Massacre(s) in Christchurch - 3-15-19

Please,

[FONT=&quot]"Do not share the footage. Do not watch the footage. This is not part of normal life. The people who have committed this atrocity have wanted the attention. We should never normalise this. Do not share the[/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]footage. Do not watch the footage. This is not part of our daily lives. It should never be accepted as part of our daily lives."[/FONT]

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There are no words.

Because this thread is for Activism, Current Events and Hope - but oh god, hope is so fragile just now - here's a lesson from a prominent Australian Muslim tonight, on where responsibility lies.

United For Christchurch is taking online donations for the victims and their families.

https://www.launchgood.com/project/...ictims_of_the_new_zealand_mosque_shootings#!/

It's very easy to donate even from the U. S.

New Zealand is a nation in the Pacific, in Asia, and part of the cultures of Islam. As Jacinda said, 'they' are us. I struggle to even comprehend this event.

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

We've been there. I don't struggle to comprehend it, just like the speaker in mccardey's link wasn't shocked. When religions are demonized, the demons perpetrating that demonization call up the demons for whom sacred spaces are not holy, are not sanctuaries.

We'll chant for them.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

I have no words. It happens over and over, but I still can't comprehend the hate that would lead someone to choose this kind of evil. My heart aches for the victims and their loved ones. Thanks for linking the site for donations, though my link says "donation not available" right now. Maybe it's getting so much activity it's not working properly at the moment, so I'll check back later.

Yeah, so hard to know what to say. The shows of support and people standing in togetherness are inspiring. And, even beyond the usual suspects, the conversation needs to continue about who enables this.

Trump press conference just now was pretty disgusting. Trump went from reading a support statement to NZ then directly into promoting fear mongering, his veto so he can build the wall, and he brought "Angel families" and complimented them...

Faux concern over the slaughter of Muslims and more promoting of hate mongering for Trump's political gain..

MaeZe said:

{...} he brought "Angel families" and complimented them...

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I'm betting he treated them to stacks of burgers and fries afterwards.

Classy.

*shrug*

-cb

Siri Kirpal said:

Sat Nam! (literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

We've been there. I don't struggle to comprehend it, just like the speaker in mccardey's link wasn't shocked. When religions are demonized, the demons perpetrating that demonization call up the demons for whom sacred spaces are not holy, are not sanctuaries.

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That's true, but Aly is not only talking about religions - just to be clear. It's anytime we Other communities and people - particularly for political purposes. It's way past the time we can be surprised when viciousness in words translates to vicious acts.

Siri Kirpal said:

We'll chant for them.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

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That's lovely.

MaeZe said:

Trump press conference just now was pretty disgusting. Trump went from reading a support statement to NZ then directly into promoting fear mongering, his veto so he can build the wall, and he brought "Angel families" and complimented them...

Faux concern over the slaughter of Muslims and more promoting of hate mongering for Trump's political gain..

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This whole idea that we should be AFRAID of entire groups of people based on their nationalities, races, religions, orientations etc., is so antithetical to what I think it is to be an American that I can't understand why and how the conservatives are the ones who are associated with patriotism.

It's heartbreaking to see it happening in other countries too.

Does anyone know yet how the shooter got that gun and smuggled it into NZ?

New Zealand has always been a nation that has a lot of guns, about one gun for every three people, but little gun crime. Standard rifles are not hard to get. There has been a lot of complacency, which I am sure I have been part of. The 'it doesn't happen here' phenomenon.

The latest reports seem to suggest there was one shooter. One of the other detainees has been cleared, two other with unclear status.

Sat Nam! (Literally "Truth Name"--a Sikh greeting)

mccardey said:

That's true, but Aly is not only talking about religions - just to be clear. It's anytime we Other communities and people - particularly for political purposes. It's way past the time we can be surprised when viciousness in words translates to vicious acts.

That's lovely.

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True.

And thanks.

Blessings,

Siri Kirpal

And the hatemongers are acting with glee here in the States...
(I did not know this happened this afternoon. If I had realized it, I probably would have been arrested.)

[h=1]Trump supporter drives ‘build the wall’ float past New Zealand mourners at Cleveland City Hall[/h]

It looks like New Zealand may change its laws regarding semi-automatic assault weapons in the wake of this massacre.

RedRajah said:

And the hatemongers are acting with glee here in the States...
(I did not know this happened this afternoon. If I had realized it, I probably would have been arrested.)

Trump supporter drives ‘build the wall’ float past New Zealand mourners at Cleveland City Hall

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If you'd been arrested, I would've contributed toward bail money... totally justified.

Sunflowerrei said:

It looks like New Zealand may changes it laws regarding semi-automatic assault weapons in the wake of this massacre.

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Act fast, before the gun money starts flowing in to oppose - if it hasn't already...

veinglory said:

The latest reports seem to suggest there was one shooter. One of the other detainees has been cleared, two other with unclear status.

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This is what's making me sickest about this attack: it seems to be wholly the work of an extreme right Australian. Now we're officially exporting terrorists to our closest neighbours. What a fucking indictment of this country's absolute failure to get a handle on its own racist right wing. Shame on our shit media that fans the flames, our shit establishment that sits on its hands, our whole hand-wringing "ooh noo we can't a racist nation, we've got Asian fusion restaurants and everything" middle class, for whom gently pointing out the obvious is far worse a crime than actually being racist. I feel ashamed to be Australian today.

Albedo said:

This is what's making me sickest about this attack: it seems to be wholly the work of an extreme right Australian. Now we're officially exporting terrorists to our closest neighbours. What a fucking indictment of this country's absolute failure to get a handle on its own racist right wing. Shame on our shit media, our shit establishment, our whole hand-wringing "ooh noo we can't a racist nation, we've got Asian fusion restaurants and everything" middle class. I'm fucking ashamed to be Australian today. We're shit.

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We are indeed. We elected the guy who :

urged the shadow cabinet to capitalise on the electorate's growing concerns about "Muslim immigration", "Muslims in Australia" and the "inability" of Muslim migrants to integrate.

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I am grieving so hard for this country, for the progress it never made.

Albedo said:

This is what's making me sickest about this attack: it seems to be wholly the work of an extreme right Australian. Now we're officially exporting terrorists to our closest neighbours. What a fucking indictment of this country's absolute failure to get a handle on its own racist right wing. Shame on our shit media that fans the flames, our shit establishment that sits on its hands, our whole hand-wringing "ooh noo we can't a racist nation, we've got Asian fusion restaurants and everything" middle class, for whom gently pointing out the obvious is far worse a crime than actually being racist. I feel ashamed to be Australian today.

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Me fucking too.

What an absolute shitshow.

This is what you get when our supposed leaders keep imposing their divisive views upon the rest of the country so that individual careers can be extended at the expense of humanity, promoting fear via misinformation and outright lies. This is what you get when there is an unrelenting campaign of fearmongering based on race and religion. This is what you get when media is a thinly disguised mouthpiece for politics. Are these bigots the best people that our country can offer up as our public face? If so, we are truly fucked.

The animal that did this came from the town where I live. I’m glad I never knew him and I’m glad I will never meet him. This sick bastard DOES NOT REPRESENT US!!!!!

I expect that many people will soon forget their outrage and will once again allow themselves to be influenced by an entirely hypocritical and sensationalist cycle of unending bullshit. It would be nice to discover that our leaders will actually go against their natural instincts and provide something that resembles leadership (on this and other issues) but I sure as hell am not holding my breath. Everything about this is disgusting.

We used to have a litter awareness slogan in NSW years ago: “Do the right thing.” Maybe that should also apply to the garbage that has been elected to public office. I doubt that any of them would have the brains or decency to see the parallel, or to accept that they should shoulder any of the responsibility for this criminal tragedy.