New Zealand Shooting

I'm not a religious person, but even I have to say, there's nothing quite as sickening as coming into a place of worship and gunning down innocent people who are just there to peacefully practice their faith. Sadly, that's exactly what just happened in two Mosques in New Zealand. From what I know, this was the worst shooting in the entire history of the nation. While my country has absolutely gone through its fair share of mass shootings, it's hard for me to imagine, to put myself in the shoes of the people of New Zealand as they are experiencing a tragedy of this magnitude for the first time. This is foreign territory for them, and I know with all my heart that the scars that this event is leaving will be felt in the nation for a painfully long time to come. Just as America reels from each of the unfortunately common place tragedies, so to is the nation of New Zealand. As if the act in and of itself wasn't disturbing enough, the manifesto that the shooter left is especially chilling. In that manifesto he highlights his views, his motives, and he reveals a window into the truly twisted and disturbed mind that he has. Especially as an American, it's heart wrenching to know that the shooter drew a lot of his inspiration from the toxic rhetoric that my president has espoused. I've written on topics such as the alt right before, but it should be said again that the toxic ideology they espouse can and does bring about abhorrent and tragic results. Disturbed people draw from it and use it as justification for their horrendous actions, as we have plainly seen in this most recent tragedy. The feeling of helplessness that I'm afflicted with is nearly unbearable. This time, the shooting took place in a foreign nation that I can do little but offer my thoughts and prayers in hope that they will take significant action to avoid similar tragedies in the future. The silver lining of all of this is that the government of New Zealand seems to be doing just that. Just as their neighbor Australia did after the tragic port Arthur shooting, they seem to be outlining plans for stringent gun control measures that will ideally prevent more shootings in the future. I will admit that, while I'm fairly familiar with the histories and cultures of many nations throughout the world, New Zealand isn't one of them. I can't think of a more opportune time for me to change that than right now. I do know a little bit about their history, mainly just how the British settlers interacted with, traded with, and ultimately subjected the original inhabitants of the islands. I also know that New Zealand was a part of the British empire, but unlike Australia, I don't believe that New Zealand was established as a penal colony. That just about covers the expanse of my knowledge of the country. While they are pretty much on the other end of the planet, my heart is with the people of New Zealand, especially the Muslim community therein that is particularly reeling from this tragedy. One thing that I definitely don't blame their government for is the fact that they denied infamous alt right figure, Milo Yiannopoulos entry into their nation. He is famous for his Islamophobic rhetoric, and to think that they would allow him to come to their nation and spread the very same toxic ideology that caused this tragedy is unthinkable. By doing what they did, it wasn't so much an act of censorship as it was an effort that was made to maintain common decency in this powerfully trying time. The world is full of tragedy, it is full of wildly disturbed individuals that will inevitably commit unspeakable acts just as this shooter just did. As of right now, all the world can do is come together and unite our hearts with the people of New Zealand to help them heal the best that they can.