When a man with a sign “Black, white — all lives matter” is booed and physically attacked by an angry mob at a protest rally and no senior politician of any party condemns it, we have reason to be afraid. 

Tasmanian Labor senator Helen Polley has been attacked on social media and forced to apologise for reposting an “all lives matter” image to social media, saying it was “careless and insensitive”. She deleted the post. More silence from those who are meant to reflect Australian values. 

Not only are these but two examples of the warped and selective morality of the protesters, it is a sign of how silence allows the creep of totalitarian attitudes amongst us.  

The mob has gained the upper hand. The mob is fickle. The mob is dangerous. The mob doesn’t have our approval. Our elected representatives should have something to say about such events. 

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