A dreadful event in Christchurch

Signed =aimed

What concerns us all is 49 people are dead, at least 20 injured, families are struggling with grief and shock and we are expressing our sorrow

Read my post at 16.41 maryeliza. I didn't name any poster specifically; I said some.

Is there not enough misery and anger in the world today without this? Can't we post to say how miserable and upset we are at the dreadful events in New Zealand, without getting into silly point scoring and pedantics?

I'll leave you with it maryeliza.....

After discussing the earthquake disaster in Christchurch yesterday with friends I was shocked to the core to turn the news on this morning and see what had happened. NZ is the last place we would ever have expected such an atrocity to occur and thought our family were safe out there - it seems you're no longer safe anywhere in the world now

This back biting and sniping is so disappointing and is detracting from an appalling act performed on innocent people going about their daily lives. For goodness sake, stop it and show some respect! Stop turning the focus onto yourselves.

We are united in condemning the actions of a few extremists, whatever their origins and aims or the labels they attract. Squabbling amongst ourselves and creating imaginary divisions in that unity demeans those who are personally affected by them.

And that is aimed at any and all who try to take this atrocity to further their own narrow vision.

I agree Mapleleaf 49 people have died where is the sympathy? Outrage should be directed at the perpetrators not at each other.
I have just read some of the rambling message from one of the shooters and he seems quite out of touch with reality at times. I feel so sad for all those affected and for the people of NZ.

Another very sad day on our planet.. people, mercilessly killed just going about their business..my heart goes out to all their families
..I found the nitpicking & arguing on this thread to be absolutely disgusting....I'm truly shocked...

Can we please stop bickering and concentrate on the poor Muslims in the mosques that is what I started the thread for so we could all come together in condemnation of these terrorists and the misery and fear they have caused
I see the main perpetrator has said he is expecting a Nobel Peace Prize !! There has been little said about the others who were with him including a woman Were they all Australian or were they ‘Home grown’ I believe my son said at least one was a New Zealander but I ve not read anything formal about that
I hope the poor folk in hospital all recover

Anniebach What evidence do you have that "racism is strong in New Zealand"? Sadly, it exists in virtually every country in the world but my experience of New Zealand, stretching over 17 years, including the last six years when I have been living here, directly contradicts your statement. New Zealand is not the younger sibling of Australia and does not share similar political or cultural views. The two countries are very different.

A lot of unwillingness on here to accept that right wing extremism is the driver of this atrocity. It does matter that this IS a terroist act and it does matter that it comes from the extreme right - not a madman. We should care about being accurate about this otherwise where do things go from here? If we just wring our hands and say how awful it all is then where does that take us? It’s just platitudinous rubbish. What we need to be doing in all western countries is taking the far right much more seriously then we do and for example spending more resources in the Prevent programme on the far right and its radicalisation.

Bluebelle I understand why you started the thread but honestly even if we’d come together in condemning what happened, what would they mean unless there was some examination of the root causes?

Nobody said that it didn't matter that it was a terrorist act ??

A black day for civilised society in New Zealand and all over the world. Great sympathy for and anger on behalf of those affected. Killing people because they don't share your views or because you don't like theirs seems an extraordinarily counterproductive way to build a worthwhile society.

An Australian – either an immigrant or the descendant of immigrants (voluntarily or otherwise) – stated that he believes that the USA is being destroyed by liberals who want to remove the rights granted by the Second Amendment to the Constitution i.e. take away people's guns. In order to show support, prevent this happening, etc. he planned a terrorist attack. He came to New Zealand to train, not to commit a terrorist attack but found the country "rich" [sic] in suitable targets, strangely referring to New Zealand as part of the western world. He expressed admiration for Donald Trump and his racist views and self-identifies as a white supremacist. His use of the word immigrant, like that of his presidential mentor, clearly refers to people who are not "white". His logic is certainly twisted but not, in my opinion, actually mad.

Pretty much all of New Zealand is in shock and deeply distressed by these appalling events. The threat level has been raised from low to high and we are confused about how to proceed to prevent another massacre.

The universal condemnation should not be seen by the perpetrator as because they belong to any particular group, but because they did the act. It should not be presented as such either, but as an act of violence whoever was responsible and whatever their motivation was.

The investigation into all the ramifications of motivation, group allegiance, undue influence and so on will happen in due course. Justice is not a matter for instant assumption and execution, and to make it so is to turn back centuries of civilisation.

"Mad" here is not in the "mental illness" meaning of the word, but in the "dangerously and lethally illogical" sense.

A survivor slammed the authorities for their slow responses as he escaped through the Mosque back door while the killer was shooting everyone. It was 20 minutes before police came to the Al Noor Mosque.

What is it with police and their slow responses ?
Khaled Al-Nobani had said it should have taken 2 minutes to respond not 20 minutes.
Considering it was a call involving guns 20 minutes is unacceptable when time is of the essence.

Humpty Dumpty ^Elegran Humpty Dumpty

i dont have tv so i havent seen this .thats blooming awful. those poor families .my heart is broken .why do people think its ok to kill another person in the name of their god.

EllanVannin Apart from the Diplomatic Protection Squad and police officers at airports, New Zealand police are not routinely armed. This was an unprecedented attack when the threat level here was at low. (It has now been raised to high for the first time.) The police cannot go rushing willy nilly into something as horrendous as this without preparation and the issue of firearms. To do so would cause more chaos and put their lives at an unreasonable level of risk. There is no way that they could usefully have responded within two minutes. No doubt, procedures will be revised in the light of this deplorable event, but they need to be considered calmly and rationally.

Thank you Elegran

Wise words. This thread isn't about political point scoring.

We are united in condemning the actions of a few extremists, whatever their origins and aims or the labels they attract

You've explained it in one Elegran.

Such dreadful news. My best school friend from Yorkshire lives in Christchurch . At least,I hope she is still there as have lost contact. I’ m sure she will be so shocked that something like this could take place there.