The Project host Waleed Aly has responded to the uproar over Sonia Kruger’s comments about banning Muslim immigration to Australia by calling on people to stop the outrage.
On last night’s episode, he made a passionate plea, saying that “Sonia Kruger isn’t evil.” He said the personal attacks made on her is a result of people’s fears which then lead to people turning on each other.
He said: “I could sit here and pull apart Sonia Kruger’s statement. I could point out that Japan has had its share of terror attacks, or that the UN has attributed Japan’s low crime rate to low inequality and low gun ownership. I could point out that if Sonia is afraid, logically, as a woman in Australia, she has a much higher chance of being murdered by a man she knows, than a Muslim from another country.
“And I could do all of this with the best intentions, but really, all I’d be doing is encouraging the inertia of outrage that spins the Gravitron that we’re all on. I’d be fuelling the same cycle that has led to absolutely horrendous personal attacks on Sonia in the last 24 hours.”
“Sonia Kruger isn’t evil. She’s scared and she’s trying to make sense of the world. Yesterday, she admitted to not feeling safe. How do you think she feels now? And how do you expect her to react?”
The host admitted that just like Sonia, he’s scared too. “I’m terrified about what it is doing to my friends and family. Honestly, I’m scared about where I belong.”
He added: “I’m not saying you should be silent in the face of bigotry. But when you do engage with someone you disagree with, I’m talking about assuming the best in people, showing others radical generosity in the face of their hostility. Which is the much harder choice because it demands much more restraint, patience, and strength.”
Well said, Waleed.
VIDEO: Sonia says Australia should close its border to Muslims
