The Harrowing Hours and Defiant Aftermath of the NZ Mosque Shooting
October 13, 2019 4:15 PM   Subscribe

GQ's New Zealand correspondent files an excellent in-depth piece on the massacre of Muslim worshippers in Christchurch and the people it affected. "On March 15, when a white supremacist livestreamed his mass shootings of a mosque in Christchurch, New Zealand, a country with one of the world's lowest gun homicide rates was stunned to silence. But only momentarily. The deaths of 51 New Zealanders, mostly Muslim immigrants, would not be met with a tepid countermeasure but a swift, clear response. Sean Flynn reports from Christchurch about the day of the massacre—and the days that followed."

(Sean Flynn follows our desire not to mention the shooter by name, and I would ask you do the same).
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen (8 comments total) 29 users marked this as a favorite
 
Really nicely written. Brutal.
posted by Construction Concern at 6:34 PM on October 13, 2019 [3 favorites]


It was hard not to weep at my desk.
posted by i_am_joe's_spleen at 7:02 PM on October 13, 2019 [4 favorites]


Yeah I couldn’t read some parts of it - just had to skim a few paragraphs sometimes to get a sense - knowing it would be hard in places. But it is powerful and worth trying to read and I’m sure I’ll try again later.

I am totally onboard with not naming the white supremacist - and hope others respect that - but I would have preferred an identifier not based on nationality. The fact of the white supremacist’s country of birth is - as very hard to swallow as it was when the massacre occurred, and as tempting as it was to place some blame on “the other” and “outsiders” - is just that - one sole fact which to me is irrelevant ( I appreciate it may not be to others). I honestly can’t say that the white supremacist couldn’t have been from a town or city in NZ - and that hurts as well.
posted by inflatablekiwi at 7:52 PM on October 13, 2019 [1 favorite]


I could barely make it through that.
I am amazed at the resilience of the Muslim community, and New Zealand's response to that horrific event.

I live in Canada, and we have seen a steady rise of this kind of hate, partly spurred on by right wing politicians for their own gain. Andrew Scheer has a slight lead in the polls, and the more you dig around in his enterprise, the more disgusting it gets. I am horrified at the prospect of him forming the next government.

Kudos to Ahearn for the powerful way she responded; I wish all leaders were like that.
posted by Phlegmco(tm) at 11:46 PM on October 13, 2019 [3 favorites]


I honestly can’t say that the white supremacist couldn’t have been from a town or city in NZ

Perhaps. But he wasn’t. He was from Australia, where our political leaders and media spew white supremacist, anti-Islamic bile on a near daily basis.
posted by His thoughts were red thoughts at 2:27 AM on October 14, 2019 [9 favorites]


As the author notes, it is a source of pride for us not to mention the gunman's name, and of course he is not named in the article itself. The media here have a protocol in which they have agreed to avoid using his name unless strictly necessary.
posted by vac2003 at 11:39 AM on October 14, 2019 [3 favorites]


Kudos to Ahearn

Who?
posted by HiroProtagonist at 9:27 PM on October 14, 2019


.
posted by Joe in Australia at 5:37 AM on October 15, 2019


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