You, madam, are most definitely a racist

Kaye Lee

8 years ago

I wonder if Pauline Hanson understands the word irony.

Please explain.

In her inimitable style, Pauline stood up in parliament to tell us she was “fed up with people inside this parliament and outside this house calling me a racist.”

The ironical part is that it was in the context of a bizarre speech in which she was bemoaning the fact that, due to political correctness, she can’t call people wogs anymore – something they apparently enjoyed according to Pauline.

“People have come to our country – and I remember most, years ago, when they came; there was the Greeks and Italians and different ones, they were called ‘wogs’ – they keep telling me, they said ‘my God we actually had everything thrown at us…’,” she said.

And Pauline was right in there throwing the taunts.

“… when the Aussies had a go at them in that Aussie way they then became part of the community, they assimilated. I remember all the guys at the fish markets, the Greeks and Italians, we all had jokes together and it was taken in a good sense of humour, and we’ve lost that in Australia.”

“I think people have become so precious that you can’t say or do anything anymore, otherwise you’ll be dragged off to the law courts.”

Particularly if you call Pauline a racist. Apparently she feels she is being victimised.

“I’ve had it up to here with my tolerance,” she said. “I believe we have a right to have an opinion and to debate it.”

Pauline threw out a challenge, saying her detractors “cannot define one word that I have ever said in policy, or anything, that is racist.”

Well here is some “empirical evidence” for you Pauline.

Soon after her first election to Parliament, Hanson’s book, Pauline Hanson – the truth : on Asian immigration, the Aboriginal question, the gun debate and the future of Australia, was published. In it she makes claims of Aboriginal cannibalism, in particular that Aboriginal women ate their babies and tribes cannibalised their members. Hanson told the media that the reason for these claims of cannibalism was to “demonstrate the savagery of Aboriginal society”.

“I am fed up to the back teeth with the inequalities that are being promoted by the government and paid for by the taxpayer under the assumption that Aboriginals are the most disadvantaged people in Australia.”

“Anyone with a criminal record can, and does, hold a position with ATSIC.”

Yesterday she told Andrew Bolt that there is no definition of what an Aboriginal person is.

“If you marry an Aboriginal you can be classified (as one), or if the community or the elders accept you into that community you can be defined as an Aboriginal,” the One Nation leader told Andrew Bolt on Sky News on Monday.

“That’s not good enough because then if you make a comment about it, well what are you? Are you an Aboriginal or non-Aboriginal?”

In 1996 she feared the Asian invasion.

“I and most Australians want our immigration policy radically reviewed and that of multiculturalism abolished. I believe we are in danger of being swamped by Asians. They have their own culture and religion, form ghettos and do not assimilate.”

In 2006, it was the Africans.

“We’re bringing in people from South Africa at the moment. There’s a huge amount coming into Australia, who have diseases; they’ve got AIDS,” Ms Hanson told AAP. “They are of no benefit to this country whatsoever; they’ll never be able to work.

“And what my main concern is, is the diseases that they’re bringing in and yet no one is saying or doing anything about it.”

“Do you want to see your daughter or a family member end up with AIDS or anyone for that matter?”

In 2016 it’s the Muslims.

After the Orlando night club shootings, Pauline said, regarding Muslim immigration, “We have laws here that we don’t bring in Pitbull terriers because they are a danger to our society… we have laws to protect Australians.”

Pauline has announced policies including a ban on building new mosques until a royal commission into whether Islam is a religion or a political ideology has been held, and installing CCTV cameras in all existing mosques. She has called for a “moratorium” on accepting Muslim immigrants into Australia saying “We are in danger of being swamped by Muslims who bear a culture and ideology that is incompatible with our own.

Same old line with a different target.

Racism was defined by the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission in 1998.

“Racism is an ideology that gives expression to myths about other racial and ethnic groups, that devalues and renders inferior those groups, that reflects and is perpetuated by deeply rooted historical, social, cultural and power inequalities in society.”

Pauline’s stereotyping is based on the ignorant and arrogant belief that the world would be a better place if we were all just like her. Imagine the sort of country we would have if we were swamped by Reclaim Australia and United Patriots.

As Mick Dodson said, “Irrespective of its sources, racism is racism. Ignorance is no excuse. Insecurity is not justification…racism in all its forms should be uncompromisingly condemned.”

So I will take this opportunity to exercise my freedom of speech and say Pauline, you are the epitome of all that is ugliest about Australia and you, madam, are most definitely a racist. You earned the label so wear it and do not expect my automatic respect because your repeated endeavours to re-join the gravy train finally bore fruit. I will resist your attempts to divide us and I will stand with those who you seek to vilify.

Racism. It stops with me.