Readers Letters: Courage to Care shares its shock
The rally in St Kilda last Saturday 5 January by extremist individuals espousing white supremacist views has shocked us all. Courage to Care condemns all actions targeting people based on their ethnicity or religion, and under no circumstances can the Nazi salute or the open display of Nazi symbols be tolerated or linked to sensible democratic debate.
We cannot accept such demonstrations of hatred and intolerance in today’s Australian society, created by the gathering of individuals from all four corners of the globe, from every creed and tradition including our own First Nations. Courage to Care joins with all sensible people to condemn such toxic attitudes and behaviour, to reject the propagation of hate-speech and the targeting of vulnerable groups.
This is not a “right wing” versus “left wing” question but rather malicious xenophobia that encourages racist hatred, distrust and conflict. Courage to Care has always spoken out against such attitudes, and we are dedicated to doing something about it. We firmly believe that education is a significant part of the solution in developing acceptance, understanding and a reasoned, calm way to address complex issues.
It is the mission of Courage to Care to educate Australians about the dangers of prejudice, racism and discrimination, and to empower them to challenge and speak out against such unacceptable human traits. We all have the power to do, or to say, something that will make a difference for others and for our society.
As Edmund Burke is quoted as saying “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good people to do nothing.”
Dr Tony Weldon OAM FRACP
Chairman, Courage to Care Victoria
