Andrew Bolt reminds his readers why he is so tolerant:
A further thought: I’ve lived in or visited some 50 countries now ... My observations confirmed my suspicions that in fact Australia was not half as racist as [some] people ... believe. Not in comparison to others, that is.
True. But why do Australia's few remaining racists and bigots congregate around Andrew Bolt's section of the blogosphere?
Let's look at a story from March 29 2009. Now under normal circulstances, if you met someone of overseas origin who had lived in Australia for some 34 years, you’d hardly describe them as a new migrant. You’d hardly describe Australia as their “new home”.
Unless, of course, your name was Andrew Bolt and you worked for the Herald Sun.
For some reason, Andrew sees a group of 600 thugs belonging to a violent homophobic vigilante group as somehow representative of all persons who migrated from Beirut in 1975. The Sydney Morning Herald reported the group calling itself the “Muslim Brotherhood Movement”.
So who are these 600-odd men? How old are they? When did they arrive in Australia? Where do they come from? Bolt claims they’re from Beirut, though the Herald describes them as being
... young street fighters of Middle Eastern descent.
The last time I checked, the Middle East extended well beyond the city limited of Lebanon’s capital. A large number of Lebanese Muslims come from places outside Beirut such as Tripoli, Tyre and Balbeck. A large number of Lebanese Christians still live in Beirut.
But that doesn’t stop Andrew Bolt from trying to turn bikie and similar gangland phenomena as having racial and religious overtones. But he needn’t say too much. His commenters will say it all for him, even if it means endorsing other forms of thuggery.
mareeS replied to Shebs
Sun 29 Mar 09 (10:34am)
This is what Cronulla 2005 was about, but the softhearts chose to paint it as racism.
A group of young Australians drew a line in the sand and said “We’ve had enough of this.” They were smeared by media and the apologists as rednecks and haters.
MattR replied to Shebs
Sun 29 Mar 09 (01:36pm)
... Exactly, Cronulla was a reaction to these Muslim criminals. However, the media decided to portray the rioters as racists and bigots. They were simply acting out of frustration ...
Nevillew replied to Andrew
Sun 29 Mar 09 (05:37pm)
They bring their baggage with them and then pass it on to their children. It takes many generations to get it out.
I have been watching it for 65 years.
65 years of Lebanese Muslims living in Australia since 1975?
It must be wonderful for Andrew Bolt and the Herald Sun to be able to live in a bubble where they aren’t bound by racial vilification laws applying to their advertisers.
Words © 2009 Irfan Yusuf
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