March 25, 2017

Horse 2250 - This Is Crazy Stuff, Pauline

The news which has come from London with regards the "terrorist" attack outside the Houses Of Parliament is that the man who drove his CA through a bunch of people, killing 7 and injuring others, was a man who was living in Birmingham and had been born in Kent. This was a British citizen who has carried out an attack on British soil.

Naturally people are angry and dismayed but who should walk into the media spotlight in Australia than prize racist, Senator Pauline Hanson. True tom form, following from her opening remarks to this term of parliament that Australia was being "swamped by Muslims", the media have again handed her airspace, knowing full well that she can not leave well enough alone.

http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/pauline-hanson-says-islam-is-a-disease-australia-needs-to-vaccinate-20170324-gv5w7z.html
"Let me put it in this analogy - we have a disease, we vaccinate ourselves against it. Islam is a disease; we need to vaccinate ourselves against that."
- Pauline Hanson, as quoted in The Sydney Morning Herald, 24th Mar 2017.

Coming out of anyone else's mouth, this might be forgiven as a misstep, which was said in the heat of the moment. Coming out of the month of Senator Hanson though, this is just the latest dribble of acid to be spat from her tongue. If it wasn't Aboriginals, it was Asians; if it isn't Asians, it is Muslims; if it won't be Muslims in future, it will be the next group of people who she wants to cast as the designated enemy; never mind that Section 116 of the Constitution specifically prevents the Commonwealth from making laws with regards religion.
One of the benefits of living in a society where we do have freedom of religion and freedom of speech, is that we do get to speak both for and against what we do and don't like. I completely endorse Senator Hanson's right to speak her mind. Also as a consequence, we also have the right to judge what people have said. If we apply the Martin Luther King Jr test of not judging people on the colour of their skin but on the content of their character and character is outwardly manifest through what people say, then I'm dangerously close to making judgement here. This is bitter and vile.

It should go without saying that the actions of Khalid Masood in London were evil. Nobody needs to labour that point. It should not be incumbent upon people who are totally unconnected to this man, both in London, the UK, and especially people living on the other side of the world, to take or be held responsible for this. Neither should people who are quietly going about their business be made to feel fearful or somehow lesser in society because of this.

This also tripped something in my mind that really scared me. I can not remember where I read this, but the quote was easy enough to find.
There was a meeting between Adolf Hitler, Heinrich Himmler and a Danish SS Major (whose name I could not find) in which Hitler is quoted mas saying:
"The discovery of the Jewish virus is one of the greatest revolutions that has taken place in the world. The battle in which we are engaged today is of the same sort as the battle waged, during the last century, by Pasteur and Koch. How many diseases have their origin in the Jewish virus! We shall regain our health only by eliminating the Jew."
- Adolf Hitler, 22nd Feb 1942.

This sounds to me like the same sentiment but taken a few steps further. Now I realise that this is literally a reductio ad hitlerum argument but when you dehumanize people, you are no longer able to feel compassion for them. The actions of one mind gone wrong on the other side of the world to not and should not be cause for this sort of rhetoric. The fact that this is said by an elected official of this country sickens me.

I like the remarks made by the Deputy Prime Minister, Barnaby Joyce. Sometimes Barnaby appears to be unencumbered by the thought process but if he keeps this up, there is a wee chance that he may end up scoring the top job.

Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce was quick to denounce the One Nation leader's latest comments as "bat poo crazy" and said people were not a disease.
- The Sydney Morning Herald, 24th Mar 2017.

It's a weird day when Barnaby Joyce appears as the sane one. His words speak for themselves; specifically he said:
The more I hear from One Nation, the more I think that other people are hearing the same stuff, it’s kind of crazy. First of all we’ve got no-vaxxers, then next thing Vladimir Putin’s a good bloke, then we’re sacking people because they’re too old. I’ve got good mates and not so good mates that are Islamic; I can’t walk up to someone and say I’m sorry, we’ve got a person who thinks you’re a disease. They’re going to say, no I’m a human being. This bat-poo crazy stuff does not help anybody. It was just stupid.

Indeed.

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