Not a parent, but didnt know where else to post this.
I watched the video on live leak before it was taken down and it was probably the most disgusting thing I’ve ever seen. I’m literally so messed up it has me shaking.
A little backstory :
Some loony livestreamed himself on facebook driving up to mosque playing meme music from his car and saying “sub to pewdiepie”.
He then walked into the mosque that had around 100 people inside and shot everyone he saw.
Didnt look like there were any survivors. He legit shot into the masses of people hiding together for like 5 mins straight.
Really mourning for those lost and their families right now. Hope they catch him before he’s able to take the easy way out
Horrible. This makes me sick. There were shootings at 2 different mosques.
I was supposed to be in NZ this week, but cancelled it. Christchurch is still recovering from the earthquake in 2011.
This says it all. I feel for the families involved and wish we could get rid of all those who feel they are somehow superior to others due to race/religion/nationality/genetics of any sort, esp when they are willing to kill others due to it. Those folks disgust me. The world needs all types to go around - except theirs.
I’ll continue to do my best to open minds to reasoning in the teen years. I’ve seen kids break cycles. Things like that give me hope.
Call it what it is: white supremacist terrorism. Like the Tree of Life Synagogue, Mother Emanuel Church, the Quebec mosque terrorist attack. We need to stop pretending all terrorists are brown.
My family and I lived in NZ as a teen for 2 years starting 1972. I have family and friends there. I am struck to my core over this.
Unfortunately, these events don’t lead many people to facing and questioning the fundamental cores of their own beliefs, rooted in ground we never actually have to cover.
The limited number of replies on this thread is a sign of how numb we’ve become to these massacres. It’s quite sad that these are just a normal part of life now.
@partyof5 would be different if people on here actually saw the video, which they thankfully haven’t.
Otherwise it does, sadly, just look like another shooting.
Also the fact that it was in New Zealand. Would probably be more responses if it was in the US/Canada as it would hit home more.
We have family in NZ. Don’t want to talk about it online because threads in stuff like this usually devolves into politics, condemnation, righteousness, etc. Just praying for the people affected.
I saw part of the video last night on Twitter before I had even heard about the massacre. It was horrific and I turned it off as soon as I realized what was happening.
I proceeded to sob for a solid 20 minutes once the horror actually sank in.
And yes, I’m numb to it. My heart breaks for my Kiwi and Aussie friends though who are NOT used to this.
Like one posted on Facebook this morning, this just doesn’t happen there. And unlike the US, they can make that claim.
A few years ago when Lake Jr. was in high school his boy scout troop visited New Zealand. I was on pins and needles the entire time waiting here at home, fearing the racism that Lake Jr.'s racially diverse group of American kids might confront in a country not known for racial integration. The kids enjoyed NZ but I didn’t sleep a wink for 10 days. Prayers to today’s survivors of violence in NZ.
Arrested suspect being charged with murder is from Australia, according to news media in New Zealand and Australia.
Being quiet on the thread does not mean we are numb or unfazed. Sometimes silence is a statement of “no words” but not “no caring”.
I suspect that at least some are not commenting here because of CCs “no politics” mantra. I am so angry about this latest massacre as it is clearly tied to our government leadership. But, in deference to this forum’s “no politics” stance, I have nothing else to say.
I can’t fathom the sheer horror of the scene that unfolded live before unsuspecting Facebook viewers. I can’t fathom the horror Kiwis must be experiencing in the wake of this mind bending evil. Somehow I missed the news of this massacre clear up until this afternoon. When I heard reports of it on NPR, I sat in my car unable to move for a solid ten minutes. I’m so saddened, heart sickened actually, by the rise of white supremacy and white nationalism that appears to be spreading like a sepsis in the bloodstream of the Western World. I don’t understand this renewed wave of religious and racially motivated violence among the non-oppressed.
What kinds of fear and resentment are political leaders around the world tapping into that motivate this level of hatred? I thought we had begun to move past this type of thinking. I feel stupid, as a 62 yr. old African American woman, to be continually caught off guard by these occurrences. It’s not like I don’t remember having experienced and having been impacted by the type of hatred that gives rise to such acts. I don’t want to return to the feelings of helplessness and fear I experienced in my childhood, but I continue to have an ominous sense of dread borne of the kind of hate expressed in this latest shooter’s “manifesto”. He’s young, only 28 yrs. old, and Dylan Root was even younger when he massacred those black parishioners in Charleston.
But I do know that when we fail to forcefully confront hateful rhetoric (however cagily couched) by people of power and influence, we tacitly send the message that it’s okay to more broadly incorporate it into our National discourse. Our own words (or lack there of) matter. Our silence matters. The fact that New Zealand is geographically far removed from The United States should not cause us to feel less impacted by this horrific act. The nacency of Nazi Germany started from away from here as well.
Everything boils down to “survival”. Power increases survival and quality of life. Religion is about power. Tribalism/nationalism is about power. Hate of other “tribes” not one’s own is about threats to power. Money is about power.
There is a massive and increasing disparity between the rich and the poor, worldwide. The rich (amassing not just money but power) want to divert the anger and fear that should be focused on them to other channels. Pit the pauvres against each other.
U of M just had an hour-long active shooter scare in the building where I work. It happened during a vigil for the NZ victims.
Seems it was a group of students popping balloons but honestly no one really thought “this is probably not true” because we’re all just waiting for it to happen where we are.
And honestly, that was the longest hour of my life - waiting to hear from everyone I knew at the vigil.
I’m still numb to the gun violence, but I’m not numb to potentially losing friends. Luckily, I haven’t gotten that jaded yet.
^^ Geez, that’s awful. 
Was the balloon popping an innocent activity? I feel for you @romanigypsyeyes .