By Ben Wilson
Andrew Bolt is a bloody disgrace. He deserves every bit of the outraged reaction he is getting back for his latest piece of garbage, posing as journalism.
No doubt he will call the wave of revulsion from the Australian community a silencing of his right to speak and a leftist plot. His fan base will follow suit.
The man, who constantly claims to be silenced, has unparalleled access to the Murdoch platform, including newspapers, radio and television, shoveled his garbage headlined “The Foreign Invasion.”
He claims that Australia is being swamped by a “tidal wave” of immigration and being “colonised” by foreigners.
He did not only attack the Muslims, Africans and Asians. He also has a swipe at the Jewish community.
This has attracted condemnation from the Jewish Community Council of Victoria. It’s president Jennifer Rupert pointed out that there is “a rise in ultra-right wing activity in Victoria and this type of activity can fuel antisemitic, anti Islam and general racist debate and language in our community.”
There is the implication that Andrew Bolt is part of this.
Leaders of other migrant communities are also speaking out.
Bolt’s views do not represent those of the Australian community, which welcomes the contributions made by our migrants, and has a right, you might even call it a duty, to stand up to the fanning of hate and division, based on race, ethnicity, faith, and cultural origin.
Bolt tries to turn reality on its head, complaining that they won’t assimilate and are destroying Australian values. Presumably this means everything he believes in, like Australia’s protestant. whiteness. To be consistent he should call the original inhabitants of this land part of the invasion, and the diggers who stood up against tyranny at the Eureka Stockade. Why not include the generations of migrants who worked to build this country? While we’re at it, let’s not forget that the First Fleet were migrant who came in a boat.
Andrew Bolt’s Australia is a myth that never existed. In the real world, all have taken part in developing something new, taking the best of each, and creating a unique and rich identity. This is a work still in progress.
What Bolt champion is a cancer, and like any disease, it requires a cure. We all have a right to speak. But this right carries a responsibility. Andrew Bolt might have the right to speak, but the Australian community has a right to be spared the damage he seeks to cause.
The cure is standing against the hate and abuse, and working together to build an accepting community.