I feel sad about the consequences for New Zealand. An array of see-it-perfectly well social liberals will advocate the restriction of free speech from those they disagree with. Without question, Tarrant`s manifesto should be taken down, it clearly incites and celebrates violence against others. However, less extreme yet noxious ideas should not be automatically banned from the internet or public meetings.
We need to do more, much more to challenge all forms of bigotry and hatred. This includes on a personal level calling out anyone and everyone who peddles the lies and hatreds. It means physically protecting where necessary any people that are being targetted for abuse for their race, religion, ethnicity, sex or gender.
I’m taking my 9 year old daughter to the climate protest today, which means she’s wagging a day from school.
Part of the answer, the most important part, we have already seen. In the floral tributes outside the nation’s mosques. In the images of the imam and the rabbi embracing each other. In the Pasifika voices raised in a hymn of heart-breaking poignance. In the Maori and Pakeha faces wet with tears, yet set in grim defiance. In the passionate cry of the massacre survivor: “This is not New Zealand!” In the nearly $5 million already raised to support the victims’ families. The answer already given by the people of New Zealand, united in grief, is unequivocal: When confronted with such reckless hate, the only possible answer is aroha – love.
The wrong answer; the answer the terrorist is always hoping the strategic targets of his rage will give; is to meet recklessness with recklessness; hate with hate.
All guns need to be registered with the police.
All semi- automatic and automatic weapons should be banned and the sale of devices that can facilitate the self loading of rifles should also be banned. No citizen in our country needs such a weapon.
…so after National embarked upon a far right conspiracy about the UN we had the co-leader of the Greens punched by a man yelling angry things about the UN and we had this diseased human being scrawl messages about the UN on his guns…
In a lot of the angry debate swirling right now, please let us remember that this diseased human chose Christchurch BECAUSE NZ is a peaceful progressive multi-cultural society, this violence IS NOT a reflection of us, we were targeted because we are good.
If only we could spy on white supremacists with the ease we spied on Nicky Hager and it’s not good enough to say, ‘he wasn’t on a watch list’ when all the watch lists are focused on Māori, Environmentalists, Greenpeace, the Greens, Earthquake victims and the MANA Party!
Yesterday we witnessed the best and worst in humanity in one day.
49 people murdered in Christchurch and many injured in an act of hate, while thousands of school students ignored warnings of punishment to protest our lack of progress on climate change.
Both events are connected by the complacency of New Zealand governments over many years to regulate on some serious issues in the greater public good.
We can but hope that those fundamentally, quintessentially Kiwi characteristics of an inexorable resiliency of spirit and cast-iron commitment to community, mean that at least here – here of all places, in what should otherwise be (but sadly, often isn’t), “the best of all possible worlds” – “the lights” may be dimmed somewhat … but that they do not , *cannot* , go out in perpetuity.