This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2016/jan/28/nsw-cafes-national-dickhead-day-sign-sparks-death-threats-and-vandalism
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| NSW cafe's 'National Dickhead Day' sign sparks death threats and vandalism | NSW cafe's 'National Dickhead Day' sign sparks death threats and vandalism |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A regional New South Wales coffee shop that displayed a sign labelling Australia Day “National Dickhead Day” was vandalised and its owner sent death threats after pictures of the provocative message were posted on social media. | A regional New South Wales coffee shop that displayed a sign labelling Australia Day “National Dickhead Day” was vandalised and its owner sent death threats after pictures of the provocative message were posted on social media. |
| Matt Chun said a blackboard with the message in chalk was displayed for 15 minutes outside his cafe, Mister Jones, in the south coast town of Bermagui, the afternoon before Australia Day. | Matt Chun said a blackboard with the message in chalk was displayed for 15 minutes outside his cafe, Mister Jones, in the south coast town of Bermagui, the afternoon before Australia Day. |
| A picture of the board was uploaded to the Facebook group Meanwhile in Australia, with the caption “Your attitude is as bad as your coffee”. | A picture of the board was uploaded to the Facebook group Meanwhile in Australia, with the caption “Your attitude is as bad as your coffee”. |
| It was reproduced on several Facebook pages belonging to rightwing nationalist groups and liked more than 700,000 times, Chun said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that has been liked by 13,000 people and shared more than 3,000 times. | It was reproduced on several Facebook pages belonging to rightwing nationalist groups and liked more than 700,000 times, Chun said in a Facebook post on Wednesday that has been liked by 13,000 people and shared more than 3,000 times. |
| He arrived on Tuesday morning to find “the door locks to my business had been drilled out and the windows glued shut”. | He arrived on Tuesday morning to find “the door locks to my business had been drilled out and the windows glued shut”. |
| His inbox was full of messages “containing unprintable abuse and describing group plans for physical attacks”, he said. | His inbox was full of messages “containing unprintable abuse and describing group plans for physical attacks”, he said. |
| “My voicemail account has mercifully reached capacity and I’ve long stopped listening to the graphic and explicit death threats.” | “My voicemail account has mercifully reached capacity and I’ve long stopped listening to the graphic and explicit death threats.” |
| Chun, a professional artist, said he and his customers had also received online threats of “vandalism, arson, murder [and] mass violence”. | Chun, a professional artist, said he and his customers had also received online threats of “vandalism, arson, murder [and] mass violence”. |
| Despite the furore, or because of it, 26 January was his busiest Australia Day on record. | Despite the furore, or because of it, 26 January was his busiest Australia Day on record. |
| Related: Australia Day: what makes us great, and what that greatness demands of us | Stan Grant | Related: Australia Day: what makes us great, and what that greatness demands of us | Stan Grant |
| “The provocative blackboard seems innocuous now, entirely disproportionate to the scale of the hatred,” he said. | “The provocative blackboard seems innocuous now, entirely disproportionate to the scale of the hatred,” he said. |
| “Indeed, taken on face value, the blackboard was possibly the most Australian thing that one could write about ‘Australia Day’, in a country that claims to be proud of its ‘larrikin’ irreverence and self-effacing humour.” | “Indeed, taken on face value, the blackboard was possibly the most Australian thing that one could write about ‘Australia Day’, in a country that claims to be proud of its ‘larrikin’ irreverence and self-effacing humour.” |
| The message was intended to be lighthearted, but he stood by its sentiment that Australia Day was “a singular atrocity”. | The message was intended to be lighthearted, but he stood by its sentiment that Australia Day was “a singular atrocity”. |
| “Celebrating January 26 at best trivialises – and at worst glorifies – the invasion of this continent, declaration of terra nullius, massacre and attempted genocide of its 30,000-year-old Indigenous population,” he said. | “Celebrating January 26 at best trivialises – and at worst glorifies – the invasion of this continent, declaration of terra nullius, massacre and attempted genocide of its 30,000-year-old Indigenous population,” he said. |
| “It is a day spent reveling [sic] in the mindless perpetuation of old myths and the clumsy fabrication of new ones. It is no accident that ‘Australia Day’ has been so effectively co-opted by an extremist minority as a thinly veiled anniversary of white privilege.” |