Christchurch

[tee rex]

Today saw the memorial service in Christchurch, effectively bringing the public mourning/commemoration events to a close. It was beautifully done, the victims at the centre, heartfelt speeches and songs.

Moment when the hardest of hearts dissolved: a girl comes on to speak about her father, and this was her tribute, in full: "He passed away on March 15. He was a really nice man. Thank you." (exits stage).

[tee rex]

I don't think I'll be turning into a flag-waving, Tim Brooke-Taylor waistcoat-wearing royalist, but credit where it's due: William has delivered a cracker of a speech in Christchurch today:

https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/chr...terror-attacks

"You showed that when a particular community is targeted with prejudice and violence, simple acts – like wearing a headscarf or broadcasting the call to prayer – can reassure those who have reason to be afraid. You showed that an attack designed to divide a society against Muslims only brought us all closer to our Muslim friends. The Muslim community showed the world the true face of Islam as a religion of peace and understanding.

...

What happened here was fuelled by a warped ideology that knows no boundaries. The world has rightly united to fight the extremism that has made sorrowful brethren out of cities like New York, Paris, London, and Manchester and that has taken so many lives in Sri Lanka in recent days.

And so too we must unite to fight the violent brand of extremism that has led to fatal shootings in a church in Charleston, South Carolina and a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; a van attack on the streets of Finsbury Park in London; the murder of an MP in West Yorkshire; and now so many deaths in two mosques here in Christchurch.

Extremism in all its forms must be defeated. The message from Christchurch and the message from Al Noor and Linwood mosques could not be more clear - the global ideology of hate will fail to divide us.

And just as New Zealand has taken swift action to ban physical tools of violence, we must unite to reform the social technology that allowed hateful propaganda to inspire the murder of innocents."

Islamophobia, racism, gun laws, Facebook ... that's a good deal more than "thoughts and prayers".

[Tactical Genius]

So Tee Rex, what concrete laws have been put into place since the shooting. Have police gone after known white supremacists. Have the local population outed them?

[tee rex]

Major changes in gun laws (banning assault weapons, buy-back scheme, more planned), and yes, there have been several cases of white supremacists being "outed" - one was in court today.

[Gangster Octopus]

You do realise that Tim Brooke-Taylor was playing a part when he wore that waistcoat, don't you.

[Lurgee]

My B-in-Law is involved in the investigation as a police IT wonk. We were casually talking about peripheral stuff at the weekend. He mentioned how stressed out he is having a) had to watch the livecast of the shootings, and b) diving into the endless sewer of hate as the police try to get a handle on the white supremacist culture which has generally gone under the radar. He commented on how he'd always know these guys were out there but never realised how many of them there are or how hate filled they are. Incidentally, he isnt white, which possibly adds a certain frission to what he is reading. He's also a keen sporting shooter and is a bit morose about having to give up his guns. He's a very laid back guy, but some of the comments he made and his demeanour made me think he might actually be traumatised by what he is doing, rather than just 'a bit stressed.'

My own thoughts on the matter are:

a) There have been lots of "I can't believe this could happen here" type hand-wringing. But why was anyone surprised by this? New Zeland is not a sweet innocent country. It has a dark side a mile wide. This is the country where toddlers get put in tumble dryers and someone got away with punching twin babies to death. It had shit gun laws (Now, my B-in-L would argue it has shit gun laws the other way). There are huge mental health problems in New Zealand. Often we deal with them by killing ourselves. But is it so conceivable that someone a few addles short of the usual quotient would pick up a gun and turn it on other people rather than himself?

b) I don't think the perpetrator will actually turn out to be part of any meaningful white supremacist organisation. Like school shooters in the USA, he will turn out to be some nebbish who couldn't even fit in with the freaks that make up white supremacist organisations. Let's be honest. Most subcultures aren't about what they say on the tin. They are about giving yourself a sense of belonging and scoring chicks. The members have a vested interest in not doing large scale stupid stuff like shooting people. This loser will turn out to be someone fascinated by some of the ideas, but not really part of the scene. A nothing wannabe who actually took it all more seriously than the majority of WS supremacist troglodytes.

[Tactical Genius]

Major changes in gun laws (banning assault weapons, buy-back scheme, more planned), and yes, there have been several cases of white supremacists being "outed" - one was in court today.

Thanks.
Looks like some solid progress rather than the "hug a Muslim" nonsense I was reading. Hopefully, other countries will follow the lead rather than burying their heads in the sand and claiming these people are "lone wolves". Or just snapped due to some external event.

[Tactical Genius]

My B-in-Law is involved in the investigation as a police IT wonk. We were casually talking about peripheral stuff at the weekend. He mentioned how stressed out he is having a) had to watch the livecast of the shootings, and b) diving into the endless sewer of hate as the police try to get a handle on the white supremacist culture which has generally gone under the radar. He commented on how he'd always know these guys were out there but never realised how many of them there are or how hate filled they are. Incidentally, he isnt white, which possibly adds a certain frission to what he is reading. He's also a keen sporting shooter and is a bit morose about having to give up his guns. He's a very laid back guy, but some of the comments he made and his demeanour made me think he might actually be traumatised by what he is doing, rather than just 'a bit stressed.'

My own thoughts on the matter are:

a) There have been lots of "I can't believe this could happen here" type hand-wringing. But why was anyone surprised by this? New Zeland is not a sweet innocent country. It has a dark side a mile wide. This is the country where toddlers get put in tumble dryers and someone got away with punching twin babies to death. It had shit gun laws (Now, my B-in-L would argue it has shit gun laws the other way). There are huge mental health problems in New Zealand. Often we deal with them by killing ourselves. But is it so conceivable that someone a few addles short of the usual quotient would pick up a gun and turn it on other people rather than himself?

b) I don't think the perpetrator will actually turn out to be part of any meaningful white supremacist organisation. Like school shooters in the USA, he will turn out to be some nebbish who couldn't even fit in with the freaks that make up white supremacist organisations. Let's be honest. Most subcultures aren't about what they say on the tin. They are about giving yourself a sense of belonging and scoring chicks. The members have a vested interest in not doing large scale stupid stuff like shooting people. This loser will turn out to be someone fascinated by some of the ideas, but not really part of the scene. A nothing wannabe who actually took it all more seriously than the majority of WS supremacist troglodytes.

Great post and very informative.
Regarding point B, alot of these White Supremacists are affiliated to groups like Atomwaffen, the Proud boys, Hammerskins and the Aryan Nation. Althogh not card carrying members, many of these guys subscribe to the underlying ideology and that must be tackled in the same zeal as extremist Islamic fundamentalist ideology.