Frank wrote on Dec 3
rd, 2024 at 4:35pm:
SadKangaroo wrote on Dec 3
rd, 2024 at 3:45pm:
Frank, you've got to stop being racist if you don't want people to think you're racist.
You can call me anything you like, Sad, but the policing of speech is not something you will ever emote me into.
No one is preventing you from exercising your right to free speech. However, free speech does not exempt you from accountability when you choose to use racial slurs.
You are free to express your views, but if those views are racist, you must be prepared to take responsibility for them.
Quote:I think being critical of or making fun of others is far more important than toeing some line by self-appointed sensitivity guardians. It is not wacist to give a piece of your mind to a Pakistani any more than it is to a Dane, Australian or Brit. I don't care for the 18c legislation, I think it is wrong and is evidently used by people to police political speed and opinion. So I don't care for the judgement made under that piece of thought and speech policing legislation, no matter how often it is waived around.
You are entirely within your rights to critique someone's actions. However, resorting to racial slurs as a vehicle for that criticism is not only unproductive but will inevitably invite significant backlash.
Quote:I think some cultures, customs and ethnic traits are worse than others, some belief systems are worse than others, some behaviours are worse than others, some individuals are worse than others. Trying to silence the discernment of such differences by reflexively shouting "wacist" is stupid, dishonest and therefore ineffective.
I hold a personal scepticism towards all religions, though I find many tenets of Islam to be particularly objectionable. These aspects are worth examining through intellectual discourse.
The situation between Pauline Hanson and Mehreen Faruqi, however, illustrates a different dynamic, one of clashing perspectives. Faruqi expressed her unwillingness to mourn Queen Elizabeth II, framing the British monarchy as emblematic of a racist empire built on stolen lives, land, and wealth. While her remarks, delivered so soon after the Queen’s death, may have been poorly timed, they were an accurate reflection of her sentiments and her lived experience.
Hanson, evidently triggered by Faruqi’s statement, responded with the predictable retort to "go back to your country," telling her to "piss off back to Pakistan." While Hanson exercised her right to free speech, she must also bear the consequences, both in terms of public backlash and, in this instance, under the scrutiny of the law.
Quote:So.... Faruqi swore allegiance to be "faithful and bear true allegiance" to the head of the 'racist empire' but she continues to derive her salary, parliamentary position, privileges and wealth ENTIRELY from a was ii st country in a wacist empire under the monarch's sovereignty and all of which, to Faruqi's mind, has been 'built on stolen lives, land and wealth of colonised peoples'.
That she is Pakistani is relevant since she CHOSE Australia over Pakistan, she CHOSE to be a parliamentarian in a 'wacist country' and CHOSE to accept all its privileges and wealth which she said are derived from stolen land, lives, wealth. So I think a "**** off back to Pakistan, you hypocrite" would have been better suited to the situation.
If that was her intent, then she should have articulated it more thoughtfully. However, Hanson’s long history of vile racism and bigotry means she forfeits any benefit of the doubt in such situations.
When someone like her—or like you—says something racist, it isn’t a one-off misstep, it’s just another link in an unbroken chain of bigoted behaviour. That is who she is, and, by your own admission, who you are as well.
If you take issue with the fact that free speech comes with accountability, then perhaps it’s time for you to "piss off" back to wherever your ancestors originated, you hypocrite.
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