Outrage Over Activism on ANZAC Day
Prominent Muslim activist and television personality Yassmin Abdel Magied courted controversy, with an ANZAC Day Facebook post. Writing ‘Lest.We.Forget Manus, Nauru, Syria, Palestine’. The humanitarian thought she’d use ANZAC Day to shed light on suffering beyond the World War One Battlefield. A social media uproar followed, with people saying such a sacred day should not be exploited to push personal ideological agendas. It was said ANZAC Day should be reserved for patriotic commemoration, left untouched by what has been called ‘trivial peripheral social issues’. The backlash prompted Abdel to remove her post, stating publicly that ‘it was brought to my attention that my last post was disrespectful and for that, I apologise unreservedly’. The Daily discussed the underlying social dynamics at play with Deakin University historian Dr Carolyn Holbrook.
Produced by Madison Thorne.
