Jacqui Lambie is definitely a character, in the most evocative sense of the word possible – she is outspoken, idiosyncratic, not afraid to say what she thinks even if it’s unpopular, and chooses to express her very many views in ways that are occasionally incredibly funny, occasionally very bizarre, and frequently both.
She is, for the most part, quite likeable. Unfortunately, for the rest of that part, she’s hugely opposed to same-sex marriage and fully convinced that Australia is short to be invaded and overthrown by whoever gets here first out of China and all Muslims.
Last night’s ‘Q&A‘ saw Lambie get schooled by TV presenter, author and former Queensland Young Australian of the Year Yassmin Abdel-Magied, who, like many people, was sick to death of hearing Lambie advocate for deporting Muslims who support Sharia law, when she has consistently demonstrated she doesn’t actually really know what Sharia law is.
Things got extremely shouty, which you can watch below (things kick up around the 1:45 mark):
Is it time to define new rules so that migration doesn’t disturb the peace? @JacquiLambie & @yassmin_a disagree vehemently #QandA pic.twitter.com/nRXyj3p2hG
— ABC Q&A (@QandA) February 13, 2017
Definitely not one to let someone else have the last word, Lambie today posted a video in response to her rinsing last night, hoping to clarify her point. Oddly, she decided to do this by reinforcing that she doesn’t really know what she’s talking about. Literally, the opening line includes the phrase “I’m not an expert on Sharia law.” You don’t say.
While horrible things have been done in the name of Sharia, it kinda seems like if you have some political influence or power and you’re advocating for the deportation of a group of people, you should maybe do a little bit of research. Oh well.
The video is primarily a series of occasionally coherent points intercut with some jarringly uplifting string music, as she outlines the handful of things she (claims to) know about Sharia.
Her first point is that Sharia law is not Australian law. True. Can confirm that one. If anyone was unclear about that, I can verify that it’s true.
Her second is that Sharia law is an “obvious sign of radicalisation“, which is a whole lot less true than the first. As Abdel-Magied pointed out, things like praying five times daily falls under Sharia, which in no way reflects on any level of radicalisation.
After some accurate-ish points about the grislier (and less widely adhered to bits of Sharia), she then goes on to make the same “half-pregnant” comment she tried unsuccessfully to get out on ‘Q&A‘:
“If you support Sharia law, you support all the good bits and all the bad bits. Highlighting and accepting the good bits of Sharia law, like praying five times a day, while ignoring the death penalty for women who have sex outside of marriage, is like saying ‘I only want to be a little bit pregnant‘.”
Excuse my French, but this is the dumbest fucking argument. As a Christian herself, Lambie should be well and truly familiar with picking and choosing different bits of religious law. Like for instance, I’m relatively certain she doesn’t follow the rules in Leviticus that say you can’t wear clothes made of more than one cloth or eat any kind of seafood that doesn’t have fins or scales. But hey, nobody’s perfect.
Check it out below:
All this seems like it could be settled if she did just a liiittle bit more reading on the subject and maybe got more specific with what her definition of ‘radicalisation’ is, but, sure, blind deportation is good for now.
I’m almost 100% convinced she’s staring into the distance in this video because she’s reading off Wikipedia. Just a guess.
Source and photo: Facebook.
