Elder patiently reminds hecklers that original Australians weren’t from Europe.
In scenes baffling to almost everyone except the people creating them, a group of neo-Nazis loudly protested against the “un-Australian” nature of a Welcome to Country at a recent ANZAC Day service.
And apparently oblivious to historical reality, these self-proclaimed “patriots” were outraged by what they called a “foreign ritual”.
But their outrage was quickly tempered by quiet logic from an Indigenous Elder who calmly reminded them that the first Australians were (in fact) Aboriginal people, not European extremists arriving in ships.
And the awkward silence that followed suggested the hecklers had perhaps never previously encountered facts about Australian history.
“I came here to defend Australian culture” shouted one particularly passionate neo-Naziompletely unaware he was standing on land cared for by Indigenous Australians for over 65,000 years. “It’s disgraceful!”
However, further confusion quickly ensued after a veteran calmly explained the historical significance behind the ANZAC battles, notably their struggle against fascism during World War II.
“Wait, they fought against who?” one perplexed neo-Nazi reportedly whispered to his mate, who nervously thumbed through Wikipedia on his phone…
And as the realisation slowly dawned, the group’s leader sheepishly began to edge away from the cenotaph, mumbling about needing to “re-evaluate historical sources”.
Bystanders attending the service politely remarked that perhaps these neo-Nazis could benefit from spending less time marching and more time reading Australian history textbooks.
Meanwhile, Indigenous Elders attending the ceremony offered gentle smiles, graciously withholding their laughter… and one Elder quietly observed – “sometimes ignorance is its own worst punishment.”
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