More right-wing rubbish
Hardly a week goes by without receiving an email from a right-winger about how boat people, greenies, Muslims, Aborigines (or any non-White, non-Liberal extremist) is undermining the entire fabric of Australia and the God fearing Western world.
I usually press delete after reading two words of their crap.
This one I read:
In May 2010 Tohseef Shah spray-painted a British War Memorial with “Islam will dominate Osama”.
He was fined £50 and walked free from court.
In November 2010 Emdadur Choudhury burned a Poppy during the 2 minutes silence.
He too was fined £50 and walked free from court.
Last week in a Portsmouth Court two men were sentenced to 6 months in prison for painting a Poppy on a mosque [refer picture above].
Pass this on, if you think it’s a disgrace.
I know you will without question.
It certainly would be a disgrace – if it were true. It turns out to be just more right-wing bullshit. It has been circulating vigorously via social media websites for over three years despite being a hoax. Yes, a hoax.
Here’s what really happened:
The specific stories mentioned in the message are mostly true (but the fines have been mixed up). Tohseef Shah was fined £500 in compensation, £85 court costs and two year conditional discharge for spray painting a memorial statue and Emdadur Choudhury was fined £50 for setting alight a poppy, and finally it is also true that two men have been imprisoned for 12 months for spray painting a mosque. The two men, Steven James Vasey, 32, and 24-year-old Anthony Donald Smith were convicted in Durham this month.
At first glance, one may justifiably feel angry at this apparent injustice which makes the British justice system appear soft on racial crimes committed by minorities. But as with all brief and racially charged messages circulating the Internet, it does not really tell the whole story.
Firstly, the two men sentenced for 12 months not only defaced a mosque but additionally put a brick through a window of an Asian run business and spray painted two other properties ran by Asians, and by the defendents own admission their actions were racially motivated and planned in advance – this in contrast to Tohseef Shah who`s actions were deemed to be political. Racially motivated crimes often receive heftier sentences and despite, for example, Emdadur Choudhurys crime of poppy burning being more controversial, strictly in the eyes of the law, the two men from Durham committed a more heinous crime.
Sentencing is based on many different factors, especially including the severity of the crime and the judge handing the sentence and of course there will be what many percieve to be lighter sentences and heavier sentences given for what appear to be similar crimes of similar severity. However if you think that lighter sentences seem to be reserved for people who are of Asian descent you would be wrong, because a message like this will duly omit the numerous accounts of racial hatred aimed towards Muslims that have not been met with a custodial sentence, such as the case of Wayne Havercroft who was only fined for leaving a pigs head outside a proposed location for a mosque and a spray painted sign saying “No Mosque here. EDL” – or the Sunderland man who was only fined for spray painting a mosque.
This message has picked three – albeit true – stories because they fit the overall meaning the message attempts to convey – hatred towards what the message creator believes to be a racially corrupt/soft justice system. Whilst one could reasonally argue that the two men from Durham did receive a significantly harsher sentence than both the men in the other two stories, it should be noted that these are just three stories and does not necessarily accurately reflect the way the British justice system convicts people of differing faiths.
I have seen similar articles on this (and other sites) exposing and denouncing right-wing bullshit, and noticed that the authors of the particular articles have been condemned for publicising the right-wing propaganda. The authors have made the claim that they are merely attempting to set the record straight. If there is nobody willing to do so, then this rubbish will continue to fill our in-boxes and social media sites unchallenged.
So if this email finds its way to you – you can do what I did – reply with a nice little note saying it’s a load of crap.
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babyjewels10 -
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mars08 -
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Terry2 -
mars08 -
lawrencewinder -
Kerri -
mars08 -
Olivia Manor -
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Zathras -
Roswell -
mars08 -
mars08
Return to home pageI fail to understand why anyone would need to make their point by promoting lies? This seems to have become the modus operandi of RWers of late.
I think I have just severed connections with a friend of MANY years on account of one such in a string of ’em. Unhappily, over there in Perth they appear to be becoming so far right that they’re in danger of falling off the edge.
What a coincidence!!!
Last Thursday I has a brain-snap at work when one of my colleagues tried to pass on an “aussiefied” version of such a myth… complete with burqa-clad wonan and Sydney Harbour. I just cannot tolerate the stupidity and more. It is eating at my soul.
Here is the bullshit story he was trying to spread…
http://urbanlegends.about.com/od/crime/a/grateful_terror.htm
It boggles my mind… surely anyone with a jot of common sense, or a speck of skepticism would have their doubts about such tall tales. Then again, the bigots don’t want any doubts, do they?
As the temperatures start to rise to summer levels I cannot help but think about those poor people held on Nauru, Manus and Christmas Islands – most now imprisoned for more that twelve months – I’m not aware of any ‘real’ re-settlements since the Abbott regime came to power in September 2013 and I discount the few that have been released into the Nauru community as anything other than day- release in a dangerous and violent environment.
At various stages I’m sure all of us reflect on the early convict settlers in this land, many of whom were transported for trivial crimes and some merely for expressing political opinions. At least these offenders went through an English system of justice, inadequate as they may have considered it, and they were transported to serve a known term which, in some cases , was the term of their natural lives and in many cases they became free settlers when their sentences had been served and they put down roots, founding proud ancestral bloodlines in a land downunder.
How different it is for the prisoners held on these offshore islands : initially tricked by mercenary people smugglers to hand over large sums of their precious savings, promised a new life of freedom and security only to be apprehended by an uncaring Australian government – of whatever political complexion – then arbitrarily sent into confinement for an unspecified term without the benefit of a trial or any form of natural or humanitarian justice.
What has become of our country that this state of affairs is allowed to continue and we are told by leering politicians that the justice systems of Papua New Guinea and Nauru are responsible for the plight of these people unless the mockery of re-settlement in Cambodia becomes their destiny.
Abbott and his stooges bray about the success of their punitive policies and expect a brainless electorate to applaud their inhumanity and celebrate them as true and honourable leaders.
Australia, what has happened to us ?
babyjewels10:
I’m guessing that there might be more than one reason for this stupid behaviour. But none of them would be based on kindness or common sense.
Here’s the message I put on Facebook… in the hope of getting the message across to the “usual suspects”. If it offends them, ah… that’s just tough shit..!
“If you want to be paranoid about Muslims… that’s entirely your choice. If you want to SPREAD your anti-Muslim hysteria and unfounded suspicions… to promote hatred and fear… well that’s a different matter. Maybe you’re really, really REALLY misinformed. Or maybe you’re just a foolish bigot… again, that’s your choice. Being ignorant is a lifestyle choice. But inciting hatred affects the behaviour of other people.
Now, if you are deeply passionate about your bigotry, at least have to courage to admit it. Own it! But please have the decency not to infect others.”
They play with fear like children play with faeces….
Well said mars08 and yes like M-R I too have lost friends when I have replied with the truth and evidence thereof. There’s a great website Snopes that debunks many a myth (though no specifically Australian race hate myths). My brother was well sucked in to a story about a broadmeadows shopping centre refusing to put up Christmas decorations or sell pork last Christmas. I contacted the centre (incidentally their webpage opened with “Have Your Photo Taken With Santa” and they wearily told me the bullshit had been spread for years and was doing harm to their businesses. Of course the bigoted fear mongers don’t appreciate collateral damage. The other story I researched for my brother was the KFC in Faulkner that wont sell bacon. KFC confirmed this to be true and in keeping with local population following halal, BUT,!! It is the only KFC in VICTORIA to not have bacon. As I said to my brother “Mate! Go to a KFC closer to your home!” Why travel all that way to be offended?
Kerri… reminds me of the uproar when Qantas (??) took pork off the menu on some flights. It was entirely a commercial decision. But, of course, some people insisted on being offended and blaming Shari’a law!!! Idiots!
just a few days ago read in “life starts at sixty” about a boycott of Cadbury’s chocolate because it has ” certified halal” on its wrapper. The comments were all about how by doing this, Cadbury was funding terrorism and Islamic schools, and yes they were no longer buying Cadbury, because they didn’t want sharia law to take over Australia. The level of fear, ignorance and hatred was positively scary.
This nasty right-wing rubbish can have dangerous consequences. Norman Cigar. “Genocide in Bosnia; The Policy of “Ethnic Cleansing.” 1995 writes of the Serbian rightist preparations for the 200,000 murders in the Bosnian war.
“Vuk Draskovic, author of several controversial best-sellers, such as the evocatively titled novel, Noz (Knife), …… Set largely against the background of World War II, the Muslim characters in Noz appear mostly as treacherous cold-blooded murderers. What is more, Noz contains an explicit denial of the Muslims’ existence as a legitimate community..
…
Such messages about the Muslims eventually were to become commonplace in Serbia’s popular and scholarly literature, while the Serbian media denigrated Islam openly and gratuitously, often in terms approaching racism. Draskovic himself continued to propagate these ideas in other writings and speeches. He lashed out vehemently at the “fury of offensive and intolerant Islam in Bosnia, Kosovo, the Sandzak, and Herzegovina….[at] the vampire-like resurgence of the tradition of the Shariah [religious law], and…the strategy of jihad [holy war] with the goal of creating an Islamic state in the Balkans.”
Kerri:
Yeh… I recall seeing that one. And now we’re coming into the “silly season” so we can expect much more of this sort of steaming bullshit.
Of course, we SHOULD make an effort to debunk the myths and stop them spreading… but far too many of our fellow citizens desperately WANT TO believe the rubbish… they long to be outraged. It’s an ideal way of bolstering their bigorty and xenophobia. They NEED these tales to circulate just to maintain the hatred in the community. The fear-mongering politicians and clueless, hysterical media doesn’t spew enough disgusting bile… apparently.
With that in mind… here’s a few straaayn versions of the ordure which might plop into your inbox this summer…
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/broadmeadows-christmas-celebrations-hoax.shtml
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/isis-marking-christian-homes-false-rumour.shtml
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/hoax-cardwell-christmas-lights-ban.shtml
http://www.hoax-slayer.com/australian-flag-muslim-women-lapel-pin.shtml
Enjoy!
An insight into the phenomenon of new fascism, within which Islamophobia is a major tool, can be obtained from a mainly Australian production “On Utøya: Anders Breivik, Right Terror, Racism and Europe” edited by Tad Tietze, Guy Rundle and Elizabeth Humphrys. Published by Elguta Press (21 Oct 2011)
Immediately after the Norwegian massacre of Labour Party youth was sheeted home to a blond non-Muslim crusader, all the anti-Muslim bloggers and public figures began a major campaign to separate Breivik from anything they said or wrote.
In fact, their nasty ideas, portraying refugees, immigrants, Greens and especially Muslims, as a threat to civilization, are all reflected in Breivik’s new fascist manifesto, “2083: A European Declaration of Independence.” It is a compilation of ideas from all the major Islamophobes of the white world, laying down strategies for pushing back multiculturalism.
These extremist ideas are indeed terrorist but are not treated as such.
Olivia Manor:
What sort of individual sits down and invents this inflammatory nonsense? I’d guess an angry, malicious one!!!
Another myth debunked… http://www.hoax-slayer.com/halal-certification-cadbury-protest-email.shtml
Rosewell:
This is a vitally important issue.
Damn the inter web thingy is becoming a conspiracy highway for the mentally challenged and ignorant.
It’s a worry when people you think are well reasoned actually start believing some of this crap. Just a little Google will resolve most nonsense.
I get the feeling some people just love this tripe an are deliberately blind to alternate possibilities.
The point is when and how does this rubbish become statistically significant in effecting public opinion.
I think the LNP and the Tea Party in the US, as well as Cameron in the UK, demonstrate just how successful peddling conspiracy rubbish can be.
It would be amusing if it wasn’t so damn influential in turning public opinion to nonsense. The only difference is that conservative conspiracy is accepted by many in the mainstream.
So it’s not a matter of when but by how much this crap is altering what should be rational public perceptions.
The answer is obvious and the outcome pretty scary.
I have had to spend a fair bit of time at Westmead Hospital lately where many of the doctors, staff, patients and visitors are Muslim. Over the last couple of weeks I have chatted to many of them and been thankful for the help and care they have shown to my son, including the little boy visiting his dad who knew how to raise my son’s bed and who quickly came to volunteer his assistance.
As I was leaving the other night, a patient in her hospital gown was outside having a cigarette. I didn’t see what happened but the next thing I know she is screaming at two young men with beards who had apparently taken a carpark that someone else was waiting for. The abuse was horrific…”You f’ing c’s think you own the f’ing country f off you f’ing terrorists. Show some f’ing respect. Go back to where you came from” etc etc.
Is this what Tony Abbott wants?
I usually reply to these stories with a link to Snopes that highlights where these stories begin.
Sometimes I direct them to places like Stromfront where they can mix with “their own kind”.
It’s interesting that many people gladly accept these things at face value if it reinforces their own prejudices but will challenge anything truthful that challenges them.
Funny you should say that, Zathras. They’ll believe Bolt’s claim that the climate isn’t changing while ignoring the evidence that it is.
Zathras:
Ahhh… how true. But “interesting” isn’t the word I would use.
There’s another thing I don’t get. If all Muslims are THAT bad… why do we have people making up implausible tales??? Can’t they find any FACTS to support their bigotry???
Stupid is as stupid does. Seems there’s no shortage of clueless bigots…
The company has carried the Halal certification for 10 years and it has been an important part of its international trade, particularly for the supply of airline use.
“The Halal company that certifies us is based in Sydney, they come and they audit us and then they go away again, they don’t ‘bless’ our foods, they don’t ‘bless’ our site, there’s no religious context to it, they check our hygiene and they check that there’s no alcohol there,” Mr Byrne said.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-25/byron-anzac-halal/5841118