Friday was a horribly black day for the people of New Zealand after 49 people were killed and 48 more injured in a terrorist attack on two mosques in Christchurch. An Australian man who allegedly has links to white supremacist ideologies has been charged with the mass murders, which he live-streamed from a web cam on to Facebook. Politicians have been speaking out against the tragedy, with some unfortunate exceptions. There remain those people who would use this to further their own agenda, but not everyone is having it. In fact, a kid egged a senator who blamed the New Zealand mosque attacks on immigration. Because clearly the next generation knows how to stand up for what's right.
Right wing Senator Fraser Anning from Queensland, Australia appears to have made something of a career out of targeting Muslims. Do yourself a favor and do not scroll through his Twitter account, where he hurls openly racist insults and accusations at the Muslim population in general. He recently even wrote on Twitter that he will "stand totally against any Muslims in our Parliament," when it was announced that Australian Muslim candidate Emma Eros would join the political fray. In the wake of the tragedy in New Zealand on Friday, of course Sen. Anning had some pretty awful things to say. But one 17-year-old boy wasn't having it.
Romper has reached out to Sen. Anning for comment and is waiting for a response.
In a viral video of the incident, Anning is speaking with journalists and supporters about the attacks, as reported by The Sydney Morning Herald. He explains that these sort of events, "while tragic," are bound to become more frequent because of immigration... and then a 17-year-old boy smacks him over the head with an egg. At which point, Sen. Anning (a grown man who literally just had a bit of egg on his face) turned around and punched the teenager in the face. In front of a room full of journalists and cameras.
The young boy in question was wrestled to the ground by some of Anning's supporters, also notably big grown men who reportedly held the teenager in a choke hold, as per The Guardian. He was then arrested by police but released without charges. As for Anning punching a minor in the face on camera, apparently no charges were laid, although Victoria police are continuing to investigate the incident. The senator might not have liked the egging... but boy, did Twitter ever love it.
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison condemned Anning's comments by saying his words against the Islamic community were “appalling and ugly and they have no place in Australia,” as The Guardian reported, and a Change.org petition to have Anning removed from office has already garnered more than 430,000 signatures.
Now I'm not saying all of this came about because a young boy decided to egg the senator. I'm just saying it probably didn't hurt the situation to have a young boy stand up and protest hateful, racist commentary. With something as simple as an egg.
