Not In My Name.

NOTE: I wrote the following early Tuesday morning - about an hour before the tragic end to the siege. After it became apparent that there wasn't going to be a peaceful end, and that innocent lives had been lost, I decided to sit on it for a while, unsure whether it would ever be posted. I was irate when I wrote it, and felt that the initial aftermath of the tragedy didn't need any more anger. However, I've given the matter more thought, and these are things that I feel I need to say on behalf of my friends. I hope it can be read in the spirit in which it was intended.
My deepest sympathies go out to Tori and Katrina's loved ones, in particular, Katrina's three little children. May they rest in eternal peace.
Jess x

Days like today bring out the best and worst in everyone. In friends, in strangers. In journalism.

When I first saw the news of the hostage situation this morning in Sydney's Martin Place, I braced myself for a fresh wave of Islamophobia to hit my social media feeds. Every now and then, something in the news will prompt those vile and uneducated comments to surface once more. My personal opinion is that there is a subset of the Australian media who report on these matters in an irresponsible way, that only serves to fan the flames.

Take, for example, the front page of Monday's SPECIAL 2PM EDITION of the Daily Telegraph...

(Yes, let's report it's that DEATH CULT - nothing has been confirmed yet, but oh well!)

 



This make me incredibly angry, and I would like to tell you why...

I have friends - beautiful, wonderful people - who feel the need to lie about their faith, because they are judged for being Muslim. Who lie about their ancestry, because they are judged for being Middle Eastern. Who, on days like today, feel that they have to look over their shoulders when walking down the street in fear of attacks.

They love this country, just as I do. They proudly call themselves Australian. Yet all because of the colour of their skin, or the clothing that they choose to wear, they are subject to anger and abuse from people who call themselves "real Aussies."

Well, you know what? Fuck that.

All these years, I've been under the impression that, "for those who've come across the seas, we've boundless plains to share." Where did I get that from again? Oh that's right, our national anthem. To me, that line just sums this country up perfectly. After all, other than our indigenous community, we are all immigrants from one place or another.

So, I say to you so-called "true blue Aussies" - Do not drape yourself in our flag, tattoo yourself in our national symbols, and then abuse your fellow countryman. That is not the Australian way, and you do not speak for me, just as the lunatic at the centre of this siege does not speak for our Muslim friends.

EDITED TO ADD: Today (Friday the 19th) the memorial at Martin Place was disrupted by anti-Islamic protesters, draped in Australian flags, holding signs with statements such as "MR ABBOTT - WILL YOU PROTECT US FROM MULTICULTURALISM?" and "MUSLIM TERRORISTS NOT WELCOME HERE NEITHER ARE THEIR LEFTIST SUPPORTERS." This is exactly the kind of disgusting thing I was talking about above. All I have left to say about this despicable hijacking of a place of remembrance and mourning is - how dare you. How fucking dare you.