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Some important words via FB from a child of Papakura, my friend @Manisha_Bee who lives in London where her job is literally “preventing violent extremism” for local govt. 1/
“I was really sad, and subsequently quiet on what’s happened. But now I’m angry. I could talk about peace, love and unity and the need for it at a time like this but that’s the easy stuff. We have to do the stuff that’s HARD.” 2/
“It may seem like the abhorrent views of white supremacy are over there, somewhere else - on the fringes and extremes of society. But there is a spectrum of hate. And terrorism sits at the far end, but begins with intolerance, racism and prejudice.” 3/
“We have to, and must confront the undercurrent of racism and prejudice in our communities and society. We must call it out when we hear it, when we see it. Because when we don’t, we are complicit.” 4/
“Is New Zealand racist? Yes, you know it is. Every time I return home to New Zealand I’m always struck by the casual racism that pervades conversations.” 5/
“If you needed a time to reconsider how you treat or speak about people that are different to you, now is that time.” 6/
“New Zealand is a country that was founded on notions of white supremacy, as was essentially the driving factor for colonisation. The structural racism impacting Maori, remains today.” 7/
“Do our politicians that represent us and mainstream media proportionately reflect the hyper-diversity of our modern communities in 2019? It’s glaringly obvious, no.” 8/
“When we challenge Islamist hate preachers, we recognise that their hate speech creates the ‘mood music’ for extremism. What creates the ‘mood music’ for white supremacist terrorism? Politicians and mainstream media commentators spewing Islamophobic hate.” 9/
“They’re full of people that are pale, male and stale. Old white guys. And they must now recognise that they contribute to this spectrum of hate, and that their views are outdated, no longer relevant in our modern, diverse and open society.” 10/
“Stop supporting them and the media outlets and political parties that promote them. Calling time. Pass the mic.” 11/
“This is a watershed moment for New Zealand. We have to dismantle the old system that worked only for a section of our society, and rebuild it from the ground up.” 12/
“Now is the time that our country can really take a hard look at itself and try and decide together how we can be better. Better together." 13/
"Because this is a problem that is not just New Zealand’s problem, but a global problem. The rest of the world has been trying to figure this out for years.” 14/
“We have to build bridges between different communities, amplify marginalised voices, and find a way to make the people in structures of power reflect the vibrant and diverse faces of our wonderful country. If we can do this, we can truly be a beacon of hope.” /FIN
Mic drop courtesy @Manisha_Bee who is promising me she's gonna come home and together we are gonna smash hate crime.
