Is there anywhere more secularist or more peaceful than New Zealand? The possession of firearms is pretty restrictive in New Zealand and they enforce their laws about as well as might be expected. Only about 5% of New Zealanders own firearms as compared with more than 40% here.
A gunman has killed 49 people in two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. The New York Times reports:
Forty-nine people were killed in shootings at two mosques in central Christchurch, New Zealand, on Friday, in a terrorist attack that Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern described as “an extraordinary and unprecedented act of violence.â€
• Officials said that one man in his late 20s had been charged with murder, and that two explosive devices were found attached to a vehicle that they had stopped.
• A Muslim leader in New Zealand said the attack was especially shocking as it took place around Friday Prayer. The police urged people to stay away from the mosques until further notice.
• A gunman streamed a live video of the attack on Facebook, and he appeared to have posted a manifesto online.
Shots were fired at Al Noor Mosque on Deans Avenue in the center of the city and at Linwood Mosque, about three miles away, the police said.
The country’s police commissioner, Mike Bush, said in an evening news conference that 41 people had been killed at Al Noor Mosque and seven at Linwood Mosque, and that another victim had died at Christchurch Hospital.
The police said that four people, including three men and one woman, had been taken into custody. Prime Minister Scott Morrison of Australia said that one of them was Australian.
If such an horrific attack can take place in New Zealand, it can take place anywhere.
The contrast between this post and the previous one is rather stark.
While I do not condone mass murder, it is plain that there is no place for Islam or Muslims in the West, and that they should be expelled.
Isn’t it? I contain multitudes.
There are valuable similarities and contrasts between the two. Both the FT and the NYT articles blame the West, for example. And I see a grave difference between a single individual or a handful of individuals going on a rampage with a concerted campaign over a dozen years involving hundreds of thousands of people.
Also, the New Zealand story is one of personal superempowerment. A single individual can do more damage now than a World War II platoon could. The story of DAESH is one of group empowerment and organization.
Bellingcat has a very interesting initial analysis on the shooter’s manifesto:
https://www.bellingcat.com/news/rest-of-world/2019/03/15/shitposting-inspirational-terrorism-and-the-christchurch-mosque-massacre/
I forgot to add – that his online presence actions and in-jokes with are remarkably consistent with what I’ve seen with other violent radicals. The two I have the most familiarity with are jihadist groups and the participates in the Balkan civil wars in the mid-1990’s.
I skimmed through his manifesto and the gist of what I read is he wants his deed to cause increased repression against whites, so that whites will revolt. So he invokes any meme that he hopes the media will pick up on and make a larger issue about (like Youtube personalities such as PewDiePie), and even crediting Fortnite for training him to be a killer (a game that tens of millions, particularly teenagers, play). I don’t think the media will be able to help themselves.
I’m xenophobic myself, but this man’s a coward. If that word has any sting anymore.
And as per Andy’s links his motivation may have been status and prestige within his peer group. He also wanted to live to enjoy that.
Could take place anywhere? I’m from Orlando, and it already happened here. Worse happened in Vegas. We know why the Pulse shooter did it, still don’t know why Vegas happened, and both law enforcement & the media want to keep it that way. At least TGIC (that guy in Christchurch) told us why, although I’ve already seen it distorted by the media, much to the shooter’s delight, I expect.
So yes, it can happen anywhere, and has happened most places already. Maybe Iceland is safe?
Modern guns are great force multipliers.
Steve
Vanilla Isis.