They encourage violence. Their ideology demands it. And their escalating fixation toward Indigenous women in a position of power cannot be taken out of context. It poses a danger in Australia through the current Referendum debate and the target it has painted on Indigenous women in politics and so, too, in Aotearoa where young Maori women running for Parliament are being made to fear for their lives by the far-Right.
Who is next to get dragged into their fold as a result of all this press they’re getting and how far might that new recruit dare to go? Will the next lonely dreg these neo-Nazis goad on to violence, whether it be toward Senator Thorpe or whoever they fixate on next, make good on all the talk? Will we begin to take this problem seriously only after an Indigenous woman in politics is hurt?
I am as surprised as Lidia Thorpe is that a sitting senator cannot expect prompt and effective protection from this rising threat. But what I do know is that for whatever it’s worth, Lidia will receive unending solidarity and support from activists and grassroots anti-fascists in Australia, in whatever way we can provide it. I hope that our communities won’t let her down where so many insufferable liberals, racists, cops and spooks can’t help but do time and again.
Following violent threats online, Senator Lidia Thorpe has now received vitriol on social media after standing up for herself.
olddogthoughts 