Culture

The Daily Tele Has Described Australia Day Protesters As A “Ragtag Rabble” And “Fleas”

People aren't happy about it.

by Sinead Stubbins  27 January 2017

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Yesterday, record numbers of Australians turned out to protest ‘Invasion Day’, in some cities actually outnumbering those attending Australia Day celebrations. Although these protests were largely celebrated as peaceful statements of solidarity with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, The Daily Telegraph seems to have taken a different view.

In an article titled ‘WE’RE GIRT BY FLEAS’ featuring photos of police and protestors in hazes of smoke (you can read the online version here, if you want to do that), the Telegraph has described the Sydney protest as a “violent flag-burning protest that marred Australia Day celebrations” which was “organised by a ragtag rabble of far-Left agitators led by the Greens, unions and educational bodies”.

Related
Invasion Day Protests Attract Tens Of Thousands As Calls Grow To #ChangeTheDate

The article describes the protest “quickly turning ugly” when a protester attempted to light an Australian flag and states police were confronted by “an angry mob” who pushed them, resulting in a woman hitting her head. “Another 96 people around Sydney were arrested and charged with a range of offences, including drug possession and assault,” the article states, showing photos of a white woman lying on the ground and police handling protesters.

However, the protest The Daily Telegraph is describing was recounted as much less severe yesterday by those on the ground yesterday. As reported by BuzzFeed’s Allan Clarke, a confrontation broke out with police, and a 20-year-old man (thought to be Dispossessed singer Birrugan Dunn-Velasco) was arrested after allegedly attempting to set an Australian flag on fire. A police spokesperson even said that it was an “isolated incident in an otherwise peaceful demonstration”.

Clarke also noted that apart from that isolated incident, the protest was relatively peaceful.

Other footage that Birrugan Dunn-Velasco has put on Facebook, suggests that he was immediately overwhelmed by the force of several police officers.

Today professional dancer and Bundulung and Ngapuhi woman, Amrita Hepi, has disputed the claims made by The Daily Telegraph in an Instagram post speaking of her own account of the protest.

“To be clear — you are the fleas sucking out the goodness that was a passionate and amazing protest — it is not illegal to burn a flag, the woman knocked over was knocked over by the cops’ aggressive assault,” she writes. “That protest was as peaceful as we could afford it to be considering.”

If you ever think that talking about sovereignty, aboriginal rights, women’s rights – human rights is getting done; or that ‘hey we’re living in 2017 people understand now, we’re getting somewhere’ than pick up @dailytelegraph or the Australian and then use that as inspiration to keep having conversations and keep pushing. While it may be common knowledge that this paper is full of shock jock and awry reporting this mornings effort has blown me away. To be clear – you are the fleas sucking out the goodness that was a passionate and amazing protest – it is not illegal to burn a flag, the woman knocked over was knocked over by the cops aggressive assault. That protest was as peaceful as we could afford it to be considering. Turn to page 11 & 13 for more inspiration on why intersectional feminism is needed. Also S/O to the bleeding hearts – @osher_gunsberg #caitlinstasey. Fuck the telegraph.

A photo posted by amrita_moves (@amrita_moves) on

Last year, the Herald Sun was criticised for repeatedly describing peaceful Indigenous rights protestors as a “selfish rabble” for holding up traffic. Much like this year, the News Corp papers seem to be focusing on the inconvenience of the protests and neglecting to discuss why they actually took place.

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Image supplied by Amrita Hepi.