Senator Nova Peris took the floor of the Australian Senate on Monday night with a stirring speech against racism. But as the Senator spoke about Adam Goodes and the proud history of Aboriginal people, her words were equally a tribute to her own experiences.
Just a few hours prior and in an ugly display of irony, Senator Peris had been the target of a hateful message posted to her Facebook page. A self-confessed racist, who we won't identify, called her a "bleeding heart coon" and said the British should have wiped out Aboriginal people.
The Northern Territory Senator went on to tell the Australian Senate and people, "if we see racism or discrimination, let us not ignore it - let us fight it head on by having an open and truthful discussion and debate about it."
Source: Facebook
She led by example, posting the racist remarks to her own Facebook page with her own comment: "Racism. #ItStopsWithMe".
Let us educate ourselves about each other, about the deep hurt that people feel
"Let us educate ourselves about each other, about the deep hurt that people feel when they have been denigrated, vilified and made to feel less human by those who are weak of mind and mean spirited.
We all bleed the one red blood
"We all bleed the one red blood. If we are to move forward as a nation and if we are going to close the gap on Aboriginal disadvantage, Aboriginal people must have a sense of pride in themselves and their culture. We cannot achieve anything without first believing in ourselves.
The online reaction has been almost universally supportive of Nova - who has a history of proudly displaying her Aboriginality. "That is awful," was one response. "I'm so sorry you have to deal with this..." was another.
The racist's photo, phone number and address were revealed shortly after his post by other users. So there's a lesson: being a proud racist can become a very public exercise.
Senator Peris' speech finally put the Adam Goodes war dance was finally on Parliament's agenda.
"The whole country was polarised by Adam Goodes's firm stance on naming and calling out racism in our football stadiums and off the field. Unfortunately, not everyone agrees with him, and the level of malice and criticism directed at Adam Goodes by some sections of our community can only be described as pure racism," she said.
