The Project host Waleed Aly is known for consistently ~nailing it~ in his frequent editorials on the show, but his latest effort has divided opinion, after he asked Aussies to "send forgiveness viral".
Aly made the plea following the controversy surrounding Channel 9 host Sonia Kruger's call on Monday to ban Muslim immigration in reaction to the Nice terror attack.
Kruger was deluged with online comments calling her a racist and bigot, and she delivered an impassioned defence of her comments on Tuesday morning.
On Tuesday evening, Aly said how we deal with fear was becoming "the defining measure that determines us as a people", and that fear leads to outrageous statements, which leads to a hardening of views on both sides of the divide.
Instead, Aly argued, we should promote forgiveness, and meet in the middle, because the cycle of outrage is what leads to people like Pauline Hanson being elected to the senate.
"Sonia Kruger is not evil, she's scared. And she admitted to not feeling safe. How do you think she feels now? How do you expect her to react?", Aly asked.
"It feels good to choose destruction, but right now I think we need to try construction," Aly said. "I'm talking about assuming the best in people, showing others radical generosity in the face of their hostility, even when it hurts."
Aly's speech has already gone viral, with more than 65,000 shares and three million views on Facebook.
And plenty of people have praised his call for reason.
Sometimes I feel like the entire world is a block of wood just waiting to be nailed by Waleed Aly.
Fantastic piece by Waleed Aly. Really worth listening to in full. https://t.co/fYcQ1KR0tQ
This is what media should be. What a beautiful, smart and responsible piece. Thank you. #SendForgivenessViral https://t.co/wlI4w9GQXy
But many people, especially people of colour and those from Australia's Muslim community, said the comments missed the mark.
When Kruger unreservedly apologizes, then we can #sendforgivenessviral. Until then, I am not apologizing for calling out bullshit racism.
Youth don't need privileged Muslims telling them to forgive Kruger & sit down 4 tea. At what point do u stop demanding our responsibility?
Disagree with Waleed Aly's views on Kruger's comments. Disproportionate expectations to tolerate racism #theProject
I get why Waleed wants to #sendforgivenessviral. It's a nice idea. Imagine if that was honestly all it took to stop racism.
Many people used Twitter to explain why they don't think Aly's call will fix the problem.
And others said it shouldn't be up to the victims of racism to reason with bigots.
And others pointed out that it's not always easy to be constructive and reasonable with bigotry.
it's the remix to ignition the racists have good intentions gotta air their scared feelings so we can forgive 'em ð¤