There are certain signs that herald the arrival of Christmas in Australia. The weather starts to get hotter, elaborate Christmas decorations appear on houses and, of course, someone will try to tell you the Muslims are going to steal Christmas. It is almost as if certain people have something to gain from making us afraid of a religion that has existed in Australia for more than a century. I’m sure that is just me being cynical though. This year it was Peter Dutton’s turn to rally the ‘true Australians’ to defend Christmas from the imagined Muslim threat. Dutton is no stranger to dog-whistling and his premise is not a new strategy. I seem to remember Jacqui Lambie trying something similar 12 months ago. In fact, it seems that every year a wildly hysterical and untrue meme does the rounds of social media trying to stir up outrage and fear, yet every year we celebrate Christmas in the same way. How many times can these Islamaphobes cry wolf before everyone catches on?
I do believe it is important we repect people's right to form their own opinions. Still, if something seems too stupid to be true, it may not actually be true (or it may by Barnaby Joyce- related), so before we get angry and hit the share button, please check your sources and be sure you are not making a fool out of yourself by allowing yourself to be exploited for someone else’s political gain.
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