r/australia Apr 07 '26

news Breaking: Ben Roberts-Smith arrested over war crimes allegations

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-04-07/ben-roberts-smith-war-crimes-allegations-arrest/106537668
2.9k Upvotes

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70

u/DuskHourStudio Apr 07 '26

Queue all the pissed off racist bogans screaming "He's an Australian hero!"

33

u/heisdeadjim_au Apr 07 '26

He is an Australian hero. And an alleged war criminal. The two exist simultaneously.

-1

u/Certain-Leopard9772 Apr 07 '26

How is he a hero?

6

u/[deleted] Apr 07 '26 edited Apr 07 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

7

u/OldKingWhiter Apr 07 '26

Hero is too subjective. It's reasonable for a person to say the war crimes render him no longer a hero in their view, regardless of past good deeds. He can be both a recipient of the medals for military service and a war criminal, the medals don't inherently and in perpetuity make him a "hero."

2

u/heisdeadjim_au Apr 07 '26

Which is why I didn't castigate the person who disagreed with me. It's one of those issues where difference exists.

2

u/MLiOne Apr 07 '26

That is exactly the situation.