BRUCE Ruxton expressed his strong opinions in such a provocative fashion that he quickly carved out a one-dimensional public image. He used his notoriety, and his sharply incendiary tongue, to attract attention to the causes he and many other members of the Returned and Services League supported. Railing against politically correct attitudes, he supported populist and often legitimate positions relating to the republic, immigration and indigenous rights, but did so with such divisive and demeaning language that he sometimes undermined his own arguments.
In more than 20 years as the Victorian RSL president, Ruxton took few backward steps, but he did at least express regret for suggesting Archbishop Desmond Tutu might be a witchdoctor. In an age when a public persona can too often become a caricature, Ruxton helped the process by, at the height of his prominence, recording a self-deprecatory rap song. Still, this showed his sense of humour and lack of self-aggrandisement. Ruxton fought hard and successfully for veterans' rights long before he was widely known. He was much loved by veterans, conservatives and often older Australians for standing firmly against the zeitgeist on issues such as the republic and the flag. He offended others, particularly with outbursts that rightly drew criticism for providing succour to racism, homophobia and bigotry. However, as is the way with open-minded debate in a free society, the prodding from Ruxton arguably helped Australia become a more tolerant nation. Discussing and debating discontent is much healthier than seeking to legislate it away. Ruxton's death is a reminder that we are losing a generation of men and women who saw this nation through the unspeakable trials of World War II. He saw active service in the Pacific and, like thousands of others, exposed himself to trauma and danger to defend the lifestyle we enjoy today.
Ruxton once reflected on the horrors he experienced, saying that, with other lives in peril, there was no time to dwell on them. But the memories haunted him, and his comrades, in the long years afterwards. Such sacrifice defended, among other things, our free speech. And Ruxton later took full advantage of that freedom. He should be remembered for his sense of duty in battle and in public debate, and for a life spent defending a generation who fought for their country.
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