Dr Andrew Rochford has written an emotional message on social media in defence of his son, calling for people to stop bullying him and other people like him.
He shared a photo of his 10-year-old son Archie who has red hair and said he was distraught after learning Archie is being bullied at school for the colour of his hair.
Writing he was in tears as he penned the message, Rochford said he was “completely broken” people had chosen to target his son and that using words like “ranga” was discriminatory.
“This is my son Archie. He is 10. And I wouldn’t normally share something like this, but I HAVE to..I can’t hold this in anymore,” he wrote.
“He is the most beautiful boy you could ever meet. He cares about everyone,… And as I write this, I cry.
“You can see my beautiful boy has red hair…. beautiful red hair….He didn’t choose his hair…. he can’t change his hair….and he should not have too.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BR4_eiYghup/
He went on to say Archie had been called a “fucking ranga” by a group of children and that people who use this language “are no better than a racist or a homophobe”.
“You throw it out there in an attempt to seem witty or clever, you are NOT,” he continued.
“You are as shallow and ignorant and PATHETIC as all the other narrow-minded bigots that inhabit our beautiful planet.
“So take a really long hard look at yourself..because if you perpetuate victimisation in your house, or your workplace or on a stage or the radio or television….YOU are the problem…YOU! The boys that are picking on my son, weren’t born to be so mean, they have learnt from you.”
The Oxford Australia Dictionary announced in 2012 it was adding the word ranga to its lexicon, describing it as: “Ranga: (noun): A person with red hair.”
The word has long been a part of Australian slang, but is most often used in a derogatory way.
Rochford’s post has received hundreds of comments with many saying they agree with him and want to see the phrase dropped from the Australian vocabulary.