Dear Shadow Minister,

You wrote;

“However, the poorly drawn and fact free implication that the Nazi death camp built to murder millions of Jews and the state of Israel are equivalent is deliberately racist and as offensive as possible. It is pure unadulterated race hate and was condemned by any person who wasn't an anti semetic racist.”

Typical right wing elitist codswallop

An criticism of the slaughter by Israel of thousands of civilians and it is a direct dive to the 'Anti-Semetic' button for you, just like any criticism of the Chinese free trade agreement drove you to label people racists.

It is a form of uber-PC that drives at the very heart of free speech – the ability to speak against tyrannical behaviour.

Leunig's very valid point was about the lies used to slaughter people. “War is Peace” is from Orwell's 1984. “War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength.”

Leunig is a courageous cartoonist who should be celebrated. You sir are a base ideologue.

Leak's cartoon of the drunken aboriginal father not recognising his son highlighted a common problem which puts the onus on self reflection instead of blaming others for all their woes. Offensive? Yes. True? Yes.

SR,

Criticism is fair, but the cartoon of Leunig's to which you linked is an obscenity which violates any standards of decency. Any point Leunig is trying to make is overpowered by crass racism. There are thousands of powerful ways of making the point you suggest without being vile, and this is not one of them.

Amongst the left whingers especially in the greens there are a cohort who absorbed the old eastern bloc anti semitic leanings and no sense of decency, and small scratch below the surface exposes the deep racism which thinks that this cartoon is appropriate.

That you opposed Chafta primarily because is was with the chinese (the USA FTA had less restrictions) shows that the racism on the left is not limited purely to Jews. The proof is in the pudding, the Chinese are investing $bns in Aus, and Aus businesses and farmers are getting more access to Chinese markets, and there is as yet no sign of the yellow peril invasion that the left feared.

Leunig is a treasure to those of the left that hate Jews and vaccinations, but not to the rest of us.

Dear Shadow Minister,

This is political correctness gone mad from a right wing elite who considers any criticism of the actions of the Israeli government to warrant the immediate slanderous accusation of anti-Semitism.

For instance in your mind the CORRECT POLITICAL line to take is to agree with everything the odious Likud party does even when they commit identifiable war crimes such as stealing land from an occupied people. Why? I think it is in part a measure of the Australian right-wings obsession with all things American, particularly their uber-capitalism. Whatever US supports we must get behind 110%. Another is a racist view of Middle Easteners. But mainly it is to disguise the deep seated racism that those from the right keep in their saddlebags. Just look at the comments about Soros that always seem to peak out of discussions on American Politics, even here.

So perhaps it is time for you to park the toxic political correctness, to ditch the sickening sycophantic attitude toward the US, to acknowledge your stereotyping of Middle Easterners and to address your 'just below the surface' anti-Semitism.

I loves me-self a bit o’ feigned outrage.

That’s the second time I’ve seen a righty get all anti-racist on a lefty in the last couple of weeks (the first was in a very onthebeach-esque criticism from leoj about a silly Chinese restaurant joke). Why don’t you guys ever chastise racists when they're fellow righties? Heck, two of them on OLO even wear the label, ‘Racist’, as a badge of pride, and yet not a peep from any of you!

It looks very insincere.

‘Anti-Semite’ is a charge designed to stop people in their tracks when criticism directed towards the actions of Israel’s government becomes uncomfortable for the accuser. It’s a form of censorship, and a rather ironic one given that it is mostly used by those who think they hold the mantle of ‘Free Speech Defenders’ simply because they place an unreasonable level of importance on the ability to slag off at racial minorities.

Hard racism is fairly and squarely the domain of the right. But that shouldn’t worry anyone on the right, because it says absolutely nothing about anyone on the right as individuals. And to make the mistake of thinking otherwise is to commit the Association fallacy - and against oneself, for that matter!

Outrage and offense are in the eye of the beholder.

Remember when those cartoons portraying Mohammed as a mad bomber and other things were published in Denmark and caused extreme protests by Muslims?

Despite pleas from diplomats not to proceed with their pre-announced and deliberately provocative publication, the newspaper continued under the guise of "free speech".

However when a cartoon showing the Pope sexually assaulting a child that was being held down by Jesus was submitted just afterward, they refused to publish it, arguing that they "did not want to cause offence".

Double standard or selective outrage?

Sadly, Bill Leak will probably be best remembered for that one cartoon - which wasn't funny , made a point but really achieved nothing as a result.