Friday was an awful day. It was the day that New Zealand bore witness to the worst terrorist attack ever conducted on our soil. This act of hate and violence was abhorrent and unquestionably a criminal act of terror.
In all, it’s been a horrific chapter in New Zealand’s history, but it has united our nation. Our local media, government, police, first responders and communities have all responded above and beyond, as they always do.
We as a nation have shown resilience, kindness, compassion, support and love to the victims, their families and each other. We have mostly ignored the individual criminal, his motives, and his agenda, ensuring his message of hate doesn’t receive the attention he was seeking. This is an incredibly powerful thing to do as a community and as a nation and one that proves New Zealand’s collective psyche for peace and tolerance.
Of special note, our Prime Minister has been exceptional. She has led from the front and has acted like a human being first and a politician second. She has consoled the victims, she has re-assured the public through her language and demeanor, and has ensured all emotional outpouring be directed appropriately to the victims and the Muslim community. Her leadership has bought us all together in a time of need and she has done us all very proud.
Unfortunately, however, now that we have had a chance to digest what has happened, we need to address the uncomfortable reality of Friday’s attack. This attack wasn’t an attack on New Zealand. It was an attack on the Muslim community conducted through an extremely violent act of terror in Christchurch. We as a nation rightly feel the pain and anger of this event but non-Muslim New Zealanders were never going to be the target of such a crime. We were never in danger. We need to get that clear in our minds so we can address truly why this happened and how we can improve as a society.
First, the events of Friday’s attack were conducted by a young white Australian-born terrorist. He was the manifestation of a growing global movement that causes more terrorist acts in ‘the West’ than any other hate movement. White Nationalism.
For those not aware of what White Nationalism is, it is a movement which espouses the belief that white…
