Our Media Glass House researchers noticed something very curious about far right-wing bloviator Andrew Bolt’s coverage of what The Bug reckons to be the knee-jerk and gutless decision by a Melbourne local council to paint over public artwork on a retail building in the face of allegations it is antisemitic. (main picture)
The mural by street artist Michael Porter on shops at Balaclava is to be removed by the Port Phillip Council after an outcry on social and some mainstream media sparked by complaints from a handful of members of the local Jewish community claiming to be offended that the work repeated common antisemitic characteristics, notably offensive stereotypical long noses.
Our MGH teams think the council went to water for no good reason and should have backed the artist who reportedly said the two characters depicted were actually based on himself and his late brother.
After a few minutes of online research about Mr Porter and his catalogue of public art, our researchers also think anyone of Jewish faith offended by the Balaclava mural should really stay indoors and not risk clapping eyes on some of his other works in other Melbourne suburbs. (below)
The aforementioned right-wing Bolt bought into the argument during an appearance on his right-wing political commentary program on the right-wing Murdoch media’s right-wing Sky News channel. (below)
He reported the artist’s rejection of claims of antisemitism and his statements about the mural being of him and his brother.
He asked his viewers to make up their own minds before doing it for them, as usual, by adding: “A little bit of whitewash might be in order.”
But what Bolt also made clear early on in his diatribe was that the mural had been funded “by the state government”.
That’s the Victorian state government. The Victorian Labor Party state government. Of course, Labor is to blame – as always!
Bolt totally let the council off the hook after it had essentially painted the painter as an antisemite, something our MGH teams think would normally have seen him go out of his way to expose what could otherwise be framed as weak and woke decision-making.
But blaming Labor is the core business of Bolt and the Murdoch media. Always.
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In drafting this item we had considered adding to our collage of Michael Porters’s work the one below from his online portfolio.
We hesitated and then decided against it for fear that someone, somewhere would see a swastika in it.
But on a serious note, our MGH teams do believe that hysteria over fake antisemitism claims should be resisted if real instances are to be stamped out.
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