Australian govt lambasted after supporting ‘It’s OK to be white’ meme as policy

A 4chan meme nearly became official Australian policy after the country’s ruling party backed a motion that declared “It’s OK to be white.” The government claims it mistakenly supported the resolution and called for a re-vote.

Some 23 members of the ruling Liberal-National Coalition, including several cabinet members, voted in favor of a motion introduced by Senator Pauline Hanson – the leader of the anti-immigrant One Nation party – which lamented the “deplorable rise of anti-white racism and attacks on Western civilization,” while stressing that “It is OK to be white.”

Here's the 28 senators that just voted in favour of One Nation leader Pauline Hanson's "It is OK to be white" motion. List includes government ministers Mitch Fifield, Michaelia Cash, Simon Birmingham, Nigel Scullion (indigenous minister), Bridget McKenzie, Matt Canavan. pic.twitter.com/e56w9LlbIZ
— Alice Workman (@workmanalice) October 15, 2018

The Senate ultimately voted 31 to 28 to reject the motion – but the ruling coalition’s support for the failed declaration sparked condemnation from opposition parties and commentators, who claimed that the term “It’s OK to be white” is a popular slogan used by white supremacists and neo-Nazis.

I'd like for the Senate to acknowledge:
(a) it's okay to be rich
(b) it's okay to be good looking
(c) it's okay for our senate to vote on motions that are slogans used by white supremacists
(d) it's okay to not know the difference between baking soda and baking powder#victims
— natalie tran [bring them here] (@natalietran) October 15, 2018

The government immediately went into damage control, claiming that it had mistakenly supported the resolution and agreed to redo the vote. Senators present for Tuesday’s do-over voted unanimously against the motion.

.@Barnaby_Joyce: It's okay to be white, black, Asian; if we had a resolution like that, everyone would support it. I don't believe they understood the motion until it was too late. A lot of the time you don't even know what you're voting on.

MORE: https://t.co/FzMVwiHhiE #Speers pi

https://www.rt.com/news/441542-australia-its-ok-white-resolution/?u...

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Comment by Marklar's Ghost on October 19, 2018 at 4:29pm: OMG Chris. I can't actually figure out if using the word to instead of the word too was a common error executed with really bad timing or if it was an absolutely brilliant dry piece of sarcasm.

Comment by cheeki kea on October 19, 2018 at 6:20am: Funny. Good old B J, - someone tell him if your white, You Make It Ok. Stand up for your Whites men, with gusto. Our white group the national front said on tv they were bicultural now, and that would surprise him.