Words

I noticed last night that one of the television channels seem to have stopped calling the events in Christchurch a “mosque attack” and begun talking about a “terrorist attack”. The subtle change of words is concerning, because it changes the nature of the events.

When people say about the victims of the mosque attack, “They are Us”, it can be an expression of sympathy, but one implication is that this was an attack on us all. That is misleading. This was actually an attack on them. There was no attack on us. The only people killed and injured were Moslems.

This was not an attack on our lifestyle. It was an attack on their lifestyle. The people killed and injured were going to worship in a mosque on Friday afternoon. That is not part of the normal lifestyle here. Most people in New Zealand never go to worship at all, so they are not affected by such a threat. We are shocked, but the lifestyle of Moslems is seriously affected because they do not know if it will happen again.

I understand why the Prime Minister said of the murderer, “He is not us,” but that is also misleading. He is not a monster. He is a man with human DNA, and blood, muscles and bones, just like all of us. The difference is that he made some bad choices, perhaps because he was hurt, and then filled his heart and mind with the wrong stuff, allowing the powers of evil to get hold of him. That is not that uncommon. Many of us have done that at times. The difference in case is that he went further down the path of deception and dug deeper into evil.

Although he was Australian, he has lived in New Zealand for some time. There is plenty of hatred and anger in Christchurch, and a significant number of white supremacists live in the city. So in that sense, he is us.

Over the last few months, perhaps year, the level of violence seems to have ramped up in the city. Some really nasty incidents have occurred. Something to ponder is why has this been able to happen in a city called Christ Church, which means “gathering of people called by the Messiah”. Why have spirits of violence been able to gain a foothold in the city carrying the name Jesus? That is a challenge for people who follow him.