Sydney bathed in the blood of a culture war

The battle lines have been drawn. The troops are mustered and the artillery is being prepared.

The generals of each side are trying to encourage their troops. This is a war of territory, of hallowed ground and this morning the trumpet call was sounded.

On ABC Radio 702, caller after caller, Sydney Symphony Orchestra Subscriber after Sydney Symphony Orchestra Subscriber(SSOS) rang in and expressed utter 'disgust' at the patrons of the Opera Bar (OB).

The Opera Bar, which is on the concourse out of the Sydney Opera House(SOH), is next to the entrance to the Sydney Opera House Carpark (SOHC).

They SSOS leave the SOH, filled with the wondrous sound of Dvorak or Mahler or Bach and then have to face a 'meat-market' where they play all that horrible OB 'beaty' music. Some SSOS want to cancel their subscription because of the behaviour.

One caller expressed surprise that any of them still had hearing, "They are all standing around with this loud banging music, yelling over the top of each other and yelling down their mobile phones. I am surprised that they still have hearing!"

But then the other side got up, not prepared to lie down to this 'cultural snobbery'.

"Hey! I'm thirty and I go to the symphony and frankly, we need to encourage people to go to the Opera House. There isn't just symphony and opera and ballet on, there are heaps of events and when all of these people die there won't be anyone going to the Opera House because we haven't developed any audiences."

Each side hurled abuse at each other. The SSOS can't stand the people at the OB, with their beautiful views and beautiful bodies, and the OB set don't even notice the SSOS because they are too busy flirting with each other in the meat-market.

And the ABC ran this all morning. Wait for the follow up articles tomorrow with photo's of disgruntled SSOS.

Sydney really knows how to have a culture war. How marvellous.


Image credit: AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus