The owner of a coffee shop that displayed a controversial Australia Day sign said he has received ‘graphic and explicit death threats’ since a photo of it went viral on social media.
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A blackboard sign placed in the Mister Jones coffee shop in Bermagui with the words “Yes, we’re open on national dickhead day” – a reference to the business opening on Australia Day.
The owner of the shop said he put up the sign “on a whim” and it was displayed for 15 minutes, but during that time a member of the public photographed it, posted it to the internet and it went viral, the Bega District News reports.
Rob Grimstone of Bermagui took the original photo of the sign because he “was disgusted in it as an Australian”. “It’s just not right,” he said.
He uploaded the photo to his personal Facebook account and someone known to him then posted it on the Meanwhile in Australia page.
The story had been covered by multiple media publications.
Mr Grimstone said he had received a call saying radio presenter Ray Hadley mentioned the incident.
“I never expected it to go as far as it has, but I’m glad it’s gone viral,” he said.
Since the photo went online, the owner of Mister Jones said he has received “graphic and explicit death threats” on his voicemail account as well as emails of “unprintable abuse and describing group plans for physical attacks”.
He said the provocative blackboard seemed disproportionate to the scale of the hatred he has received.
“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,” he said.
“…My blackboard’s message was addressed to no one in particular.
“Arguably, it offended those who experienced a moment of self-recognition,” the owner said.
“As these individuals continue to over-react, the sign only becomes truer.”
He said several hate pages had also been set up specifically to target his business.
On the morning of Australia Day, when the owner went to open his shop the locks to his business’s doors had been drilled out and the windows glued shut.
However, the shop opened and its owner said they had their largest Australia Day crowd on record, with customers coming from as far away as Batemans Bay and Merimbula.
On Australia Day 2015, at the entrance to the the coffee shop there was a sign stating “Strictly no patriotism beyond this point”.