Comedian branded ‘disgraceful’ after vile Anzac soldiers outburst

An Australian comedian has been slammed online and branded “disgraceful” after sharing a shocking slur about Aussie troops – claiming their line of work is no more dangerous than any other job.

Just hours before the country comes together to remember fallen soldiers on Anzac Day, Catherine Deveny, 50, took to Twitter to air her outrageous views, and claimed it’s time society “binned” the word “serve” – sparking a torrent of anger from her followers.

She wrote: “Why do people in the armed forces use the word ‘serve’ to describe their work despite it being no more dangerous or prone to upheaval than many other jobs? It’s just a job and work. Throw the term ‘serve’ in the bin. It’s part of the fetishisation of war and violence.”

Unsurprisingly, she was quickly hit with backlash from outraged internet users, who called her out on the offensive message and insisted she explain herself.

One angered follower wrote: “World War II: 1939–45. Over 993,000 Australians served in the armed forces during World War II. Of those on active service, 27,073 were killed in action or died, 23,477 were wounded, and 30,560 were taken prisoner of war. Sorry 10% of those soldiers suffered for you.”

She instantly replied with: “[They] suffered because they were sucked in with the glamour of war and racism under the guise of patriotism. They were uneducated and ignorant. Most were up for an adventure and and identity. That’s why they went. For their own self serving reasons.”

That only outraged more people reading the exchange, as one commented: “Please dig the hole deeper. Please,” while another invited her to attend an Anzac Day parade with him, so he could explain “the notion of service.” However, she hit back that she’d been to services and parades before, but didn’t once change her view.

When another user asked her to name three jobs that were as dangerous as the army, she replied: “Firefighters, paramedics, police, doctors, social workers, nurses, window cleaners, miners, arborists, labours, farmers, construction workers, people who work with those suffering severe mental illness, prison officers, roofers, teachers (in American schools), loggers, fishermen.”

More people pointed out that many Australian troops were tortured as prisoners of war after being captured by the Japanese in 1942, while more were forced into hard labour on the Thai-Burma railway.

Meanwhile, another user shared a photo of their sister who had served under the UN in Sudan, and added: “Educate yourself about the diversity of amazing and often dangerous work our military do!”

Refusing to back down, she replied: “But they choose that job so it’s their choice to play by those rules. No gun to their head, so to speak. They choose to work under that agreement. It’s just a job. Many people do dangerous work. ANZAC Day is a death festival that sucks people in to celebrate violence.”

More users branded her “insulting and ignorant”, while another called her statements “disgraceful” and one referred to Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s shocking Anzac Day tweet last year by writing: “Yassmin already did the ‘be offensive to veterans for Anzac Day’ s***. This just looks like a sad cry for attention.”

Abdel-Magied sparked outrage last year when she shared a message online saying, “Lest. We. Forget. (Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine…)”

Read more: Yassmin Abdel-Magied’s ‘disrespectful’ plan ahead of Anzac Day

Meanwhile, a veteran added his voice to the backlash against Catherine, as he wrote: “I ‘served’ in the Australian Army. It wasn’t just a job. I was sent to Afghanistan amongst other sunny holiday spots. At the time I thought we were doing the right thing. Now not so much. The job was dirty and dangerous and I hope to Christ my children find safer jobs as adult [sic].”

He was joined by another furious user who added: “Tell that to my grandfather who stormed Normandy.”

Do you think she should apologise for her statement?