On Friday the fifteenth of March, a try-hard Nazi murdered
fifty people who were doing nothing except praying peacefully to their deity in
Christchurch, New Zealand. It’s been almost thirty years since the Aramoana
Massacre and The Kiwis’ felt safe. A broadly peaceful society, New Zealand didn’t
think it could happen again. But the Christchurch Massacre is a completely
different kettle of fish.
Aramoana was essentially a neighbourhood dispute that got
out of control and ended in thirteen fatalities attributed to the shooter.
Christchurch was a planned attack, specifically targeting a section of the
population in their places of worship, which a long way from getting pissed off
with your neighbour for letting his dog shit on your lawn.
The terrorist responsible for the massacre at Al Noor and
Linwood Mosques was an Australian. I say was because you be hard pressed to
find too many Australians who would claim him now, maybe Fraser Anning and the
eighteen other people who voted for him, but the rest of us have been shamed by
his actions and disowned the fanatic. I even feel a bit dirty writing about it.
But as a Student of Conflict it is my duty.
First, let me address the obvious. These right-wing nutjobs
who are afraid of “being swamped by Asians” (Pauline Hanson) or want to ban
Muslim immigration into their country (Hanson, Anning, Trump et al.) conveniently
forget it ain’t their bloody country to begin with. The Land was stolen, even
The Waitangi Treaty was only signed after several bloody battles at the time of
colonisation. The idea that those countries invaded by Western European nations
somehow belongs to The White Man is something I am more than happy to call
bullshit on.
Thankfully New Zealand elected a competent, thoughtful,
compassionate and sensible woman with a dignity so rarely seen in politics. Jacinda
Ardern wore a hijab out of respect, Pauline Hanson wore a burqa as a cheap
political stunt. New Zealand’s Prime Minister needs to be held up as the gold
standard for politicians in liberal democracies given the way she is handling
the situation she has been saddled with. Addressing the Parliament in three
languages demonstrates her appreciation that she is the leader of a
multi-cultural country whose biggest disputes have been – until this point – which
Super Rugby franchise you support. Good luck seeing Scomo or Bill Shorten pull
that off.
What is interesting though is that the terrorist responsible
for the Christchurch attacks didn’t try it on in Australia. He’s not a Kiwi.
Sure, he lived there, but his argument that he was defending a way of life and
Western Christian values is a load of crap. If he really cared that much, he
would have come back over the ditch and tried it on in his country of birth. Or
even more logically go back to Ireland, England or Scotland (from where he
claims his heritage) and give it a crack over there. He might have found some
allies in the Leave campaign who want to see the back of their former colonial
slaves and be shot dead by the SAS.
Not that I would wish that upon the people of the UK and
Ireland, but it makes more sense than trying to stem the “invasion by Muslims”
in a country he has no familial ties to. What made New Zealand attractive to
him was the ease with which one could acquire firearms. Following Aramoana very
little was done regarding gun control on The Shaky Isles, whereas after Port
Arthur, Australia quickly overhauled the legislation to prevent a similar event
taking place. It is pleasing to see Ms Ardern being proactive around this issue.
But what really shows her calibre (not a pun) is her refusal to speak his name.
By robbing the shooter of their identity, Prime Minister
Ardern has taken away his notoriety – something he desires – and it seems to be
working. I won’t utter it and the news doesn’t seem to want to either.
Politicians on both sides of The Tasman have followed her lead and if you slept
through the last week, you’ll have to look it up for yourself.
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