Racism is rising . . . and we must rise against it

This may or may not be us, but they certainly walk among us. The man accused of attacking the Masjid Al Noor mosque was from Australia so perhaps our cousins next door could also explore the conditions that could have radicalised him.

Racism has always been around, but in the past couple of years it’s seems to come more out in the open with a vengeance. We all need to care when racist stuff happens, not just the people who are affected by it.

We all need to call it out, and stamp it out. It was great that those weird Canadians, Stefan Molyneux and Lauren Southern, couldn’t find a venue to hire so they could speak to their followers. We need to keep doing things like that.

The learnings from this – for the whole world – will surely include the need to widen the scope of people who need to be watched with vigilance. Perhaps white supremacists need their own category of terrorism.

You have to watch the skinheads, nationalists and follow up the racist hurters on social media. Perhaps part of the reason those in custody didn’t appear on any security watch lists is because of the sheer volume of people with the same views. You can’t see the trees for the woods.

The national flags around New Zealand on public buildings will be at half-mast until further notice, and rightfully so. There should be an official national period of mourning. But this isn’t about us, or New Zealand’s image to ourselves, or to the world.

This is the time for grieving the people who were lost. For the families dealing with the loss of precious loved ones. The victims of various ages, from children to the elderly. And to those who are still injured and needing treatment. For New Zealand’s entire Muslim community.

They are in our hearts.