A crowdfunding campaign has paid a A$500 fine for an activist who made a slur at the Australian Prime Minister.
Danny Lim, a regular protester with a sandwich board in the inner city, wore a sign that read: "Peace Smile, People can Change, Tony You Can't." But, the "a" was upside down, turning the final word into an expletive.
A police officer spotted the sign on Monday and slapped a fine on the happy campaigner.
"It was the offensive nature of the placard that caused us to take action," Rose Bay Inspector Tracy Trevallion told the Daily Telegraph. "He was also ordered to move on from the area ... he can return at another time but not with offensive banners."
A bunch of people thought the fine was ridiculous and not deserving, so they kicked off a crowdfunding campaign to get the A$500 paid. It took less than 56 minutes to raise the money.
"I'm not defending the use of the C word, but this is hardly worthy of a $500 fine from the police," crowdfunding organiser, James Brechney, wrote. "Peaceful activism in Australia should be celebrated and so should the practice of free speech. We need people like Danny Lim in our world, we should be proud of them -- not punishing them."
Hanging out with Danny Lim this morning to let him know the people are behind him! @hillmanjt pic.twitter.com/T34577LqiP— James Breko Brechney (@breko) August 24, 2015
Brechney told Mashable Australia he decided he wanted to help after he saw Lim's plight in the local papers. "When I shared out the article to my networks a few people suggested they wanted to contribute to Danny's fine and I thought that was an amazing idea," he said.
Brechney, who is the man behind the DIY Rainbow project, said characters like Lim add value to our society and their views should be respected.
"I live right where Danny is often on the median strip spreading his messages of happiness. He's a local hero around these parts," he said on Tuesday. "Danny's an eccentric guy ... His attitude to life is one of giving. He has that ability to mix activism with fun. He's an absolute legend."
"Sydneysiders celebrate people like Danny Lim, we don't want our cops fining him for an upside down A. There's confusion about which signs he makes are offensive and which ones aren't. Does he need to submit his signs for approval to the local force before he walks freely around the city?"
(function(d, s, id) { var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0]; if (d.getElementById(id)) return; js = d.createElement(s); js.id = id; js.src = "//connect.facebook.net/en_US/sdk.js#xfbml=1&version=v2.3"; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs);}(document, 'script', 'facebook-jssdk'));What a legend!!Posted by James Breko Brechney on Monday, August 24, 2015
When told the good news, Lim said he was "thrilled" with the support from the community and is deciding whether to pay the fine or fight it in court. If he fights it, Brechney said Lim will donate the raised funds to charity.
"I suggested he make more signs with the funds but he is a very humble man and would prefer it to go to charity," he said.
This isn't the first time Lim has been seen with the same sign taking aim at politicians. In August, an unaware politician Malcolm Turnbull got caught in an awkward photograph with Lim and the sign. Turnbull is in the same political party as Abbott.
Do you think Malcolm agrees with Danny Lim's sign.#auspol pic.twitter.com/KB6uSVhQE8— Christine Hauer (@c_hauer) August 25, 2015
Lim, a former local councillor, is known around the streets of Sydney for his charm, personality and placards. He is often seen in the inner city suburbs smiling and waving at commuters.
Luckily, the people have come together to save Lim's day.
Letting Danny Lim know that we've crowd funded his $500 fine. He's awesome. #auspol pic.twitter.com/wLjo9GydjR— James Breko Brechney (@breko) August 25, 2015