Today drastic changes have been proposed to the racial hatred language section of Australia's Racial Discrimination Act.
Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, backed by the Liberal party,, specifically changing the act to replace the current inclusions of 'offend', 'insult', and 'humiliate', with 'harass'. The only term tthat will remain will be 'intimidate'.
Should the amendment pass in the Senate, the HRC complaint process will be overhauled; new powers will be able to terminate “trivial” cases and breaches of the 18c section will come with a ‘reasonable person’ test.
Many Australians are now speaking out online to protest to proposed changes, saying that the government is prioritising people’s ability to insult and humiliate others over the lives, safety and mental health of People of Colour.
Benjamin Law, writer of The Family Law, spoke out about the party-room decision (which was, slightly ironically, made on Harmony Day) and requested that people share their own stories and experiences to highlight the fact that the current terms of 18c are necessary for the protection of minorities.
Law shared a few of his own experiences to start the ball rolling:
Then he encouraged others to share their experiences, and ended up receiving hundreds of responses from people who had experienced racism in Australia:
While these stories are heartbreaking, one Twitter user made this incredibly valid point:
And that was for good reason, evidently - Benjamin Law posted one of the replies that he received to the first story he shared as a part of the hashtag:
