Scott Morrison Conveniently Forgot Australia’s Racist History When Addressing US Protests
“As upsetting and terrible that the murder that took place -- and it is shocking, that also just made me cringe -- I just think to myself how wonderful a country is Australia."
Prime Minister Scott Morrison has used a Martin Luther King, Jr. meme to try and criticise American Black Lives Matter protesters.
The protests in the US were sparked after the death of Minneapolis man George Floyd, who was killed after a white police officer knelt on his neck for almost nine minutes.
Since then they’ve evolved into wider protests against police brutality and racial inequality.
Yesterday our Prime Minister was speaking to 2GB radio, where he described the United States as “a great country” that is going through “a difficult time”.
“As upsetting and terrible that the murder that took place — and it is shocking, that also just made me cringe — I just think to myself how wonderful a country is Australia,” he told Ben Fordham.
“We have our faults. We have our issues. There’s no doubt about that. But when I see things like that, I’m just very thankful for the wonderful country we live in.”
It was a comment that didn’t go unnoticed, with people quick to draw his attention to the fact that modern Australia was also built on a foundation of racism — and is still grappling with the deaths of hundreds of Aboriginal people while in custody.
Scott Morrison this morning said "I just think to myself how wonderful a country is Australia" when asked about the US riots.
Cool story bro, tell it again. pic.twitter.com/eMCzh2bIBV
— Aaron Wade (@Aaron_JWade) May 31, 2020
Scott Morrison telling Australians not to ‘import’ a movement from the US proves how tone deaf he is. Our country is built on genocide and violence, just like the US. You can’t import something when it’s been here the whole time
— Gabs is staying home🌻 (@Gxbriellemxry) June 1, 2020
Also Scott Morrison: pic.twitter.com/RdZ8XwCaNK
— Greg Jericho (@GrogsGamut) June 1, 2020
In relation to the Australian protests that are planned in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement, Morrison also said: “There’s no need to import things happening in other countries here to Australia.”
Morrison also invoked a meme he saw that featured the iconic civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. Since the protests broke out many people have been sharing quotes from the iconic leader, including King’s own son.
As my father explained during his lifetime, a riot is the language of the unheard.
— Martin Luther King III (@OfficialMLK3) May 28, 2020
“I saw a good meme on the weekend — Martin Luther King didn’t change anything by burning anything down or by looting any shops,” our PM said.
Indeed, Martin Luther King never took part in violent protests — however, he did have a lot to say about them.
“A riot is the language of the unheard,” he said in a 1967 speech.
“As long as America postpones justice, we stand in the position of having these recurrences of violence and riots over and over again. Social justice and progress are the absolute guarantors of riot prevention.”