Friends of Padre Steve’s World,
Yesterday in Christchurch New Zealand an Australian White Nationalist not only committed mass murder against Muslims at worship in Christchurch’s two mosques. Before he did so he released a 74 page manifesto on Twitter, and announced it on 8chan, a website devoted to White Supremacism, Racism, and war against Muslims, Jews, dark skinned immigrants, and people on the political left. When he made his attack he announced to his followers that it would be carried live on his Facebook page.
He killed 49 men, women and children in cold blood, and wounded many more, live-streaming the whole event. It was an event made for social media and it became viral before media outlets and YouTube attempted to scrub it from their servers, but be assured, it will keep popping up in other places because White Nationalists will publicize it, and ghoulish people will,watch it and share it. In a way the Eagles nailed it in their song Dirty Laundry:
We got the bubble-headed-bleach-blonde who
Comes on at five
She can tell you bout the plane crash with a gleam
In her eye
Its interesting when people die-
Give us dirty laundry…
New Zealand doesn’t have many Muslims so he killed about one of every 500 living in the country. Since Muslims make up less than one percent of New Zealand’s population this is quite a blow to a small community, in many cases made up of people who fled repressive governments in Southeast Asia. It’s about the same percentage of the population made up by German Jews in 1932, just before Hitler came to power.
The murderer, a 28 year old Australian named Brenton Harrison Tarrant, possibly aided by others is a self-proclaimed White Nationalist who subscribes to the theories of “White Replacement” and “White Genocide” which are quite popular among White Nationalist groups around the world. During the White Nationalist Charlottesville marches, the White Nationalists chanted Jews will not replace us.”
The killer also made it clear that he is a white nationalist. The references to Hitler, Serbians convicted of war crimes for killing unarmed Bosnian Muslims, Anders Breivik, the Swedish killer who murdered 77 people, Dylan Roof, the killer of 9 people at an African American Church in Charleston, South Carolina.
Rabbi Jeffrey Myers, whose Tree Of Life Synagogue experienced such an attack last year noted: “To me it was as though I’m living the movie ‘Groudhog Day’ as a horror film all over again,”
Sadly, the Rabbi is right. These acts be they directed at Muslims, Jews, African Americans, and others won’t be going away. One of the reasons is that many of these cold blooded killers and their followers believe they have a world leader who tacitly gives them his support, even if they don’t agree with all his policies or feel that he is somewhat a fool. It is not whether Trump is an actual White Nationalist at heart, something that I believe that he is; but even if he is not, he now serves as a symbol and rallying point for White Nationalist and Neo-Nazis worldwide: as Tarrant, the New Zealand killer called Trump: A symbol of renewed White Identity and common purpose…”
Another thing that Tarrant said was that he hoped to promote civil war in the United States. This is troubling because quite a few Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists in the United States speak of the same thing.
In his manifesto and his comments during the shooting Tarrant referred to the New Zealand Muslims as “invaders” and shortly thereafter Trump used the same term to describe Central American refugees when he vetoed the bi-partisan Congressional legislation overturning his State Of Emergency. Such language is designed, especially when placed in the context of him referring to the refugees as criminals, murderers, and rapists; intentionally designed to whip up public anger and resentment toward them. It is the same language used by Hitler and the Nazis in referring to Jews. The same is true of various European leaders who refer to use the same language to describe immigrants and refugees from Africa, the Middle East, and Asia.
As for those who pay little regard to manifestos written by people like Tarrant because they often jump from topic to topic and include a lot of irony and “snark” are mistaken. Such writing and communication styles have been long a part of the Nazi and White Supremacist tradition. One only has to read Mein Kampf, Julius Streicher’s Der Stürmer, other Nazi tracts, as well as the speeches of Hitler and other leading Nazis. They are an encouraged method of delivering the Nazi/White Supremacist Message.
We have to fight against and expose the Neo-Nazis and White Supremacists, and if such people take up the message of President Trump in using physical violence against political opponents and the press, they may have to be met with force. To defend themselves, their offices, and their meetings against the Nazi Sturmabteilung or S.A. and Communist Roter Frontkämpferbund in the Weimar Republic in the 1920s, the Social Democrats had to form their own organization of former soldiers called the Reichsbanner. I would hate to see our country devolve into the street battles but if it happens then Democrats and other progressives may have to imitate the Reichsbanner, especially if the police refuse to police the violent right wing, as was often the case in Weimar Germany. Personally, I have more faith in our institutions, but one never knows what happens when democracy fails.
So anyway, the Christchurch Mosque Massacre should serve as a warning about the international spread of racist White Nationalism. When asked if he thought that White Nationalism was a major problem yesterday, President Trump said:
“I don’t really. I think it’s a small group of people that have very, very serious problems. It’s certainly a terrible thing.”
But, the President, who in 2017 said that there were “very fine people” among the White Supremacists and Neo-Nazis who cause chaos, carnage, and death in Charlottesville, the words sound hollow and disingenuous, when he demonizes whole groups of people and when he advocates violence in his Tweets and at his rallies.
Yale historian Timothy Snyder wrote:
“A nationalist will say that “it can’t happen here,” which is the first step toward disaster. A patriot says that it could happen here, but that we will stop it.”
That has to be our attitude. We have to stop it, with or without the support of the President.
Until next time,
Peace
Padre Steve+
The Inglorius Padre Steve's World 
Agreed on all points. And this is how Trump keeps his base, despite his terrible behaviour, his horrible rhetoric, his obvious and constant lies … he appeals to their bigotry in every form: Islamophobia, homophobia, anti-Semitism, and misogyny. And now, it appears that his words are not only stirring his base here, but also on the other side of the globe.
Those who would promote or encourage a civil war in the U.S. need to study history … we seem to fail to learn the lessons of history, don’t we? Sadly, I do anticipate bloodshed in the streets before common sense returns to this nation, for if Trump should be impeached, or not re-elected next year, I think his base are just angry enough to come out shooting first, asking questions later.
Good post!
There is a section of our population that seems to want civil war, and Trump only encourages them.
Yep, and that segment is, unfortunately, the ones hoarding a veritable arsenal in their spare bedroom or garage!
Trump is not the president of the United States. He is only president of a third or slightly more of the US. He is not there for all the people and to work for the common good. He is not there to help assure all people earn a decent living wage. He is not there to assure all people have access to fair and reasonable health care. He is not there to lower taxes for all Americans, but just the elite few. He is not there to assure clean water and air, untainted food supplies and a decent education for all. He is not there to be concerned about climate change.
He is there only for his cult. He is there to keep the cult fed, to keep the republicans in power via his cult and to incite violence by his cult when it becomes necessary. And it will become necessary. You can count on it.
A third of the people follow this man and it is because they are either truly ignorant or they are just like him deep in their core.
Reblogged this on We Hold These Truths To Be Self-Evident.
Dear Padre Steve,
Thanks for this post. The president’s anti-immigration and anti-Muslim rhetoric is what propelled him into power. Following his move into the White House in January 2017, there has been a significant rise in hate crimes across the board as per the Southern Poverty Law Center and the Anti-Defamation League.
Even though, post the 9/11 attacks, the vast majority of US mass shootings have been committed by right wing extremists, President Trump has resisted taking corrective action.
But US law enforcement are able to deter, stop, prevent mass killings by a foreign born Jihadist about 3 times as often than mass killings conducted by American right wing extremists. This is because the resources, focus by US law enforcement professionals is towards terrorist activity exported from abroad.
There is little difference between the profiles of an American right wing extremist intent on committing violence and a jihadist.
Both need to be regarded as terrorists who are intent on committing acts of terrorism. More focus and resources should be awarded to our law enforcement professionals so that they can more effectually address right wing terrorists.
Thanks again for spreading this message.
Hugs, Gronda
Thanks so much. They both are dangerous but it seems that after 9/11 we ignored the greater domestic threat.