(This post may contain disputed claims. We make no assertions as to the validity of the information presented by our Opinion Columnist. We are an opinion blog, not a traditional news outlet, and this post should be treated as such. Enjoy.)The owners of a well-known butcher’s shop are refusing to kowtow to “political correctness” and are fighting the many complaints that allege “their sign’s wording and images amounted to a depiction that was inciting hatred or contempt of people based on their religious practices as Muslims.” Well, Americans are supporting the Aussie butcher’s right to post his sign.
A butcher shop in Australia has refused to change signage that declares its products are “not halal-certified,” in defiance of advertising authorities alleging it was “inciting hatred” towards Islamic people by advertising its wares in such a way.
The Valley Butchers in Adelaide, South Australia, became the subject of a complaint to the Australian Advertising Standards Authority after the owners put up a sign that originally read “non-halal certified” on their storefront, surrounded by smaller stickers of Australian national emblems of kangaroos and emus.
Valley Butchers defended the sign as merely a factual answer to a frequently asked question about the origin of their meat: “The sign is only stating that we are not halal approved. In no way is it meant in a malice way,” it said, according to SBS News Australia.
“We where getting asked quite frequently whether we are halal approved so I am just stating that we are not and that saves a lot of wasted time,” said the owner of Valley Butchers.
Complainants from the community saw it another way, with one quoted in the Ad Standards finding alleging the signage “perpetuate[s] a culture of vilification towards religious minorities, that results in harm towards them…. It pokes fun of a specific group of people based on religious belief.”
The board agreed, saying the sign amounted to “inciting hatred or contempt” against Muslims.
“Using the phrase ‘non-Halal certified’ in conjunction with imagery of Australian animals was a suggestion that Islamic dietary practices are not Australian,” it said.
We can’t make this stuff up, folks. That’s why the owners of Valley Buther shop decided to fight the ridiculous accusations made in those complaints. They are refusing to change the sign, period.
“Firstly we at Valley Butchers would like to thank everyone for the support and encouragement, it’s been amazing! It’s wonderful how loud as Australians wherever we are around the world our voices can be heard, as long as we speak as one,” they wrote on their Facebook page.
“Secondly, as long as we own the shop the sign won’t ever come down! Thank you once again from the team at Valley Butchers!” they added.
Firstly we at Valley Butchers would like to thank everyone for the support and encouragement, it’s been amazing! It’s…
Posted by Valley butchers on Saturday, September 14, 2019
Immediately, the story went international with support for the Valley Butcher shop coming from many Americans.
“GOOD FOR HIM! HE DOESN’T LET ANIMALS BLEED TO DEATH, A SLOW & PAINFUL DEATH!” tweeted Twitter user Luana H.
GOOD FOR HIM! HE DOESN'T LET ANIMALS BLEED TO DEATH, A SLOW & PAINFUL DEATH! ‘Offensive to Muslims’: Aussie Butcher Refuses to Remove ‘Not Halal’ Sign https://t.co/IifkuTYVH2 via @BreitbartNews
— Luana H. (@LuanaMacLac) September 17, 2019
“If ‘Not Halal’ Sign is offensive to Muslims, then halal sign is also offensive to non Muslims,” tweeted Neal S. Richandan.
If ‘Not Halal’ Sign is offensive to Muslims , then halal sign is also offensive to non Muslims. Your opinion @ZomatoIN ?? https://t.co/1j38nKABPJ
— ନୀଲ୍ ଶ୍ରୀଚନ୍ଦନ୍ (@NeelSrichandan) September 17, 2019
“Why does everyone think they have more rights than anyone else?” tweeted Twitter user “Common Sense.”
‘Offensive to Muslims’: Aussie Butcher Refuses to Remove ‘Not Halal’ Sign https://t.co/IWF2HlkyTx via @BreitbartNews Why does everyone think they have more rights than anyone else?
— common sense (@commons62821171) September 17, 2019
“OFFENSIVE?? IT’S A SAFETY WARNING!” tweeted Vincent J. Curtis.
OFFENSIVE?? IT'S A SAFETY WARNING! ‘Offensive to Muslims’: Aussie Butcher Refuses to Remove ‘Not Halal’ Sign https://t.co/FFt5RXeZ9B via @BreitbartNews
— Vincent J. Curtis (@VincentJCurtis1) September 17, 2019
New York Times best-selling author Rober Spencer weighed in on the Valley Butcher shop debacle.
“There may be any number of reasons why people don’t want halal meat. They may object to halal slaughter for humanitarian reasons. They may consider it to be meat sacrificed to idols, as discussed in the New Testament. They may object to the fact that many halal certification organizations have links to jihad terror groups,” Spencer wrote.
“But we are not allowed to have any such concerns, either in the U.S. or in Australia. Several years ago, Pamela Geller and I met with USDA officials and presented a petition to them asking that they require that halal products be labeled as such, for the benefit of people who objected to halal food for humanitarian, religious, or other reasons. Ultimately the USDA never got back to us and ignored our petition,” Spencer added.
Of course, they ignored Spencer’s petition.
Australia has been one of those countries which bowed down to the United Nations’ pressure to take in thousands of Islamic refugees. This affected the nation “down under” by making Islam the second-largest religious grouping in Australia.
So, when the Valley Butcher shop says they decided to add the “not halal-certified” statement to their sign after they found many Muslims asking that exact question, the only motive they had was to save those Muslims valuable time who are looking for “halal” meat.
To say their motivation was some kind of bigotry is ridiculous. To say the Valley Butcher shop was inciting hatred is absurd. Only ludicrous leftists see a boogeyman of bigotry in every man’s mind who dare to address the “religion of peace” in any way shape or form. This is political correctness run amok once again.
