Racism is the coward’s way
Vile racist attacks against a Labor candidate for the seat of Hobart in the Legislative Council elections are a sad reflection on the ignorance and hate in certain parts of society.
The comments made on Tasmanian Labor’s X account (formerly Twitter) were on a video post urging voters to support John Kamara in the May 4 upper house elections. About 50 comments were removed by campaign volunteers.
Mr Kamara, who arrived as a refugee from war-torn Sierra Leone 20 years ago, has built a career helping others. He was named 2023 Tasmania’s Australian of the Year for his humanitarian work with refugees arriving in the state.
The father of four is no stranger to racism, but says it still hurts.
“It is upsetting when you see people targeting me and other people based on their race or their ethnicity. As a community, we need to call it out,” he said. Mr Kamara is absolutely right. There is no place for racism in
Tasmania or anywhere else. To make racist comments hiding behind anonymous social media profiles is rude, disappointing and cowardly.
It takes a lot of courage to put yourself up as a political candidate. Many are too often attacked for their appearance, gender or sexuality. Such attacks are often made online and the remarks are usually things people wouldn’t dare say face-to-face.
Election analyst Dr Kevin Bonham said it appeared the comments were made by “white supremacist trolls” from outside the state.
Regardless of their source, they should be strongly condemned.
Our political institutions should welcome people from all walks of life and diverse backgrounds.
Mr Kamara says the attacks make him even more determined to push on to represent people in his community.
“It … shows the importance of why we need diversity in our parliament,” he said.
It’s an attitude that shows what real courage is. Responsibility for all editorial election comment is taken by the Editor, Craig Herbert, ground floor, 2 Salamanca Square, Hobart, Tas, 7000. WRITE TO US Make sure to include your name, address and phone number if verification is required. Only your name and suburb will be printed. Please note we reserve the right to edit letters for reasons such as clarity and length. PRIVACY POLICY: Our privacy policy at https:// preferences.news.com.au/privacy includes important information about our collection, use and disclosure of your personal information (including to provide you with targeted advertising based on your online activities). It explains that if you do not provide us with information we have requested from you, we may not be able to provide you with the goods and services you require. It also explains how you can access or seek correction of your personal information, how you can complain about a breach of the Australian Privacy Principles and how we will deal with a complaint of that nature.