Nationals MP Labels Anti-Reclaim Australia Protestors “Racist”


If you thought you’d seen the last of the idiotic bullshit to come out of the disturbing and – at times – foul scenes emanating from the Reclaim Australia rallies that took place in major cities across the Easter Weekend, then boy are you ever in for the brow furrowing of a lifetime.

National Party MP George Christensen – ostensibly a man who holds an elected position of public office in the Federal Government, allowing him some modicum of actual power and sway over the political discourse in this country, for some utterly mystifying reason – has fired shots at the people who assembled in public spaces to form counter-protests aimed at providing direct opposition to the Reclaim Australia movement.
Christensen labelled the counter-protesters as “socialist ratbags,” “clowns,” and through some form of gymnastic logic, “racists.”
In a blog post on his website, Christensen chided counter-protesters who burned Australian flags – admittedly a dick move, but not actually an illegal manoeuvre by any arm of the law – and what’s more, claimed he’s reported those responsible to the Human Rights Commission for potential violations of section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act.

“The clowns who burned three Australian flags at a protest on the Easter weekend, protected by a wall of socialist ratbags, have been reported to the Human Rights Commission.”


“I have been contacted by a number of people who were offended by protesters burning the national symbol during aggressive Socialist Alternative and Socialist alliance protests in Melbourne.”


“If sections of the Act can be applied to one race or nationality it must apply to all, whether a minority or the majority.”


Christensen, of course, is part of a Coalition government that tried to have Section 18C of the Racial Discrimination Act repealed last year, and now is using that same section to try and “bring to task” a select few people who showed up to provide opposition to his peaceful Islamophobic demonstrations.

But the blog post itself doesn’t end there. In fact it delves further into (excuse the clear biased opinion here) unbridled lunacy, following the same misinformed rhetoric that refuses to take in any form of balanced and researched answer presented to it.
In part, and annotated where possible, he wrote the following.

Burning of flags, physical violence, and placards and chants labelling people “racist” were part of a counter-protest attended mostly by university students… 

Decades-old right wing stereotyping, and misrepresentative.


…and members of the Socialist Alternative in response to organised rallies by Reclaim Australia.


Who?

Reclaim Australia organised rallies in at least 16 cities around Australia, including Mackay and Townsville, voicing concerns about the rise of Islamic extremism… 


Ugh.


…a push to introduce Sharia law into Australia…


By who? Where is this happening? Do you check under the bed at night for this shit?


…and the connections between Halal certification and funding for terrorist organisations.


Of which there are none. It doesn’t happen. At all.

These were legitimate concerns that were not targeting individuals or a specific religion. Radical Islam is an ideology that has more to do with politics than any religion and certainly has nothing to do with race, but professional protesters have tried to make it about race and engaged in extremely racist and intolerant actions.


Right. All the Reclaim Australia protestors were calm, regular citizens, with no hidden agendas or motivations that could have in any way been fuelled, even in part, by somewhat racist and jingoistic principles. Every single one of them.

“It is a shame the Socialist ratbags took such aggressive and racist action to shut down any free speech that doesn’t agree with their own ideology.”


Because this was absolutely an exercise in free speech and not an attempt to assert ideological superiority through moral panic in order to stifle the free practice of certain elements of religion in a country that has that written into its constitution.

Yep. It was definitely the counter-protest that was in the wrong here.
George Christensen is the Federal member for Dawson.
His email is george.christensen.mp@aph.gov.au.
The phone number for his office is 07 49 440 662.
Go nuts.
Photos: Lisa Maree Williams and Peter Parks via Getty Images.


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