Politics

Pauline Hanson trolls Sarah Hanson-Young over ‘OK to be white’ protest

Nov 02, 2018

Pauline Hanson has trolled Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young after she reported an "It's OK to be white" poster she spotted in Adelaide to police. Source: Getty

One Nation leader Pauline Hanson has taken to social media to troll Greens senator Sarah Hanson-Young for opposing her ‘it’s Ok to be white’ policy.

It online spat started on Thursday when Hanson-Young noticed a poster with the words “It’s okay to be white’ posted outside her office. Offended, she took a photograph of the sign and shared it on her Twitter page.

“Just found this on the street outside my office… Whoever this moron is this should be named and shamed,” she vented to her social media followers. “Pro-nazi slogans like this are not welcome in Adelaide. Go back to the rock you crawled out from and stay there.”

Just found this on the street outside my office… Whoever this moron is this should be named and shamed. Pro-nazi slogans like this are not welcome in Adelaide. Go back to the rock you crawled out from and stay there. pic.twitter.com/GViCmJLRY7

— 💚🌏 Sarah Hanson-Young (@sarahinthesen8) November 1, 2018

On Facebook she added: “If you look up the origins of this saying you will know why and who it has been deliberately used by to intentionally divide people. That is not something I support. It is okay to be you – no matter the colour of your skin. We need inclusivity.”

Hanson-Young then shared an article by The Advertiser explaining she had notified police of the “neo-Nazi” slogan to the police, calling it a “white supremacist slogan” and “racism”.

By Friday, Hanson had seemingly heard about the complaint and trolled Hanson-Young on her social media pages. It was the One Nation leader who originally introduced the “It’s OK to be white” motion to the senate, which was eventually defeated 31 votes to 28.

Posting a picture of an Australia Post envelope and a box of white tissues to her Facebook and Twitter pages, Hanson directed her message at the Greens senator.

“I saw that Greens Senator Sarah Hanson-Young was having a bad day and felt I had to do something so I sent her a care package with this little note,” Hanson explained. “Dear Sarah I heard that you were very upset and wanted to help so I had my office send these over to you.

“I do apologise though, I could only find them in white.”

Hanson-Young later replied to the message.

“Pauline, I don’t think that fanning racism is funny or something that as politicians we should do,” she said. “Australians deserve better than this. You are a disgrace.

“You are like the tinea that grows between the toes of the nation, irritating but just need good dose of anti-fungal cream.”

Pauline, I don’t think that fanning racism is funny or something that as politicians we should do. Australians deserve better than this. You are a disgrace. You are like the tinea that grows between the toes of the nation, irritating but just need good dose of anti-fungal cream https://t.co/izvwPRoPUN

— 💚🌏 Sarah Hanson-Young (@sarahinthesen8) November 2, 2018

Despite giving an impassion speech in the upper chamber last month, Hanson suffered a defeat in the Senate with her ‘it’s OK to be white’ motion. She had called for her colleagues to acknowledge “rising anti-white racism and attacks on Western Civilisation”.

Although both Labor and the Greens opposed the motion at the time, 23 votes in favour came from Liberal-National senators, as well as Cory Bernardi, David Leyonhjelm and Fraser Anning.

The government later blamed an “administrative process error” for other government senators including Communications Minister Mitch Fifield and Minister for Jobs and Small Business Michaelia Cash voting in favour of the motion. This angered Hanson, who appeared on Today and labelled those who took back their votes as “absolute fools.”

“They really are. The way the Liberal party and National have acted over this is just ridiculous,” she claimed. “They should’ve let it go, they should not have said anything about it and there wouldn’t have been a problem with it.”

"I think it's so funny." @PaulineHansonOZ on being compared to white supremacists. #9Today pic.twitter.com/6WOVi6uh64

— The Today Show (@TheTodayShow) October 16, 2018

The Queensland politician said voters were spooked by the Labor Party and the Greens, while branding the government’s excuse as “pathetic”. She also denied she was a white supremacist and thought it was funny that people thought her views about race were similar to neo-Nazi movements being seen across United States.

“I think it’s so funny,” Hanson said. “It is absolutely ridiculous to actually connect me with that and that’s what they want to do. All this PC-brigade out there want to connect me with that. What a load of hogwash.”