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Alternative Facts: “Right-wing Gang Threatens People Of African Appearance”

Did anyone see the headline from “The Age”? You know, the one about the right wing gangs? You didn’t?Well, that’s because they’re not a “gang”, apparently. The actual headline read:

FAR RIGHT GROUP THREATENS TO TAKE A STAND OVER ‘AFRICAN GANGS’

See, not a gang. A group. And they’re not threatening violence. They’re apparently going to “take a stand”. Sort of like the miners at Eureka. (Whom we admire… Even if they were a mob of immigrants refusing to contribute by paying their mining licences… Ok, there was more to it than that, but I’m just trying to imagine how Rupert’s reporters would have spun it, if they’d been around then. Still, it’s amazing how time changes our perspective on things.) Nope, it’s the “Africans” who are gangs.

Now certain politicians have been making a lot of noise about crime being out of control in Victoria and it’s all the Premier’s fault. Matthew Guy, for example, says that Dan Andrews doesn’t know how to control crime. Andrews hasn’t replied by asking if the best way to control crime is to sit down and have a lobster dinner with it. Yes, the Liberals have all sorts of problems when crime is out of control, but no problem with organised crime.

The impetus for Peter Dutton and his followers like Turnbull to criticise Victoria for lawless African gangs – as opposed to lawless caucasian groups like the ones threatening vigilante action or the youths who rioted in Torquay – was the trashing of an Airbnb. Unfortunately, it turns out that the Sudanese youth who did this were actually down from Sydney, so it’s not because of the Victorian State Government – it must be the fault of the NSW government. I can’t wait to hear the Federal flops attacking Gladys Berejiklian for her inability to maintain law and order.

But like I said, time changes our perspective on things. Take the latest stand-off in America. Trump and the Democrats are wrangling over the DACA bill and Trump won’t budge unless he gets the money to pay for the wall. I’m sure that, in time, somebody will point out that Trump shouldn’t be arguing with the Democrats over the cost of the wall, because he assured everyone that Mexico would pay for it. Many, many times.

Yes, time changes everything. No longer will be concerned over the incident at the Airbnb. We’ll just have to find some other incident to use to distract people from the fact that we have a man in charge of Border Force, the AFP and ASIO who has accused not only the wrong group for vandalism, but he’s previously incorrectly accused refugee advocates of inciting self-harm amongst detainees on Manus and Nauru, as well as suggesting that Sarah Hanson-Young was making it up when she was being followed. I could mention that he managed to send a text about Samantha Maiden to Samantha Maiden, but why should a man with so much power be concerned about irrelevancies like getting things right. In future, he’ll probably just have anyone who challenges him deported, arrested or questioned by ASIO for potential sedition charges.

But time changes everything. Who knows? Perhaps in the future our history will tell us of the brave patriots who took a stand and removed gangs from our streets, of heroes like Gina and Rupert who stopped the government from taxing businesses enabling Australia to become its own tax haven eliminating the need for companies to use the Cayman Islands, and of the great Peter Dutton whose steady hand prevented a revolution when GetUp! and the unions threatened to tried inhinbit the rights of children to work in mines.

Time changes everything. Just three years ago, the idea of Oprah as president would have been considered a fantasy; now some people actually think it’s a viable alternative.

>Sigh<

 

15 comments

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  1. Jaquix

    Have to wonder who the 3% are who dont think Dutton is inflaming racial tensions? Hoping it was a slip of the fingers, as there is no room for editing. The Age SMH have become mouthpieces for the Liberals propaganda. They used to be respected newspapers. Now we are left with The Guardian and various independent news sources, Twitter and Facebook, for spreading news. That is not a good situation, but we have to live with it for the time being. The media landscape needs a great big reform book thrown at it. I hope Labor can find the time to be drafting solutions, though keep them quiet til the last minute. Otherwise we will have a re-run of the Treasury report on Neg Gearing shameless lying and obfuscation by the Libs.

  2. Marlene Gorman

    An even longer ‘sigh’…

  3. Rob

    The SMH and The Age have always been mouthpieces for the LNP. I recall vividly the SMH being called for coffee n a chat with lil johnnie Howard and surprise surprise the next days edition have LNP insiders quoting allsorts ‘hints and policy agendas. nothing has changed on the names and dates

  4. Michael

    There is no one standing up for us …… other than us!?

  5. babyjewels10

    So sick of the media trying to alter the truth in people’s minds. Never buy their crap, never will. But I know idiots who do, and believe what’s written. It comes out in their bigoted, ignorant, half-assed comments.

  6. diannaart

    Yes, the Liberals have all sorts of problems when crime is out of control, but no problem with organised crime.

    Authoritarians are easily startled by any change, especially the undisciplined variety. Organised crime crime is, well, organised and great for a lobster lunch if you know the right people.

    Apparently low income/disadvantaged people will not pay for anything…

  7. Kyran

    With respect, Mr Brisbane, they are neither a ‘group’ nor a ‘gang’. They are a ‘crew’. Dinky di, true blue. These gits call themselves the true blue crew. Dinky di, true blue. With apologies, Ostralyan is not my first language.
    It can escape no-one that Ostralya day is upon us. This will be the bunch of knuckledraggers, adorned in the Ostralyan flag (as either a head/face covering, or a cape, whilst denying the ancestry of both garments), fuelled by alcohol and testosterone, epitomizing dutton’s Ostralya.
    By way of health warning, if you have eaten today, get ready to ‘give it up’ for Ostralya.

    http://australiafirstparty.net/tag/true-blue-crew/

    As for the Australia First Party

    http://australiafirstparty.net/

    How can a country with such a short history forget its past so quickly?

    My bad. That last line was meant for the immigrants. Our First People have a slightly longer lineage, and a far greater respect for a far greater history.
    Apparently, some idiot either wants to build a wall with Victoria or put a sign up, advising New South Welshmen not to enter. Perhaps we can get the Mexicans to fund that as well.
    Oh dear, another Eeyore day. Roll on, Ostralya day.
    Thank you Mr Brisbane and commenters. Take care

  8. Cool Pete

    Well, the slogan could be, “If you want to live under a fascist regime, vote Liberal” (again).

  9. paul walter

    Guess so. They are following and trying to import the US /GB line which is based on the Hitlerite line of a century ago. In the US, they are chocka with armed militias guided by the Hard Right of the Koch bros etc and form the same function as the stormtroopers, enforcing right wing politics (which is thus enforced elsewhere via the “captured” US government).

    We have our problems with this stuff also, witness the panic over boat people, but never quite as severe as the USA or even GB, but some p further up the food chain think they can manage it through consent manufacture of the sort seen on ACA/TDT/ Sixty Adverts or in the Murdoch press. They haven’t quite succeeded yet but have contributed to the swing to the political Right here, so maybe the damage is done without recourse to any overt or blatant putsch. It is sufficient for the manipulators that the Trump and Abbott types thrive and frauds like Turnbull are bolstered…think Oldfield, Bernardi, Ashby and the like.

  10. paul walter

    Can get some of it, but Fairfax keeps interrupting it with some type of advertisements.

  11. wam

    The cry of ‘African’ appearance will give respite to the norm ‘of Aboriginal appearance’. oops, Lord, poor old Antony macdonald-tipungwuti???
    As for a president, I got a shocker from marles who wants us to have one. He proposes a simple plebiscite yes or no. Wow who would trust politicians with that sort of carte blanche to take and bestow. Sorry boys not a good idea to treat your supporters like the lnp treats you.
    oops a woman??? you must be joking I was amazed a woman got as many votes to come second, But trump is tracking too well to be challenged in 2020

  12. Jack Russell

    The LNP utterly wiped out by a clean sweep for the ALP, in both houses, at the next federal election (backed up by a majority of, or all, Labor states) would ram home an alternative fact I’d like to see the coalition and their msm collaborators try to misrepresent. I’d even go out and buy newpapers for that … and have them framed!

  13. Zathras

    There’s something very familiar about these so-called gang allegations.

    Look at what was happening in Melbourne 10 years ago – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uH684WWgi-8

    This was during the dying weeks of the Howard Government.

    For those with a short memory. there was an agenda at work then to maintain feelings of fear and suspicion of immigrants and there’s another one being stirred up among the public now. There’s also a State Election due in Victoria later so perhaps Turnbull @ Co are hoping the voters will vent their anger at the State government before the next Federal one comes around.

    The boat and border scare seems to have been played out and there will be bad unemployment and deficit news yet to some so this must be the new strategy.
    The creation of Dutton’s unique Ministerial position is another indication of it’s growing importance.

    Ugly times are ahead.

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