Australian gunman opens fire in Christchurch, NZ mosque

[davidbfpo]

Not a great deal of information revealed yet on what happened in Christchurch. The bravery of one Muslim who wrenched a firearm off the attacker, who then left and got into a car that was driven off. The (usual) allegations about a delayed police response, citing thirty minutes.

There is a mass of commentary on the use of a head-mounted video camera, with live broadcasting and the social media aspects. The political aspects get plenty of comment - invariably that some respectable, high profile politicians have been Islamophobic - and the lack of a law enforcement response to the extreme right.

The following is Professor Matthew Feldman, a XRW watcher via Twitter:

The most important thing to remember right now about the horrors in New Zealand is that a 3 year old was killed, along with scores of others, in a place of worship. Let us first focus on the victims. We are also conflating three different things, which I unpack in this thread
The first is anti-Muslim prejudice, which has broken out like a rash in Europe and beyond. It has become disgustingly normalised. It is usually non-violent, but that is a first step for all political violence. it is bigotry, and must be condemned by all citizens of good will. 2/
The second issue is self-directed or 'lone wolf' terrorism. Like all terrorism it is tactic that can be used by any ideology. But right-wing extremism has been at the forefront of this for several decades. It keys in with radical right thinking 3/
There is a 'superman' strand of thinking, based on social Darwinism, that sees one attacker setting off the 'race war'. These ideas are prevalent online, indicating a network of support for political violence. 'Lone wolf' terrorism is amongst the greatest security threats now 4/
The third aspect is how *we* deal with the fallout of a live-streamed, manifestoed act of savagery against innocents. That is a question for news outlets mainly, but responsibility in not fanning the flames rests with us all. Don't give the terrorist what he wants: exposure 5/
Now is not the time for political point scoring. This is a heart-rending tragedy, and we need joined up, evidence-based, long term responses to all 3: anti-Muslim hate; lone actor terrorism; and the fetishisation of suffering. Let us all be, and do, better for one another /Ends

So here are two articles. The first is by Jason Burke:https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/mar/15/what-does-christchurch-attack-tell-us-about-rightwing-extremism?

The second, is more polemical and critical of many politicians is by Medhi Hassan:https://theintercept.com/2019/03/15/...ter-manifesto/