Hundreds of people washed spit from their faces on Saturday evening after an ugly stand-off at Federation Square between supporters of Reclaim Australia, an anti-Islamic movement, and No Room For Racism, a coalition of trade union, community and left-wing groups.

It's been reported that these were competing rallies. Those reports are wrong. What occurred at Federation Square was trench warfare — with police on horseback holding the armies apart.

Because the police had been quick to isolate the core Reclaimer group on the forecourt of the SBS building, hundreds of late-comers were left to mingle with the No Roomers. Mingling often meant one-on-one screaming matches that occasionally broke out into pushing and shoving. Now and then a stray punch or two was thrown.

Rally against racism protesters clash with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square.
Rally against racism protesters clash with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square. Photo: Chris Hopkins
A Federation Square spokesman estimated 3000 thousand people — many carrying many placards, some of them droll: "You keep your Burqua, I'll keep my clitoris" — went at it noisily for more than three hours.

Organiser Mel Gregson said No Room for Racism was formed with the express purpose of shutting down the 16 rallies across Australia planned by Reclaim Australia. The Reclaimers, on their facebook page, describe their mission as "We as patriotic Australians need to stand together to stop halal tax, sharia law & islamisation."

Betweeen noon and 3pm, The Sunday Age witnessed a prolonged venting of frustrations, half-baked ideas and outright hatred. In the end, it wasn't Muslims being hated, though — it was the white people from each side incensed by the position and taunting of the other.

Protesters clash with Reclaim Australia protesters at Federation Square under a huge police presence.
Protesters clash with Reclaim Australia protesters at Federation Square under a huge police presence. Photo: Chris Hopkins
A young woman taking on two heavyset middle-aged men — one of them with a shaved tattooed head — shrieking, "It's not Islam, it's the partriarchy!"

The men, visibly shaking with rage, let fly with their fears of the country being taken over and their taxes funding terrorism (via dole payments).

It ended with the young woman screaming: "I've just been pushed by a white man."

Police stand guard at Federation Square as warring protest groups clash.
Police stand guard at Federation Square as warring protest groups clash. Photo: Chris Hopkins
After vainly trying to gather witnesses and get the police attention, she linked arms with a wall of No Roomers that had formed in front of the police lines to keep outlying Reclaimers from joining the main group.

Two middle-aged women, both wrapped in the Austraiian flag, both insisting they weren't racists - ``just concerned " - were assailed by a scrawny young woman who called them c---s at least as dozen times.

In fact the prevailing, relentlessly megaphoned message from the No Roomers to the Reclaimers was "f--- off."

Rally against racism protestors clash with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Click for more photos
Rally Clashes in Melbourne
Rally against racism protesters clashed with Reclaim Australia protesters at Federation Square under a huge police presence on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Photos by Chris Hopkins. Photo: Chris Hopkins
Rally against racism protestors clash with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Rally against racism protestors clash with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Rally against racism protestors clash with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Rally against racism protestors clash with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Rally against racism protesters clash with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square. Protesters clash with Reclaim Australia protesters at Federation Square under a huge police presence. Rally against racism protestors clash with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square under a huge police presence on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Rally against racism protesters clashed with Reclaim Australia protesters at Federation Square under a huge police presence on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Rally against racism protestors clashed with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square under a huge police presence on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Rally against racism protestors clashed with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square under a huge police presence on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Rally against racism protestors clashed with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square under a huge police presence on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia. Rally against racism protestors clashed with Reclaim Australia protestors at Federation Square under a huge police presence on April 4, 2015 in Melbourne, Australia.
One middle-aged man, a Reclaimer, was wearing a face-mask of the sort favoured by IS combatants. How come? "I don't want any retribution from the Muslims." He believed terrorists would come for him because he'd attended the protest.

Sitting cheerily in the middle of the chaos, literally dancing in their seats, were Emily, 28, and Melissa, 32, from Brunswick. They'd brought an amplifier and iPod and were playing upbeat songs of togetherness, including the Warumpi Bands's White Fella, Black Fella. Their placard read: "We'd rather listen to our music than your racist comments."

Said Melissa: "We just want to live in a country that accepts diversity."

About 2pm, four Muslims fellows arrived wearing T-shirts that proclaimed their religion a peaceful enterprise. Waseemra Razui explained: "We've come to tell people that this is all a big misunderstanding."

Two men and a woman were arrested during the protests.

http://www.theage.com.au/victoria/so-this-is-easter--melbourne-faces-off-at-antiislam-rally-as-police-on-horseback-hold-factions-apart-20150404-1mel68.html?stb=fb

god these people are peasants

"One middle-aged man, a Reclaimer, was wearing a face-mask of the sort favoured by IS combatants. How come? "I don't want any retribution from the Muslims." He believed terrorists would come for him because he'd attended the protest. "

Pussy.

You want to stop them or not?

-PB

The keynote speaker at the Melbourne rally is a wonderful guy

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/news/national/abortion-to-blame-for-fires-pastor/2009/02/10/1234028017844.html

The people who show up to protest against these narrow minded flogs are just as pathetic IMO, but at least you can laugh at the bogans.

Although I guess it's harder for some to hide it

WTF LMAO :lol:

sad to say he lives around my area. Also he is a big hypocrite he is a bloody sri lanka immigrant who is a self hating one to boot

Edited by mvfcarsenal16.8: 5/4/2015 09:46:02 PM

Isn't he the retard who started that racist Rise Up party?

The guys born in Sri Lanka and opposed to multiculturalism ffs. Definition of self loathing.

I'm still trying to understand how being anti Islamic is racism? ](*,) fuck, I must be really racist, I hate all religion

I hate religion and I hate bogan racists.....

I guess Im a rare specimen.

I suspect most of us fall into the above category.

Its unfortunate that this protest brings out the worst in both sides.

The hypocrisy of a bunch of neo-nazi christian fundamentalists hating on islam for its......um........fundamentalism.

If only there could be a protest against religion in general.

The problem with the majority of religions is that if you don't agree with them, you are going to hell by default...
whereas the right wing nutters assume that if you weren't born with blonde hair and blue eyes then you need to be exterminated.
Both of these type of groups infringe on the essential basic human right of freedom of speech.

Hardly, they're exercising it - not infringing it.

Exercising it so the rest of society can't exercise it.

What are you talking about?

The Reclaim Australia people organised a protest, and other people organised a counter-protest?

If that's not free speech I don't know what is.

Lets be honest.

Religions tend to suppress freedoms.

That's not at all what I'm arguing about.

But yeah keep fedora tipping if you wish.

Oops, now I've read it again I see what you were talking about. My bad.

I support the burning of bras.

I support the burning of bras.

What about G-strings?

I'm still trying to understand how being anti Islamic is racism? ](*,) fuck, I must be really racist, I hate all religion

Indeed, though many Israelis identify as Jewish nowdays, even when most of them are cultural Jews.

Perhaps similar to Islam?

But Islam is perhaps the most ethnically diverse of all religions, being popular in the middle east, Persia, Central Asia, North, Central and East Africa, Eastern Europe and South East Asia.

I wouldn't be surprised if there are more South East Asian muslims than in the middle east.

This is the image that immediately sprung to my mind...

It's not just "the Left" rusty, it's the far left.

What the most painful thing about this weekend has shown is that there is a big fat line in the middle and if you say something in some regards you are either painted as a far Left extremist hippy or a neo-nazi racist bogan, there is zero middle ground from either side on these matters and it's quite sad.

-PB

Well said.

Fucking hell, this twat has just started spamming Buy/Swap/Sell pages in Townsville.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Cliffy-the-Infidel/1559360120973489?fref=ts

Fucking goose.

-PB

I love Halal hysteria.

How and why does it enrage people so much?

-PB

Yes well said.

I'll add that this is in spite of the vast majority of us who actually exist in the middle ground.

I'm still waiting for people like the Reclaimers and so forth to explain to me how Sharia Law would come about in Australia with our Westminster system of politics and our Constitution.

-PB

Australian German :lol:

South Seas, British Race :lol:

Fuck me dead :lol:

-PB

So youre saying we should have sharia islam in Australia?

Or, should we have 10 afl grand finals/ bathurst 1000 every weekend?

:lol:

The problem with the majority of religions is that if you don't agree with them, you are going to hell by default...
whereas the right wing nutters assume that if you weren't born with blonde hair and blue eyes then you need to be exterminated.
Both of these type of groups infringe on the essential basic human right of freedom of speech.

I'm still waiting for people like the Reclaimers and so forth to explain to me how Sharia Law would come about in Australia with our Westminster system of politics and our Constitution.

-PB

Um......

Neither.

So typical of the left to try to shut down any conflicting viewpoint. There is at least one anti government rally in Brisbane every month, whether it be uni deregulation, asylum seeker policy, march on march madness, etc. The protests are usually peaceful, most people although writing them off a loonies, brain damaged chronically stones hippies and nutters recognise they have a democratic right to protest, even if their ideas and messages are dimwitted. But when the right wing organise a rally, they feel the need to mobilise and shut down alternative views through heckling and violence, they think the right to free speech and democracy applies only to themselves, and then they try to legimitise it by painting all attendees and messages and racist and fascist.

It's the same reason that feminists decry mens issues or religious conservatives that protest against marriage equality.

Morons can't stand catering for people outside their niche even when the issues at play have absolutely nothing to do with them.

Left are as bad as the Right and as bad as each other.

I think you are deemed normal if you are neither and in the middle or nor religiously aligned.

If you are centre based like Malcolm Turnbull at least it means you are open to reason.

The thing is the Greens and other extremist left wing socialists/communists believe they are center, and they push people with middle ground values onto the right and far right. TA for example is right wing, but because he tried to impose a $5 co payment on Medicare (something Labor did in the 90's) and believes in God he is described by some as a right wing extremist. I suppose the right has its fair share of lunatics as well, for example Pauline Hanson who professes not to be racist but admits she wouldn't sell her house to Muslims.

I think people dislike TA not so much because he is right wing but because he has a lot of form of being a brute in his younger years (i.e. in Uni) and also because he is an idiot.

Do you not think he copped as much as a gave? The far left are a disease, if he was a brute good on him.

The thing is the Greens and other extremist left wing socialists/communists believe they are center, and they push people with middle ground values onto the right and far right. TA for example is right wing, but because he tried to impose a $5 co payment on Medicare (something Labor did in the 90's) and believes in God he is described by some as a right wing extremist. I suppose the right has its fair share of lunatics as well, for example Pauline Hanson who professes not to be racist but admits she wouldn't sell her house to Muslims.

Here is a compass that shows the political landscape in Asutralia. the problem with the major parties, apart from being very similar in position, is that they are authoritarian in nature, rather than being right or left. The most appealing feature of the Greens is that they are libertarian, rather than being left wing. Also, you'll notice that One nation is less right wing than the Liberal party, but are more authoritarian, that is their problem.

Nazi's ain't too smart. I particularly find Russian and Balkan Neo-Nazis hilarious. These people would have been the next ethnic groups into the gas-chambers if Germany won WW2.

Here is a compass that shows the political landscape in Asutralia. the problem with the major parties, apart from being very similar in position, is that they are authoritarian in nature, rather than being right or left. The most appealing feature of the Greens is that they are libertarian, rather than being left wing. Also, you'll notice that One nation is less right wing than the Liberal party, but are more authoritarian, that is their problem.

I don't buy that bullshit mate. Putting Liberals to the extreme right and further to the right than One Nation and Labor on the right proves how silly Political Compass is. It's utter bullshit.

You don't buy anything in regards to LNP being painted in a poor light.

-PB

I don't buy bullshit mate. Again, portraying as Liberal party as a right wing extremist group, as per the political compass, is utter bullshit. It's unfairly put Labor on the right as well, I struggle to see how a party that includes socialism in its manifesto can be described as anything other than left wing.

I don't buy bullshit mate. Again, portraying as Liberal party as a right wing extremist group, as per the political compass, is utter bullshit. It's unfairly put Labor on the right as well, I struggle to see how a party that includes socialism in its manifesto can be described as anything other than left wing.

Greens are not more Libertarian than Authoritarian. That would be the sex party.

Edited by notorganic: 8/4/2015 05:03:15 PM

Greens just want to stop any kind of development and take money from rich people and make companies pay for their shit and unrealistic ideas.

shouldn't we have a choice?

Disagree on development, renewables are going gangbusters all over the world except for Australia because of LNP policy. Greens would reverse that market intervention, but to say that they want to stop development is more than a little hyperbolic.

They also seek to actively discriminate against men and boys, particularly straight cisgendered men and boys. Their anti-sex, anti-male agenda has really ramped up in recent political cycles. I'm unsure if it's Milnes influence, or if they're just following down the same SJW rabbit hole that a bunch of other once-rational progressives have fallen.

The point is that they're really no-where near the libertarian side of the spectrum.

You have a choice. You can choose not to buy it if you're stupid enough to let it make you mad.

It doesn't make me mad and I still will, but you couldn't have dismissed/missed the point of that post any worse than you just did.

I got the point, I didn't particularly disagree with it.

I should have clarified that by 'you' I didn't mean YOU and wasn't suggesting that it makes you personally mad.

Reclaim want to take it back for Jesus, so there's that small issue.

:lol: I now strongly oppose them. Maybe we should have let both sides of the protest fight to the death :lol:

Fine by me.

Let all all the crazies be gone in one fell swoop.

-PB

There in lies the problem. Both sides are loonies. A distinct lack of moderate voices.

Ah I see. I'm not against it for Muslim reasons I'm against it for pure religious and hypothetical ones.

I also strongly oppose any resemblance of Sharia Law in any way as most reasonable people do.

Terrorism isn't 'yet' a major issue in this country aside from a few loonies.

I guess I agree with Reclaim on these things. I'm a bogan racist, wooh! :lol: