NZ in wake of shootings
Bangladeshi cricketers sleeping in groups was itself a powerful image. Sport, the good stuff that rises far above tribalism and hooliganism, holds people together. It is not a coincidence that Wellington’s vigil was held at the Basin Reserve, the capital’s cricket ground.
When Roy Krishna scored the Phoenix’s opening goal against the Western Sydney Wanderers he knelt on the turf in a tribute to the suffering of New Zealand’s Islamic community, of which his wife is a part. It saddens me that the referee sent Krishna off for defending himself late in the game, lacking sensitivity to the occasion.
These are delicate times. Our prime minister has spoken beautifully on occasions but words can be so fragile. When Ardern says the gunman is not us; when she says ‘‘we utterly reject and condemn you;’’ when Scott Morrison, the Australian prime minister, says, ‘‘He’s not human. He does not deserve a name;’’ I wonder if they would have used the same words if the killer had been Muslim. Selective demonisation is an incendiary policy. It can blow up in our faces.
Last month Ardern was slow to condemn the bombing by Jaish-e-Mohammed that killed 43 Indians. Was she too liberally sensitive to stick her pale fingers in the Kashmir melting pot? Murder is murder. It needed the intervention of Kiwi Weekender, the Kiwi Indian website, to prise a comment, long after many other countries had responded with messages of sympathy and condemnation.
We must be careful. Ardern must be careful not to be selective about whom she condemns and whom she forgives. Inclusivity means everyone, even the worst in our society. Evil white supremacists need as much love as evil Islamic fanatics. Don’t hate hatred, show it love, because then there is no angry response.
At its finest sport is not selective. Half of New Zealand stood against apartheid because it was selective. The Warriors came together to play league on Saturday. A league of humans. David Fusitu’a led prayers the night before and nearly 20,000 people assembled to watch.
Coach Stephen Kearney said, ‘‘We’re a footy club full of all types of people – Tongans, Samoans, Australians, everything. I think it was really important we got on with things
. . . I’m just pleased we were able to put on a performance that was worthy of that.’’
As Kane Williamson said, ‘‘the need for love in our country has never been higher . . . Let’s come together.’’
Let’s come together in sport. Let’s come together in hope. Let’s come together in song. We can be the flower in the gun. England coach Eddie Jones is bringing in a psychologist to help his team’s mental fragility leading to the Rugby World Cup. Blowing a 31-point lead to eventually draw 38-all with Scotland in their last Six Nations clash was the final straw for Jones who has admitted his team’s struggles under pressure has worried him. Jones won’t name the specialist help he will enlist other than confirming the person will be a woman. He believes England’s problems date back to the last World Cup exit, a quarterfinal embarrassment as hosts in 2015. He even likened it to the All Blacks struggles during New Zealand’s long World Cup drought.