Nothing brings me more joy these days than an anti-vaxxer getting kicked to the curb, so imagine my delight when I stumbled upon this video of cafe workers doing exactly that.
Journalist Melanie Groves shared a video on Twitter of a rather horrid encounter she had with an anti-vaxxer at The Coffee Club in Mackay, who apparently had a problem with her working for the ABC.
The video starts off showing an aggravated woman harassing the person filming, while people around her can be heard trying to de-escalate the situation.
“You don’t need to harass her just for working there,” a staff member can be heard saying.
“I’m not harassing her. You’re harassing me now,” the anti-vaxxer responds. Oh, if this isn’t straight out of a self-victimising Karen’s handbook.
Just FYI I’m a 29 year old journo who reports primarily on rural issues and the environment. Today this kind lady had some words for me in line at the @Mackay_Coffee. Big thanks to the staff for defending me and calling security pic.twitter.com/earfmpO9f2
— Melanie Groves (@MelanieLGroves) November 11, 2021
When the anti-vaxxer keeps ranting, staff try and defend Groves by saying “she’s my customer”.
“Well I’m your customer too, and I was just saying that the ABC spreads lies, and she’s part of a company that is peddling lies!” the anti-vaxxer said in response. Fucking YIKES.
There’s a back and forth as the cafe staff defend Groves as just a worker for a company, while the anti-vaxxer constantly asks if everyone understands her point of view. Spoiler alert: no, we fucking don’t.
After the anti-vaxxer continues her barrage of complaints, someone else can be heard exasperatedly exclaiming: “She just said she reports on sugarcane!”
Sorry, but that detail is so funny to me. She reports on sugarcane! She is not a part of a giant conspiracy to peddle lies about COVID! She just thinks plants are really neat! She’s into farming!
Anyway, the staff tell the woman to leave after calling security. She does, but not before mocking them, screaming about the media selling us all lies, and storming off. Very classy.
I just wanted some lunch
— Melanie Groves (@MelanieLGroves) November 11, 2021
While the video is actually quite disturbing, because journalists should be allowed to get a coffee without being harassed by unhinged conspiracy theorists, the fact that the people around Groves rallied to defend and protect her is truly heart-warming.
We’re living in a time where journalists are getting harassed, assaulted and even having piss thrown at them, for reporting the news. It’s pretty shit, and as a journo myself, I’ve seen the abuse that gets directed at us regarding COVID.
Less anti-vaxxers being shitheads to people, and more anti-vaxxers getting fkn owned, thanks.
