You’ve probably seen Woolworths in the news over the last couple of days because of a t-shirt a couple of its stores were selling. (Pictured above… with my alterations.) You may even be thinking it’s not particularly racist. (Although if you are, you’re probably a born-and-bred anglo Aussie.) But it is racist, and here’s why…
It targets Aussie Muslims
Thanks to our government’s concerted effort to work people into an anti-Muslim fear-frenzy, women wearing ‘Muslim-looking’ head coverings are now being abused in the streets. One was even bashed and thrown from a moving train. And to top things off, the government has now decreed that burqa-wearers must be segregated in parliament. Not surprisingly, Australian Muslims are unhappy (and scared) about this treatment, and they’re speaking out.
This shirt is a response to that situation – the burqas and the complaints. Someone thought they could make a quick buck by tapping into the frenzy.
But Aussie Muslims love Australia too
People who want to wear a burqa, aren’t saying they don’t love Australia. They’re simply saying they want to wear a burqa. Likewise, Australians who choose to follow Islam or practice customs from their ancestral homeland aren’t saying they don’t love Australia. They’re just saying they like Islam and some stuff about their ancestral homeland.
Even if they complain
Even if a Muslim complains about how they’re treated, they can still love Australia.
Hell, you probably complain about the roads, the hospitals, the schools and having to pay taxes, and I’m sure you still love Australia. No-one questions your right to complain, or tells you to leave the country. And when compared to being bashed then thrown from a moving train, your complaints are pretty trivial. So why would we tell other people to leave when they have very good justification for complaining?
And even if they don’t think we should be at war with ISIS
Similarly, people who criticise Australia’s involvement in America’s war on ISIS aren’t saying they don’t love Australia. They’re just saying the war is politically motivated, hypocritical and likely to fail.
I say those same things, and I still love Australia. More importantly, no-one’s telling me to leave.
It denies Aussie Muslims the same rights the rest of us enjoy
So although the shirt says “If you don’t love it, leave”, what it really means is, “If you wear a burqa, leave”. “If you complain about our poor treatment of you (or anything else), leave”. And “If you want to remain in any way true to your religion and culture (while harming no-one), leave”.
There’s no question about it: This is racist. It denies Aussie Muslims the right to the freedoms that all most of the rest of us take for granted.
EDIT: Here’s a much better t-shirt
Jane (in the comments below) designed this t-shirt. I like it much better! 🙂
I reckon that’s a pretty narrow reading – this shirt has been around in one form or another for years. I’ve been seeing it at Big Day Out for as long as I can remember. And I don’t think it’s just about Islam: it’s about anyone who says ‘I don’t like the way we’re doing stuff around here; I want it to be different’.
It’s directed at people who say, ‘I think Australia treats Aboriginal people like shit’, or people who say ‘I think Australia’s treatment of refugees is akin to putting them in a concentration camp’ or ‘Australia’s attempts at reducing carbon emissions are piss-poor’. It’s for anyone who criticises Australia’s status quo. It means shut up, sit down, enjoy the good life you latte-sipper, or you can go live in the Soviet Union (what’s the modern day equivalent of suggesting someone should ‘go back to the USSR if you hate it here so much’?)
That’s my take.
Hi Jane. Thanks for commenting. 🙂 Of course, I agree it CAN be read to mean all of those things, and worn to express all of those things. But I believe Woolworths was selling it because someone decided to capitalise on the current anti-Muslim frenzy. Likewise, I believe most people who bought it (or wear it now) would be directing it at Muslims. It’s simply a reflection of Australia’s current cultural and political climate.
yeah, you’re probably right Glenn. It’s a sentiment for all seasons!
No offence, Glenn, but you’re extremely stupid and it surprises me that you can even call yourself Australian. How did you translate “If you don’t love it (The Australian flag), leave” into “If you wear a burqa, leave?” I am marvelled at your stupidity, as it is merely a simple t-shirt saying that if you don’t love Australia and its flag, you shouldn’t even be in Australia, which is fair. If Muslims genuinely hate our flag, they should leave. No way should they be in a country they despise or dislike, or its flag.
They’re not Australians, and I say that in a way that they haven’t been the ones to build it from the ground up, design a beautiful flag, produce an amazing culture and be proud of it, so why should they have a say on whether or not our flag is bad or not? If they hate it, they SHOULD leave. These expansionistic assholes have no right to mould OUR country to their standards after we let them in. This is Australia, not Islam. We shouldn’t give into these assholes so easily and we shouldn’t let them mould Australia into Islam like Britain is currently letting happen (and now Britain’s crime rates have rose, including sexual crimes, too. Also considering Britain’s culture is being ruined by the day).
And one last thing, don’t you dare call me racist for saying this. I have pride in my country, and I don’t want it to be taken over by foreign influence. Our country has a beautiful culture and has many happy, prideful Australian citizens, too. Why would anyone want that all ruined? Introducing foreign cultures and people into our country who then expect OUR country to make OUR country feel more like home to them is bound to go wrong, and all you idiots are doing is encouraging it to happen, and I don’t want that one bit. Get a bit of sense and see what you’re doing and encouraging is a detriment to our lovely Australian society.
Well… you nailed it Jane.
It’s a tee-shirt designed to cater to the lowest common denominator in this country: The jingoistic arsehole who will rally to any nationalist cause which promotes a chauvinistic view that they, and only they, define what Australia is about. Well, I’ve got news for you and them. They don’t!!
A year ago it was about “illegal” boat people. A month ago it was about carbon emissions. Today it’s about Muslims.
Problem is… they don’t represent ALL Australians. They don’t represent me. They don’t represent Glenn. They most certainly don’t represent the majority of intelligent, critically thinking, Australians. So that pretty much disqualifies them from using OUR flag for THEIR agenda. Not that difficult a concept to get your head around I’m sure.
If people want to rally around a racist logo which is ignorance personified…. fine. Let them design one for that purpose! My flag…. our flag… the flag which represents US ALL is not theirs to appropriate in order to promote their ignorance. When they do, then people like Glenn are entitled to call them out on it.
Keep justifying to yourself that it isn’t racist or inciting hatred Jane. Doesn’t change the fact that WE ALL know it does!
Hi Mila, on re-reading my comment I can see how you took it that way! But I am one of those to whom this comment is directed. I’m filthy greenie Marxist scum. 🙂
Jane… sincere apologies if I misunderstood your initial comment.
No worries at all.
Jonathan Green did a much better job of explaining what I was trying to say than I did, of course http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-16/green-the-real-problem-with-love-it-or-leave/5817226
Perhaps anyone wearing this shirt just needs a reassuring hug?
Thanks Jane. I thought I was going to like that article, but I didn’t. Much. I liked the overall thrust, sure, and this bit in particular:
But to me, Green evaded the main issue: Timing. Even Blind Freddy could see this whole thing has reared its ugly head again because of the ‘Muslim issue’. It’s absolutely directed at Muslims.
Incidentally, Bolt’s technically right that even if directed at Muslims, it’s not directed at a particular race. So, technically, it’s not racism. Perhaps religious persecution or simply xenophobia would be more appropriate. But that’s just a disingenuous attempt by Bolt to reframe the debate. The point is that the t-shirt – right now – persecutes a minority, because of the ‘foreign’ way they look, dress, speak and worship. Their ‘otherness’. Most people would call this racism, whether it’s technically the right label or not, so I (and most others who are using this label) are simply speaking the same language.
I stumbled across this article whilst googling the tshirt because I want to buy one.
It has nothing to do with Muslims. Mine will be directed at the self loathing lefties who are full of hate for themselves and the Australian way.
How very Australian of you. Egalitarian, compassionate, welcoming, open, understanding, empathic, good natured and champion of the underdog. You must be very proud. Thanks for letting us know.
Thanks Glenn. I’d agree with all of those descriptions of myself although I’m not restricted to champion of the underdog; I like to back the favourite as well.
I doubt your leftie mates could call themselves egalitarian though. I’m sure the hatred for Catholicism exempts them from it.
If you don’t love it leave it!
Cheers,
Rusty
So let me get this straight. Anyone who’s concerned about the vilification of a minority group to support a politically-driven war is a ‘lefty’, and should leave the country? So too anyone who believes corporations have too much power and not enough responsibility, and the rest of us too little power? Very egalitarian of you. Very compassionate, empathic and good natured. Very supportive of the common man.
It’s merely bigotry (or ignorance) masked as patriotism.
As for Catholicism, I’m not sure where that comes in. I can’t speak for the rest of what you (very unhelpfully) call ‘the left’, but I can certainly say I don’t hate it. I see it’s done a lot of harm, but as is the case with all the anti-Islam fear-mongering, it’s not religion that’s the problem, it’s the mis-use of religion to fool the weak-minded, ignorant and fearful into behaving in ways they otherwise wouldn’t. That’s the problem.
Anyway, for the sake of Australia, I’m glad the people who are fighting for the 99% aren’t subject to your whims, and can’t just be banished. For your sake too. Without us, you’d have no-one left to fight for your rights.
Mate – can I call you that? Or is it too Australian and therefore bigoted?
I haven’t said anything about corporations , the vilification of minority groups or any war politically motivated or otherwise. But good on you for reading that into it.
Respectfully I’d ask that you don’t fight on behalf of my rights. Your belief of moral superiority in the fight for my rights is text book totalitarian.
Well, if we’re not ‘lefties’ for resisting the corporatisation of Australian government policy or for protesting the vilification of Muslims, why exactly did you call us that?
Either way, you’re commenting on a post that is specifically about the vilification of Muslims to support a politically motivated war. If you’re not aware of that, perhaps you should read before offering your opinion. And if you are aware of that, then perhaps you should rethink your above statements.
Re the fight for your rights, don’t worry, I’m not doing it out of any noble desire to make your life better. It’s just coincidental that you benefit from the fight. And if you consider that totalitarian, you’d best educate yourself a smidge. You come off a little silly otherwise.
As you will read above I called you lefties because of your self loathing nature and hatred for the Australian way.
Your post might be about the vilifications of Muslims but that flies in the face of what the t-shirt says i.e. there is no reference at all to Muslims. You read that into t just like you read about corporations , the vilification of minority groups and a war in my comments despite me making no reference to any of them.
Actually, what you said was, “Mine will be directed at the self loathing lefties who are full of hate for themselves and the Australian way.” You didn’t attribute the lefty label to the alleged self-loathing or hate of the Australian way. You merely said we’re lefties who happen to possess that hate. If you actually meant we’re lefties BECAUSE of that alleged loathing, then I apologise. In that case, however, I’d also recommend you do a bit of research about left vs right. I think you’ll find it’s more a socio-political thing. Again, just saying you’re looking a little silly.
Re the vilification of Muslims, no, the t-shirt doesn’t say anything about them on it. But again, if you’d read my post, you’d understand why I’m suggesting it’s directed at Muslims. However, as it’s clear you’re not a fan of reading, I’ll repeat it:
“This shirt is a response to that situation – the burqas and the complaints. Someone thought they could make a quick buck by tapping into the frenzy.”
Just my opinion, obviously, but as I mentioned in a comment above, even Blind Freddy could see it’s true.
I actually think it is the self-loathing and hatred that drives the ideology and that is why I think it defines the left. But that is a whole other argument.
I have read your article and had to re-read it to make sure you weren’t joking. Your concern seems centred around the timing of the sale rather than the content itself. In which case before ISIS started killing, raping, torturing and beheading in the name of Islam it would have been appropriate for Woolworths to sell the t-shirts.
Self-loathing drives people to want corporations to be accountable and individuals to retain freedom and enjoy a quality of life? Interesting idea. :-\
I, for one, quite like myself! But hey, don’t let the facts get in the way of a good bit of name-calling.
If Woolworths had sold a shirt specifically denouncing ISIS’s actions, THAT would have been appropriate. A shirt that targets Muslims in an entirely different country, hailing and descended from many different countries, with no links to ISIS, and who do not support ISIS and are actively denouncing ISIS, that’s NOT appropriate.
So now the shirt targets Muslims? Make up your mind.
Make up my mind? You only had to read the sub-heads of the post to get that much. The first one, for instance: “It targets Aussie Muslims”. I’m not sure where you think I said anything to the contrary?
Oh I get it now. Even though the shirt doesn’t target or mention any race, religion or minority group. A shirt that has been for sale well before the Government whipped up an “anti-Muslim fear-frenzy”. You’re so desperate to hate you find it racist. There’s that whole leftist hating thing.
If, in the current socio-political climate, if you can’t see that it targets Muslims, you’ve really got your blinkers on.
IF the shirt was for sale well before the gov whipped up the frenzy (I’d not heard that; do you have any evidence?), then I’d retract my assertion that its sale is in response to the ‘Muslim issue’ and suggest instead that it’s merely generalised xenophobia or misplaced patriotism, as suggested by Jonathan Green http://www.abc.net.au/news/2014-10-16/green-the-real-problem-with-love-it-or-leave/5817226.
Obviously, however, people who have bought the shirt since the whip-up, have bought it with the current anti-Muslim context front-of-mind, and I think it’s fair to suggest they are targeting its message at Muslims.
And again, I’m not sure where your fixation on hatred is coming from. (Within?) I don’t hate racists. People within my own family are very racist. I know they have their reasons. I don’t condone their racism, but you’re taking great liberties assuming just because I disagree with someone that I hate them. Maybe you do?
My Grandma bought me a t-shirt with that exact same sentiment on it back in the 80’s when I was in my early teens. She is a migrant who loves Australia. I can’t see how anyone can say this shirt targets Australian Muslims. I think you’ve followed your own thoughts down a twisty path and come to a rather unexpected conclusion.
The Parramatta Imam came today and said exactly the same thing Like it or Leave It does that also make him Racist ? You have made a fool of your self for all the world to see ?
A lot of wasted huff and puff over the so called ‘sinister anti-racist’ T shirt.
A political agenda that calls for open immigration and multiculturalism is the problem.
Multiculturalism with its divided religious dogmas is unsustainable until, eventually, a lot of blood has been shed for Gods who do not exist!….. don’t pray for peace!
The puritans, in their glass houses, promote this mixed ethnicity either through ignorance or an agenda…… either way it is destroying one ethic group to the follies of another both having a survival gene…… who wins?
Nobody…… multiculturalism is the destruction of the elegance of ethnic groups in a soup of violence…… a destruction of the right to live within ones own tribal ethnic system to support and nourish the cherished gene of survival.
I would ask these promoters of multiculturalism…… how long will it take for us all to be physically similar and how much blood will flow in this ‘multicultural change’ to morph what might be called…. the average human?
What will happen to the fierce individualism that is so important to survival?
Gelded to a political correct idiom of corporate communism would be my suggestion…… Gus
Gus.
Not sure if it’s the gin and tonics I had after work this evening, but I found it difficult to follow your reasoning. So bear with while I deconstruct your argument.
1. You state the multiculturalism is bad because it leads to “a lot of blood has been shed for Gods who(sic) do not exist.”
What about those diverse cultures which might actually share the same belief system?
For example Greeks, Italians, Lebanese, Germans and countless diverse cultures from across the globe are Christians, yet your argument makes no allowances for that.
Am I to assume, therefore, that you’re using the term “multicultural” selectively? If so, then why not have the courage of your conviction and call it what it is… an intolerance, not of other cultures, but of other religions.
2. You claim that multiculturalism is “a destruction of the right to live within ones own tribal ethnic system to support and nourish the cherished gene of survival”. Totally lost me there.
Did you mean the “selfish gene” as coined by Dawkins? Because the survival gene relates to immunology… not anthropology or human evolution.
Ok… let’s leave the survival gene aside and go with your “right to live within ones own tribal ethnic system”. The “right to live” is also surely linked with the “right to freely choose”. No? Yet your argument allows for no choice in the matter whatsoever. Rather, what you’re arguing is that we should be handcuffed by our own cultural myopia.
It’s not only chauvinistic but dangerous to argue that there’s no merit in understanding the differences among our global neighbours.
I say “dangerous” because, as history has shown us to the point of redundancy, it is the type of nationalism that you’re arguing in favour of and not multiculturalism, which has been the greatest catalyst for egregiously barbaric and immoral treatment of one “tribe” against another.
Surely the intermingling of cross-cultural discussion, particularly dogmatic religious beliefs, can only help to dull the razor-edged threats of nationalist rhetoric… not sharpen it.
Mila,
Maybe a little too much ‘gin and tonic’ I would suggest and I should have a hit on the gin as well to try and understand your ‘deconstruct’.
I see you are just another manipulator of words so to save you further bother…… yes, I support the survival of the white race as an ethnic group the same as I support the right of any other ethnic group to survive and maintain their ethnicity.
According to your vapor of wisdom multiculturalism is the flavor and any criticism of it breeds tags like racist, chauvinist, supremacist etc.
Rather than waste my time swapping insults I would offer that you have an in-depth look at countries such as Sweden, England and the US and the problems they are facing with multiculturalism.
There are other countries that are also facing multicultural problems and Australia is one of them and we can thank people as yourself who are intent on stifling open debate with this ‘politically correct’ jargon.
Prof. Kevin MacDonald wrote a book titled “The Culture of Critique’ .
If you have the courage then a free copy could still be available on his site……. Gus.
http://kevinmacdonald.net
And I see you are just another racist who refuses to accept that words and concepts actually mean something. Like race vs ethnicity. The white race has no ethnicity. It has a colour. Ethnicity means belonging to a social group that has a common national or cultural tradition (from Wikipedia, if you want to look it up).
And no, criticism of multiculturalism doesn’t breed tags like racist, chauvinist, supremacist, etc. Racism, chauvinism and supremacist behaviour breed those tags. Congratulations; you score full marks on all 3! Mila was right to call you out. Disgusting!
Finally, re multiculturalism in Europe, it’s interesting that you attribute all said problems to the minority cultures themselves (well, actually, it’s clear from your comments above, that you actually mean the COLOUR of the minorities). Interesting that you choose to ignore other factors like the sort of RACISM you’re exhibiting here (imagine how you’d respond if YOU were the minority, and spewing the sort of rubbish you are), extremism (on both sides), and political, social and economic disenfranchisement. Manipulation you say? Like all white supremacists, you’re clearly a devotee.
You’re not adding anything constructive to this debate at all – no facts, no rebuttals, no verifiable evidence – only hate and vitriol. Neither are welcome here, so I’m now going to block you.
Goodbye.
If that were true, Gus, Australians would have been literally at each other’s throats for a couple of hundred years! Your claims are completely unfounded and have no basis in reality. Pure bigotry and/or paranoia IMHO. But at least you didn’t try to disguise it as patriotism, as most xenophobic extremists do. So I suppose for that, at least, we should be grateful.
The Parramatta Imam came today and said exactly the same thing” ”Like it or Leave It ”does that also make him Racist ? You have made a fool of your self for all the world to see ?
Hello. Would anyone mind if I went back to this ‘If you don’t love it, leave’ idea?
It’s such a weird concept (to me). I assume it implies ‘If you don’t love it (in the way that I love it), leave’. It’s not enough to love it in a different way, right? So when people buy this t-shirt, do they have a checklist of how to appropriately love Australia? (Gus? Rusty? What does ‘loving Australia’ mean to you?) And I assume that by loving it in the right way you somehow become ‘more Australian’ to a level that you get the power to determine others are insufficiently Australian and therefore should live somewhere else, right?
Let me get the ball rolling. Here’s my list of what I love about Australia. Tell me if you love it the same way. If you don’t, I’m going to see if that makes me feel I’m more Australian than you and can kick you out.
1. Button grass meadows
2. High alpine lakes
3. Quolls. All quolls, but particularly small ones
4. The smell of hot earth hit by a sudden summer storm (I think we can all get behind this one)
5. The shape of it on a map. How good is the shape of Australia?
6. Dunnarts, and particularly fat-tailed dunnarts and really, exclusively, angry fat-tailed dunnarts
So whaddya reckon?
Nailed it.
The fact you love anything about Australia is enough for me.
Interesting. Because I said in my post, “I still love Australia”, yet in your first comment, you said you wanted to buy the shirt and direct its message at me and other allegedly ‘self-loathing lefties’. Doesn’t add up.
Rusty, I think you would struggle to find anyone who lives in Australia who doesn’t love something about Australia. Greenies, in particular, really freaking love the Australian environment -its landscapes, vegetation, animals – like, a LOT. Really, I don’t think there’s anyone at whom you could actually direct this t-shirt, if loving anything about Australia is enough love for you.
Praps I could make you a t-shirt that says, ‘I love some things about Australia. I hope you also love some things about Australia. Want to hang out and talk about which things about Australia we love?’
That’d be a great shirt! 🙂
I’ll make you one for Christmas. I might wear one too.
If everyone in Australia loves some part of Australia great . Now maybe everyone should stop taking offence.
The unfortunate thing is some people just like to take offence. If you believe like Glenn that the t-shirt is targeted as Muslims then by the same logic you would assume that Muslims don’t love Australia.
Talk about circular logic! As you well know, I’m saying it’s targeting Muslims because of the timing, not because I believe Muslims don’t love Australia. My post spells this out very clearly. Here’s why it targets Muslims:
And here is my very clear statement about Muslims and their love of Australia:
If you continue to waste everyone’s time with knowingly inaccurate statements, while at the same time refusing to answer direct questions, I’ll have no choice but to assume you’re a troll, and to treat you as such.
All this drama over a simple T shirt? You people understand that the shirts are made in china, right?
I wonder if you would think it so easy to dismiss if you were (repeatedly) the target of the persecution…
Glenn- A differing opinion and you will treat me as a troll and I guess ban me. How very totalitarian of you. Banning me will prove my point. If you don’t love my blog leave it?
Jane – I would be careful about making Glenn the proposed shirt for Christmas. My wife (from a traditional marriage, apologies to the gay, bi-sexual and transgender communities) teaches in a school where speaking of Christmas is now offensive. Watch out for that.
Re: the new t-shirt. I like it but I probably wouldn’t wear it given Tony Abbott has already encapsulated that message with Team Australia. Perhaps you should save on ink and just print that.
Glenn & Jane – if you walk around wearing the new proposed t-shirt I wish you luck. You will likely run into a leftie who is offended because it doesn’t mentioned the original land owners, believe me, you can find people who will take offence to anything.
No, you’re being blocked for lying, making unfounded claims then refusing to back them up, changing the subject every time you’ve been proven wrong, and being needlessly antagonistic. That’s called ‘trolling’. Goodbye.
Hypocrite
So the t-shirt is racist is because it apparently targets Muslims. Despite Islam not being a race.
But anyway seeing it’s only a small minority of Muslims who bag out Australia, I would say it’s targeted more at Lefties, like the author, who feel they need to speak on behalf of the entire Australian Muslim community, bombard social media exclaiming how embarrassed they are of their country (which is apparently is made up of drunk bogan racists who only vacation in bali).
According to them every other country is getting it right and we are still living in the dark age, proof was in the result of the 2013 election. Well if Australia is such an embarrassment and every other country is so much better then there’s the door.
Australia. Love it or Leave It. Enjoy freezing your ass off in Finland.
Finland! Finland is the new Russia! Thanks for answering my question (from much earlier on).
(In Australia don’t we say ‘arse’?)
Hello winky! (I like your name.) Welcome to the conversation. I hated the result of the 2013 election and am hating it more every day. But I love Australia (you can see my list of things I love about Australia in a comment above). Can you clarify for me if my love is sufficient for me to stay here? Or can you perhaps outline whether there are specific elements of Australia I have to love in order to stay? (Personally, I think loving the shape of Australia should be enough, but just want to check.)
Thanks!
I didn’t know which ass/arse was least offensive.
Maybe the t-shirt should read. “Australia. You must generally like it if you continue to live here so quit bitchin'”
Hi Andrew. Thanks for your comment. Your first point is addressed in the post and the comments above, so I won’t waste time on it.
Re embarrassment, yes, I have to admit, I’m coming to feel that more and more often. Especially when I read comments like yours. But that doesn’t mean I don’t love Australia. Sometimes my mum embarrasses me, too, but I still love her. 🙂
Furthermore, I’m afraid you’re out of luck if you think I believe or have ever claimed Australians are as you characterise them. For what it’s worth, I have a much more agreeable opinion of us.
I do feel the 2013 election was a terrible landmark in Australia’s history, but it’s just one in a slowly deteriorating context. I’m no fan of Liberal or Labor.
I’m sorry if you felt I was speaking on behalf of the entire Muslim community. Just offering my 2 cents, but take it as you will.
Over fifty years in the building industry saw me rubbing shoulders with a wide range of ethnic origins, I can recall two, both of which recognized and professed to follow Christ.
On the basis that some people think the current t shirt phenomenon is aimed at Muslims I can state unequivocally that the t shirt slogan could equally be aimed at those two groups, both of which viewed Australia as a temporary refuge and something to be treated with disdain, allowing them to “build their strength, marshal their forces”, call it what you will, so they could return to their mother country and free it from invaders.
Their respective countries became “free” again thanks to Gorbachev, not because of any crusade the groups never got around to organizing.
The point of view by the gentleman from the ABC, (Mr Green?), “what is Australia?” is out on a limb, overly academic and doesn’t seem to recognize the communal nature of Australian society.
How is that t shirt racist? It portrays the Australian flag. Is that racist?? So how about the words written on the t shirt. Racist? No. Patriotic? Certainly. By the way, patriotism is not illegal and it certainly isn’t racist. Jingoistic? Possibly but again, not illegal and not in any way racist. And the words make no mention whatsoever of muslims or islam. That’s your own little hang up being broadcast, Glenn. Don’t like patriotism? That’s your call, but don’t try and invent something that suits your personal grudge against patriotic Australians that simply isn’t there.
Thanks for your comment, Craig. I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree, then. 🙂
i like this t-shirt.
RACIST!!!! I fail to understand how this statement can be considered racist when no race is mentioned….it can equally apply to any Australian non muslim that hates this country…..such as Sarah Hansen-young, Christine Milne, Bob Brown, Adam Bandt and any other COMMUNIST!!!! If you have come to the conclusion that this is directed at Muslims and is racist for this reason, may i point out that Islam is NOT a race….any criticism of ISLAM is not racial….please stop branding everyone with a different point of view to you as racist, as this is not an argument but nothing more than intimidation and name calling..please grow up and present a case..do not insult and intimidate!!! And by the way, since when was ISLAM, or any other religion, above criticism????
Thanks for your comment Peter. Most of your concerns are addressed in the post itself and in the comment thread above. Some are not, though, so I’ll address them here:
1) I’d be interested to see any verifiable evidence that the Greens politicians you mentioned hate Australia.
2) The Greens don’t advocate communism. I’d suggest you read their policies and familiarise yourself with the definition of communism.
3) I’m not branding people racist if they have a different point of view to me. I’m suggesting they’re racist for wearing a t-shirt that targets a specific minority with a view to persecuting them. Plenty of people have disagreed with me, both here and elsewhere, and I’ve rarely had occasion to call them racist.
4) I didn’t say Islam is above criticism.
ok, lets all grow up and quit the PC crap, this shirt is in no way racist AT ALL. It simply says ‘If you don’t love it, leave’ and its 100% true? If you don’t appreciate your country why stay? it doesn’t say anything about Islam or immigrants? People are way to sensitive nowadays and just need to grow up! To think that even now in the ‘Lucky Country’ we cant wear a shirt that shows pride in our nation without being labelled a racist.
Hi Jackson. Thanks for your comment. I’ve addressed all of your issues in the post and in the comments above. Also, I wouldn’t think “grow up” is a particularly mature response to an opposing point of view… 😉
The shirt isn’t racist.
Its quite right….If you don’t love it…leave.
What if any group dies this target?
OPEN YOUR EYES
Hi Bill. Thanks for your comment. Your question has been answered numerous times above.
you are possibly right glenn, that the timing of the Tshirt was targeted at radical islamist terrorists, who have told us they hate us … but then again you may be wrong … it just maybe a dumb joke, and a broad statement, the fact is we will never really know…you have made up your mind quite aggressively and made your point about Islamaphobia generally…and frankly as a jew, i am the butt of anti semitism quite often too… SO I GET IT GLENN…….
the point of the argument is not a silly Tshirt…the point should be, is there a place for Islamic terrorists in modern day australia … period….. should they be allowed to freely live amongst us and spread HATE and TERROR, just like murderers and rapists they should be locked up …or if they are recent immigrants, should they be sent back to their original homelands… just a reminder to all concerned, after the 1974 war between the arab states and israel, EVERY jewish community was EXPELLED from the following countries, EGYPT,JORDAN,LEBANON,SYRIA,IRAN,IRAQ,And every GULF State… so thats nearly 1million people expelled for being jewish…. the arabs have no compulsion in their contempt for others when it suits then GLENN….
I agree, there’s no place for terrorism or any other violent crime. But it’s important to distinguish between Muslims and terrorists. Completely different things.
Glenn,
I don’t really feel that you have actually explained why it’s racist. You have told us how it makes you feel, but you’ve made no clear connection between what you think it’s saying, and what it actually does say.
I agree that the t-shirt certainly bears a resemblance to those t-shirts that say “#$*@ Off, we’re full” and that is possibly why we all went “Oh NO! That’s not OK!”.
And it’s certainly quite an aggressive statement, which in itself is a bit offensive, but it doesn’t mention burquas, it doesn’t mention boat people, it doesn’t even mention (ironically) jingoistic 2nd wave immigrants (who I actually assume it’s targeting as a market).
Hi Kate. Thanks for your comment. My assertion that it’s racist has nothing to do with how I feel about it. You’re right that the literal message doesn’t single anyone out. I said that above. But it would be naive to pretend the timing of the t-shirt’s release plays no part in its meaning and target (and that it was just coincidental). The shirt came out when there was an uproar about burquas. And terrorism. And Muslims were defending themselves and their right to religious freedom. And it was all in the news, and burquas were all everyone was talking about. As such, they could reasonably have expected that most people would read, “If you don’t love it, leave” as a direct message to burqua-wearers and Muslims defending their rights.
Woolworths was cynically looking to cash in on the buzz by selling the shirt to people who opposed the burqua (and to people who oppose Muslims and Islam).
Obviously there’s no proof that’s the case, but to deny it would be like denying retailers sell more patriotic shirts during the Olympics. Let’s say they release one that says, “Go Aussie, Go!” That shirt may not say anything about the Olympics, or our Olympic team, but the retailers are clearly trying to cash in on the Olympic buzz, and the message is clearly directed at our athletes, and intended to be read as such.
This is a very common tactic in marketing and PR. And that IS a fact.
So, based on the timing, the shirt definitely targets Muslims with a message that excludes them and diminishes their rights. The only question is whether that’s technically racism…
Technically, as I said in the comments above, Muslims are not a ‘race’, so if you go by the literal definition of ‘racism’, it’s not racist. But how many Australians use that definition? I’ve heard people say it’s racist to discriminate against Australians. But Australians aren’t a race, we’re a nation. I’ve heard people say it’s racist to discriminate against the poor. But ‘poor’ and ‘rich’ aren’t racial categories, they’re economic categories. I’ve even heard people say it’s racist to discriminate against women or even certain animals.
I would much prefer people use the terms appropriately, but they don’t. Most people would call it racist if you were to put a sign saying “No Jews!” or “No Christians!”, even though those terms are no more racially based than “Muslim”. Perhaps even less so, because Muslims tend to be ‘brown’ skinned, which puts it closer to a racial classification.
So in the common parlance, I believe it’s fair to call it racist. The point is that the t-shirt – at its release – singled out and persecuted a minority, because of the ‘foreign’ way they look, dress, speak and worship. Their ‘otherness’. Most people would call this racism, whether it’s technically the right label or not, so I (and most others who are using this label) are simply speaking the same language.
But if you want to stick to the technical definition (in which case, I’d hope you do in all other instances too), then it would be ‘religious persecution’ or simply ‘xenophobia’.