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Please take care before throwing rocks. Our culture is not perfect, but measure us by our response to this, and other, tragic events.

zapzupnz 8y ago
Our first mass shooting in a couple of decades, the last one being a madman in a remote town with a gun, and our initial responses are: - arrests - suppression of objectionable materials that could stoke the fires and cause more deaths, possibly from copy-cats - identity suppression so that the killer will not be martyred - a huge focus on the victims - a swift change of gun laws As opposed to the US, where it would be: - thoughts and prayers - "We should change gun laws. Not us, though, we want to get re-elected!" ~ President - the killer's name and photo plastered over every newspaper, television, and website
- tropo 8y ago
  A swift change in the gun laws is very interesting when you know more of the story. At the first mosque, somebody ran to get a gun for defense. They dissuaded the attacker, firing a couple shots at him, sending him fleeing. With different gun laws, the law-abiding person could not have done that. The attacker would of course be unlikely to follow the law.
shard972 8y ago
Then i would have to measure NZ pretty damn poorly. The response so far has been to do exactly what the shooter wanted while spouting hollow gestures about how they refuse to utter his name because "it's what he wanted". Maybe if his manifesto wasn't illegal to read, they could read it and maybe see that they are so caught up in the emotional signalling they are doing exactly what the shooter wanted them to do.
- zapzupnz 8y ago
  And yet, what we are doing is still the best thing; as opposed to broadcasting his name, reinforcing the legitimacy of martyrdom by committing heinous acts just to be remembered, and thus having the public swallow some sob story about Howe he wasn't breastfed as a baby, my country focuses on unity, peace, understanding, fraternity, and doing each other a good turn whilst minimising the potential for a bloody massacre, our first in decades, from happening again. Yeah, bloody terrible response.

zapzupnz 8y ago

Our first mass shooting in a couple of decades, the last one being a madman in a remote town with a gun, and our initial responses are: - arrests - suppression of objectionable materials that could stoke the fires and cause more deaths, possibly from copy-cats - identity suppression so that the killer will not be martyred - a huge focus on the victims - a swift change of gun laws As opposed to the US, where it would be: - thoughts and prayers - "We should change gun laws. Not us, though, we want to get re-elected!" ~ President - the killer's name and photo plastered over every newspaper, television, and website

tropo 8y ago
A swift change in the gun laws is very interesting when you know more of the story. At the first mosque, somebody ran to get a gun for defense. They dissuaded the attacker, firing a couple shots at him, sending him fleeing. With different gun laws, the law-abiding person could not have done that. The attacker would of course be unlikely to follow the law.

shard972 8y ago

Then i would have to measure NZ pretty damn poorly. The response so far has been to do exactly what the shooter wanted while spouting hollow gestures about how they refuse to utter his name because "it's what he wanted". Maybe if his manifesto wasn't illegal to read, they could read it and maybe see that they are so caught up in the emotional signalling they are doing exactly what the shooter wanted them to do.

zapzupnz 8y ago
And yet, what we are doing is still the best thing; as opposed to broadcasting his name, reinforcing the legitimacy of martyrdom by committing heinous acts just to be remembered, and thus having the public swallow some sob story about Howe he wasn't breastfed as a baby, my country focuses on unity, peace, understanding, fraternity, and doing each other a good turn whilst minimising the potential for a bloody massacre, our first in decades, from happening again. Yeah, bloody terrible response.