The political and media landscape is responsible for what happened last weekend
On and offline tempers have been flaring this week over the St Kilda neo-Nazi rally and the counterprotest. There are some claiming that while there were some Nazi elements at the protest, there were those there in “good faith”, speaking out against what they perceive as threats to their safety and wellbeing from “African gang violence” and migration more broadly. Controversially perhaps, I believe them (I believe they actually think their livelihoods are at stake), but that doesn’t make it right, nor does it mean that they get to completely disassociate themselves from those who influenced and led the rally.
First, the myth of African gang violence has been put to rest. So why is it so persistent in the minds of many? I think there are a few things influencing it, but mostly, those giving it credibility. Yes, credibility the word being applied liberally by various social media commentators, politicians, and traditional media stalwarts who have argued we shouldn’t call the gathering “Nazis” because it gives them credibility.
Continue reading...from The Guardian http://bit.ly/2VH5dyU
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