Older man unleashes about young woman's Australia Day T-shirt: 'Spoiled brat generation'
The Australia Day confrontation played out on board a Melbourne tram earlier today.
A young woman was the target of an Australia Day rant by a man who approached her on a tram "completely unprompted" accusing her of wearing an offensive T-shirt while shocked onlookers watched on.
The scene played out on board a tram in Melbourne on Friday, when Olive Snell was travelling across the city with two friends.
"This man approached me and my two friends on a tram completely unprompted," Snell said. "My shirt read 'just a reminder, we don't celebrate genocide' — apparently he has an issue with that, saying, 'why would you wear such a provocative T-shirt? and 'there’s never been genocide in this country', followed by this exchange filmed by my friend."
Woman's shirt attracts rant from man on Melbourne tram
In the footage the man, who looks to be aged in his 60s or 70s, can be seen aggressively yelling at the young woman (who is not pictured) while standing in the aisle of the tram.
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"You denigrate Australia by wearing a T-shirt like that," the man says. The woman responds saying "we're not speaking to you" before being interrupted by the man, "Yes you are, you're wearing a T-shirt that I can see. It's offensive, I find it offensive, you're a disgrace — a spoilt brat generation."
Another woman out of view, possibly the tram's driver, can then be heard trying to diffuse the situation, telling the man he can't act like that on the tram. Another man walks through the aisle with a companion saying "I love your T-shirt" to the first woman. The older man then exits the tram.
Many people responding in the comments said that, while today's public holiday remains hugely divisive among the public, there's never an excuse to verbally assault a stranger.
"Well done on staying so calm. And it was good to see you were supported by the driver and other guy," a person wrote. "This is so disgusting," said a second. "The irony of people like this calling Gen Z 'snowflakes' [and] he’s having a tantrum over a shirt," wrote a third.
Snell later posted another video, below, where she revealed the shirt which had offended the man on the tram. She said she had made the shirt herself.
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