Big girls do cry - and macho men, too

The Advertiser

08-07-2025

This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness.
It is not.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense.
Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him).
"Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018.
If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can.
Other macho-men politicians have also cried.
Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'."
And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good.
But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master).
And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'."
In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes.
"Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote.
"At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies.
Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to [e-mail]
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing.
- Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week.
THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens
YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth.
Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages."
Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime."
Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!"
Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?"
"Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment."
Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth."
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness.
It is not.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense.
Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him).
"Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018.
If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can.
Other macho-men politicians have also cried.
Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'."
And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good.
But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master).
And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'."
In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes.
"Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote.
"At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies.
Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to [e-mail]
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing.
- Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week.
THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens
YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth.
Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages."
Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime."
Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!"
Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?"
"Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment."
Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth."
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness.
It is not.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense.
Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him).
"Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018.
If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can.
Other macho-men politicians have also cried.
Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'."
And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good.
But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master).
And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'."
In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes.
"Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote.
"At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies.
Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to [e-mail]
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing.
- Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week.
THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens
YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth.
Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages."
Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime."
Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!"
Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?"
"Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment."
Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth."
This is a sample of The Echidna newsletter sent out each weekday morning. To sign up for FREE, go to theechidna.com.au
Last week, the British treasurer was spotted bleary-eyed in the House of Commons, wiping away a tear (as well she might because the media onslaught against her had been ferocious), but it then sparked a debate about whether weeping was a sign of political weakness.
It is not.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer is allowed to cry - and, heartwarmingly, the markets fell on the thought that she might be pushed out by the lynch mob. Financial markets know what side their bread is buttered on, and they weren't having any of this crying denotes weakness nonsense.
Even big men cry. They do. Even Peter Dutton (Google him).
"Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton has choked back tears after the father of one-punch victim Cole Miller called in to his 2GB radio interview to thank him for deporting a man involved in his son's death," Nine News reported in 2018.
If ex-cop and ex-leader of the Liberals Peter Dutton can cry, we all can.
Other macho-men politicians have also cried.
Bob Hawke shed tears after the Tiananmen Square massacre: "His voice breaking with emotion, the Prime Minister, Mr Hawke, yesterday wept along with hundreds of Chinese students and other mourners at a memorial service at Parliament House for the slain of China," the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
The same paper revealed that ex-Liberal leader Malcolm Turnbull blubbed: "Our tough-talking Prime Minister - buster of unions, lover of negative gearing, occasional shooter - is, by his own admission, a cry baby. Asked on morning radio whether he often shed a tear, Malcolm Turnbull acknowledged: 'Yes, I do, I do'."
And yet, and yet. In our cynical times, the thought immediately pops up that macho politicians shedding a tear might just be good for the image - tough but sensitive, as it were. Moist eyes: good for the image; wailing out loud, not so good.
But war leader Churchill was a weeper (though you might think he had a lot to cry about with the blitz and what once appeared like the imminent invasion of Britain - though he was also known to cry about a noble dog struggling through the snow to his master).
And Churchill had seen friends killed in action. The historian Andrew Roberts wrote: "On 30 September 1897, after his great friend Lieutenant William Browne-Clayton was killed close to him on an expedition along India's Northwest Frontier, Churchill wrote to his mother, 'I rarely detect genuine emotion in myself,' and 'I must rank it as a rare instance the fact that I cried when I saw poor Browne-Clayton literally cut to pieces on a stretcher'."
In 1940, Churchill wept in the House of Commons when MPs rose and applauded him for several minutes.
"Sitting on the Treasury bench, the tension draining from his body, Churchill lowered his head and the tears ran down his cheeks," the Soviet ambassador to Britain wrote.
"At last we have a real leader!" was the cry echoing through the lobbies.
Real leaders cry. If Churchill can weep openly, so can the rest of us.
HAVE YOUR SAY: Do you hide your tears, perhaps leaving the room? How do you react when you spot a weepy colleague? Are you embarrassed when a leader cries? Send your thoughts to [e-mail]
SHARE THE LOVE: If you enjoy The Echidna, forward it to a friend so they can sign up, too.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
- The Reserve Bank of Australia decided to keep the rate of interest on which other rates of interest (like mortgage rates) depend unchanged. Many economists and the four major banks had predicted a cut to the cash rate. The RBA decision, which was not unanimous, indicated that it still wasn't sure that inflation had been squeezed out of the economy. It cited a strong labour market and a need to see confirmation in upcoming data that inflation was easing.
- Aldi is trialling a new home delivery service for its groceries, and the supermarket chain. The German-based supermarket has partnered with delivery service DoorDash. Canberra is the first area for the trial from Tuesday this week.
THEY SAID IT: "Heaven knows we need never be ashamed of our tears, for they are rain upon the blinding dust of earth, overlying our hard hearts. I was better after I had cried, than before -- more sorry, more aware of my own ingratitude, more gentle." Charles Dickens
YOU SAID IT: I ranted - sorry, argued persuasively - against big inequalities of wealth.
Murray didn't agree but disagreed thoughtfully: "One can envy the uber-rich, even despise them a little, but they are often huge employers with annual payrolls running into billions. I never despised my employer so much that I wasn't grateful for my pay packet. If the rich get richer, their lifestyles may be offensive, but they are the ones generating the wealth for governments to tax and the ones paying the wages."
Helen (in her late 80s) said: "The answer is obviously taxing the rich at a much tougher rate. It will never happen, at least not in my lifetime."
Neil urged us to the barricades: "The People, United Shall Never Be Defeated! Pitchforks and tumbrils peeps! Not tomorrow... NOW!!"
Graham was not far behind him: "History saw four revolutions - the first two failed, but the French Revolution succeeded in the 18th century, followed by the Bolsheviks in 1917. Can I hear the scrape of whetstones on pitchforks and billhooks?"
"Depressed Echidna reader, Sandra" wrote: "It really boils down to money, I believe that Australia is heading for a fall along with the environment."
Chas said (and I'll keep his first sentence): "Good article Steve, and right on the money. History is littered with examples of societal collapse brought about by the excesses of the affluent exercised in the face of the vast majority of the underprivileged. In relatively later millennia, the Roman Empire comes to mind (think Nero and Caligula), the French Revolution, and in some measure, the USSR. In the historical mix, one can include the British Empire and the Spanish pillaging of foreign wealth."