“I think this is the start of something bigger. The revolution will eventually start.” Fraser Anning at extremist rally in St Kilda.
Good ole Fraser! You remember how he used the phrase “final solution” in his maiden speech? According to him, he didn’t know that it had been used before by Hitler and his mates.
Ok, we can’t all be historians, right? I mean, you can’t be expected to know everything about World War Two. Just because you use a phrase or two from the Nazis doesn’t make you a racist, does it?
Similarly, I guess, we shouldn’t be condemning him for his decision to fly down to Victoria to hang around with a couple of convicted criminals who decided to organise a little get-together…
And just because a few of them were doing Nazi salutes… Well, like I said, Fraser can’t be expected to know what this meant, because as he showed with his use of the words, “final solution”, he doesn’t know very much.
No, indeed, Senator Anning assured us that these were just your everyday Australian: “This rally is Australian people showing their disgust with the Australian government for allowing garbage like these Sudanese thugs coming into our country and … attacking us in our own country.” Attacking people in their own country? Thank god, everyday Australians have never done anything like that. Certainly none of Anning’s ancestors were ever accused of shooting aborigines.
Ok, he may not have been aware that the word “garbage” when refering to people from other countries may be considered racist, because like I said, he isn’t very well informed.
While he happily shook hands with someone who’s suggested that a picture of Hitler should be hung in every classroom, Anning suggests that the other people at the rally are irrelevant… (Now, there’s something we can agree on.) He was only came down here to join in the rally protesting about Sudanese youth playing soccer on the beach, or whatever it was that they were protesting.
There is something ironic about an unelected senator from Queensland coming to Victoria to join a rally which wants to send people back where they came from. And there is definitely something ironic about convicted criminals complaining about immigrants who “don’t respect our laws”.
But the real danger here isn’t the senator who got less votes than I could get if I stood on a platform of insisting that all politicians have to begin each speech with the words, “This is a paid announcement which is brought to you by…” followed by whichever party donor seems appropriate! The real danger isn’t the neo-Nazis who don’t even have the neatly pressed uniforms that made Hitler’s boys so impressive.
The real danger is that people like that make the racists with power seem almost reasonable by comparison. They’re not, of course. No, no, insist the politicians, this is unacceptable. Australia is a tolerant country and diversity is great and these people are just terrible.
Let’s forget the way we’ve treated the Indigenous people. Black-armband view of history and anyway it was a long time ago. Let’s forget the things we said about the European migrants coming here after the Second World War. We welcomed them, because they were prepared to have a go, we never called them names or mocked them. Let’s forget that we were being overrun by Asians. John Howard never said that, you’re making it up, and I’m sure Pauline said Muslims in her maiden speech twenty years ago.
Let’s all condemn the senator who was too extreme for Bob Katter and overlook that he hasn’t actually had much power and like the neo-Nazis behind the event, if he wasn’t getting so much media attention, he’d just be a joke. And let’s just forget how figures like Morrison and Dutton in our current government have fanned to flames of racism for political expedience. We can forget this because – rather belatedly – Scottie has tweeted what a great, diverse nation we are. (Don’t use the word “multicultural”!) Dutton, it seems, hasn’t had time because he’s been busy counting votes.
Fraser suggested that this could be “the start of a revolution”. Even if he has the backing of the nineteen people who voted for him, it should be easy to crush. No, I’m more worried about that people like Anning and the other nuph-nuphs start to make the extremists in the media and the government appear normal by comparison. (Yes, it’s quite a stretch to include Craig Kelly in that!) When Anning suggested -in spite of photographic evidence – that the stories of Nazi salutes were the result of misleading reporting from the “left-wing media”, we’re starting enter a strange Trump-like world.
Actually, did he vote for himself? That only leaves eighteen…
Mmm, I feel better already!
[textblock style=”7″]
Like what we do at The AIMN?
You’ll like it even more knowing that your donation will help us to keep up the good fight.
Chuck in a few bucks and see just how far it goes!
Your contribution to help with the running costs of this site will be gratefully accepted.
You can donate through PayPal or credit card via the button below, or donate via bank transfer: BSB: 062500; A/c no: 10495969
[/textblock]
