV viewers missed out on during Sunday night's Big Brother eviction - hearing Merlin Luck speak.
Gretel Killeen tries to make light of last night's tricky situation.
Gretel Killeen and more than 1.8 million viewers missed out on a helluva lot of "man's" and "dudes".
Oh, and a lecture or 10 on refugees, federal elections, world peace, human rights, public education, Aboriginal rights and the war in Iraq.
"I feel so passionate about so many issues man, I chose refugees because it's such a blatant injustice," he said.
Luck, who admits he doesn't even watch much TV, said the stunt was carefully orchestrated from the day he first auditioned for the show.
"Dude, this is supposed to be reality television. I'm a real person and I have real issues that need debate," he said.
While his family and close friends were aware of his intentions from the start, it didn't stop him feeling "nervous as hell, man" when he went to pull the stunt.
"Everyone's booing and yelling "loser" and stuff, but I just kept thinking about the suffering of these children, these refugee children."
He had sewn the sign - including the "e" in "the" - on to the inside of a shirt he had never worn in the house, to hide it from producers.
"Mum and Dad knew exactly what I was going to do and they were massively supportive," he said.
While Luck would not admit it yesterday, it is clear he received a roasting from executive producer, Kris Noble.
"Big Brother is like a big operation and the feeling is mixed - some people have been supportive, others have been massively against what I did," he said.
He apologised to Killeen for his actions, which she perceived as aggressive, when he returned to the show last night.
He also apologised to young children and their parents who may have been scared by the stunt.
"I guess that last night I really put you on the spot in a massive way," Luck told Killeen.
Luck said he had no other regrets about his action.
But one of the people whose attention Luck was trying to grab Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone did not seem overly impressed.
"He's obviously not very well informed. There are no refugees in Australian detention centres," she told Ten News.
Well, sewing the 'e' into his shirt was brilliant, and probably lost on everyone. As for your Immigration Minister, who is she, Bride of Stalin?
More like Bride of Bush. She's just as big a fascist as that worthless piece of brain damaged nazi scum.
Lol!
Looks like it.
Actually, I happen to know that, rhetoric aside, she has been more compassionate than the previous one - who looks as though the issue has decayed him from the inside out.
Her point is that the ones in detention have been denied refugee status, and declared illegal immigrants, and are involved in appeals against this determination.
Seems she is jumping the gun on the courts' final determination.
She is making a semi valid point, though. I disagree with the policy fiercely, however.
More on Merlin: He hopes to make detention an election issue, even with those who don't give a damn about anything serious (ie most Big Brother watchers)
'A NORMAL dude' ... Merlin Luck says he planned his Big Brother protest to show average guys still cared about issues like children in detention. Picture: Andrew Maccoll.
Merlin lifts the gag to deny it was a joke
Emma Chalmers, entertainment reporter
15jun04
HE caused a near riot on Sunday night when he staged a silent political protest on the Big Brother eviction stage, but yesterday Merlin Luck was happy to talk about being an ordinary guy with a political passion.
The German-born Sydney resident, 24, said the controversial protest, in which he covered his mouth in black tape and held a sign that read "Free th(sic) refugees", was a plan he had hatched once selected for the reality TV show.
"I started to think if I'm going to put myself out there and try to show who I am, then my feelings and my passions about a lot of issues are part of that, and I thought I need to come up with a way to convey my passions in a way that does it justice and has impact," he said.
There was no doubt of the impact of Merlin's unprecedented protest during the live show as Big Brother's producers scrambled to continue the live program with a mute guest and a script in tatters.
Merlin said he drew strength and inspiration during the chaos and growing dissent from the crowd by focusing his attention on the children in Australia's detention centres. "I put that image in my head and I don't care if thousands of people are screaming loser in to my face, I don't care if they're booing, I don't care if Gretel Killeen and the executive producer of Big Brother are telling me 'Merlin talk, Merlin you've made your point, talk', this is more important to me," he said.
Merlin was an illegal immigrant after he and his parents overstayed their tourist visas when he was four. However, he said his protest was not inspired by that experience.
As well as hoping the refugee issue would become part of the political agenda in the lead-up to the federal election, Merlin said he hoped his action would help demonstrate that it was possible to be a normal person and have a political conscience.
He also defended his decision to retain his German citizenship as it offers increased travel and work options in Europe. However, he would consider becoming an Australian national if it would help his cause.
"I'll give that up in a second if that's what it takes to prove my love and my passion and my pride and my sense of identity as an Australian," he said.
In response to Merlin's action, Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone yesterday said he was ill informed. "There are no refugees in Australian detention centres," she said.
He sewed the sign before he went in - hid it in a patch he sewed onto the shirt he wore into the house, and then tucked that particular patch into his pants.
The "e" fell off in the house!
I'm wondering if Ms. Vanstone takes the opinon of some others on another thread, that as an illegal immigrant, his real plan is to orchestrate the takeover of Australia by Germans.
I will definitely never ever again read any of posts related to Australia.
I had this naive childish belief that it's a great country where it's completely impossible that such fascist can be a minister.
I mean, that has nothing to do with regular people of course...
But still...no reading anymore. Australia is great. Politicians there are nice. It's a nice big island far away from everything, and everybody there is nice.
Period.
Na-na-na-na-na-na (not hearing anything)
cavfancier wrote:I'm wondering if Ms. Vanstone takes the opinon of some others on another thread, that as an illegal immigrant, his real plan is to orchestrate the takeover of Australia by Germans.
LOL!!!!
Nah - she is a rough tough conservative, but not, actually, a bad old stick, in her own way. I abhor many of her beliefs, of course, but easy though it is to demonize her, she is not a rabid, irrational bigot.
I suppose that's why some of our more colourful armchair politicians will never actually be politicians, although I do question Bush.
heehee
Amanda Vanstone as she wishes to be seen:
http://www.vanstone.com.au/
http://www.minister.immi.gov.au/
As some others see her:
http://www.crikey.com.
au/columnists/2004/02/19-0001.html
http://www.seven.com.au/sundaysunrise/politics_040523_vanstone
Could she be the meanest person in Canberra?
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2003/08/16/1060936101890.html?from=storyrhs
As some in Nauru (where the federal government is ware-housing some alleged illegal immigrants - a review recently reversed the decision on some of these) see her:
http://www.seven.com.au/sundaysunrise/politics_040523_vanstone
She IS larger than life, and colourful - and smart - and so wrong, so I believe.
Oh, her. Yes, she has a cousin in Canada:
http://www.ritamacneil.com/
Amanda Vanstone is not larger than life, she is larger than human life ought be. Maybe her size is appropriate for one with the tact and tender qualities of a Tyrannosauraus Rex, it is ugly and ungainly in one who is busily dismantling our Social Security. This moronic ideologue is so busy thinking of her next meal she has no time to consider the impact her policies and vicious rhetoric have upon the victims of her meanness. She has built a career by sowing seeds of prejudice and discontent. I cannot think of any positives in respect of this self sated bitch.
and all that from a fat man
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