Surf feminist hero clashes with big-wave legend in explosive online exchange following meme of white man being hanged, “That photo and comment is offensive to me. F*%k you and your condescending attitude. I’m a long time supporter of women’s surfing you fool.”

Two surfers with the same position on Tex abortion law duke it out on the DMs!

Five months ago at a surfing contest at Sydney’s Curl Curl beach, the winner of the women’s div, a hitherto unknown Australian longboarder, Lucy Small, gave event organizers and sponsors hell from the stage for paying the women half as much as the men.

“Thank you so much to the sponsors for all the money for the event, but I would say it’s a bittersweet victory knowing that our surfing is worth less than half as much as the men’s prize money,” she said. 

The effect was seismic, media jumped on it, event organisers promised to bring the cash up for the following year, GSI boards paid Small the difference and Surfing Australia vowed to make surfing “the most inclusive sport in Australia.” 

If you know surfing, you’ll know the name Ian Cairns, a man with the physique of a comic-book hero (nicknamed Kanga) who ruled big waves, who was pivotal in the creation of a world tour, who would launch the ASP after tearing the game off the IPS’s Fred Hemmings and whose thin-eyed stare could give a man stomach cramps.

Two days ago, Small posted a screenshot from the Coen Bros film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs of James Franco being hanged with the tag, “Men: I don’t like that the government is making rules about my health and what I can do with my body because of COVID. Women:      ”

It was Small’s shot at the loss of abortion rights in Texas, a new law there that effectively bans abortions after six weeks of pregnancy.

If you’re into memes you’ll know the frame grab is widely used “to emphasize an uncommon or ridiculous occurrence in normal society that has become a regular occurance in a community.”

Kanga, who for the record also opposes the new Texas abortion law, jumped into Small’s DMs to respond, 

“This is pretty sexist and offensive to a group of people you have to live with.”

“It’s a reference to the Texas abortion law. It’s not sexist. Wishing you growth,” wrote Small. 

Kanga replied, 

“That photo and comment is offensive to me. Fuck you and your condescending attitude. You don’t know me. I’m a long time supporter of women’s surfing you fool. You need goodwill from people like me who care.” 

I asked Small if she tagged Kanga or if he took it personally.

“No didn’t tag him, he just took it personally. Yeah, I don’t know what compels a 69 year old dude to be so offended by the insinuation that they’ve never been forced to have a baby by the government before that they will actively send a fuck you to a 28 year old woman.”

I asked Kanga why sad.

Did he have beef with Small? 

“No beef. I didn’t like a picture of a white guy about to be hung: representing the travesty of the Texas abortion law. I said ’It offends me’ thinking that they’re of the left and forgiving, but she stepped up! ‘Get enlightened’ gibberish. And I’m thinking that ‘if you want equal prizemoney for women’ you shouldn’t offend people who are willing to help. Goodbye. The End.”

I told Small of Kanga’s response. 

“Wow. Tell me about the last time the government forced you to give birth Ian.”

Like I said, Kanga is ain’t down with the Tex law. 

“My body, my choice,” he says. “Goes for COVID just the same.”

Uh oh. 

Kanga, of course, ain’t afraid of holding an unpopular opinion.

“Everyone in some sense is concerned about what people think of them,” he told me a while back. “But I wake up in the morning and I think, what am I going to today?” says Cairns. “How can I do all these things that are crazy and cool and how can it benefit my family, my friends and all of this? The moment you start to think about these things you move forward and all those criticisms, which are about what you did yesterday, don’t matter. If you’re thinking about the future, you’re already one step ahead of the critics. Do I want to be disliked? No! Do I want to be focussed on coming up with some awesome idea tomorrow?  That’s what I want to do.”