Tuesday, May 05, 2009

Ow!

Some time ago conservative blogger Tim Blair identified a certain phenomenon among the caring classes - the compassionate head tilt. He routinely offers up examples of both professional and amateur compassionistas showing their very deep concern with a simple crick of the neck.





The greater the angle, the greater the concern... and if you can get your angle from acute to obtuse, I think you qualify for some sort of award, possibly hand delivered by Hetty Johnston.


But I think I may have discovered a new variation on the classic compassionate head tilt. Observe this photograph from the front page of today's Australian newspaper:





It's a rearward compassionate head tilt! From the context it would seem that this is the appropriate tilt for concern about the environment rather than people. It gives the impression that one is looking away from the tawdry masses of one's fellow men and bathing in the unsullied light of the sun, or a greener future, or both. It also allows one to look down one's nose at the less enlightened, which is a considerable bonus.


Unfortunately the article attached to the picture rather subverts the purity of the subject's eco-concern. Apparently this enivronmental lawyer is pained because her investment in a greener planet is not also paying out quite as much cash as she'd hoped. Which is a little like investing in BHP Billiton and then complaining that your dividend is only being supplemented with one free ticket to the rugby.


Overall I suspect that this article is just another example of The Australian trying to provoke class warfare by reporting the effete trials of the socio-economic elite as if they were more extreme than the daily struggles of ordinary Australians. They can be kinda bitchy like that.

4 Comments:

Blogger RebeccaH said...

I call that second one the "Obama tilt". It has that certain superior, nose in the air quality.

1:22 AM  
Anonymous Harry Bergeron said...

That pose, Beggar, is called "looking down one's nose".

It's often seen in the public oratory of B. Obama and B. Mussolini.

1:25 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

See the vet!

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1561&aid=1144

10:52 AM  
Anonymous kk said...

head tilt in dogs hahahahahaha - made my day

12:52 PM  

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