Christchurch Mosque Shooting
In memory of those who died in the Christchurch Mosque shooting.
It’s one year since the killing of innocents praying at the Al Noor Mosque and Linwood Islamic Centre in Christchurch.
The fact that this senseless slaughter occurred during Friday Prayer only heightens the calculated and extreme callousness with which the perpetrator went about committing this heinous crime.
Clearly action must follow so that we can begin to change the tide of these, now frequent, terrorist mass shootings around the world.
At times of darkness it’s my habit to look towards the light. That’s exactly what I found in the response to this tragedy from New Zealand Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern.
Prime Minister Ardern has shown the tolerant and compassionate nature that’s at the heart of Kiwi society.
News reports at the time showcased Prime Minister Ardern’s authentic nature. It was evident that her response demonstrated a leader who, while shaken, was stoic, determined and compassionate.
How good it must be to be represented by a leader who presents a voice of reason and tolerance on the world stage.
I remember thinking that the changes Prime Minister Ardern had signaled to gun laws, that were likely to follow on from the Christchurch killings, were reasonable and logical.
I fully support Prime Minister Ardern’s intentions and hope that they will provide the momentum that results in similar reforms in my own country, Australia, and elsewhere.
Or we could continue to watch the slaughter of innocent people.
I’II always support logical, reasonable and inclusive policies. And I vote!
Fallen flower petals at the Christchurch Botanical Gardens in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Stop the Proliferation of Hate Speech and Extreme Violence
It may take a long time to turn this wave of ultra right wing, fascist discontent around. But we have to start somewhere. And we need to start now.
There needs to be a much higher degree of collaboration and effort from politicians, civil and religious leaders and large corporations in this regard.
Introducing commonsense to xenophobic, disengaged and disillusioned people is going to require a significant and long term approach.
And it must start by taking on the corrosive and unproductive political debate in our own countries.
While I pay them no heed, I look forward to the diminished influence of radio and TV shock jocks. They need to be replaced with more reasonable voices, for the good of all.
Reasonable People Are Too Often Apathetic
Just as in politics, the battle is often won in the middle ground. That's where the views and opinions of normal, everyday reasonable people shift from right to left and back again.
I don’t consider myself to be a particularly political person and would like to consider myself to be part of the sensible centre.
It’s been a policy of mine, from the beginning of my time as a blogger some 12 years ago, to produce beautiful life affirming content and, in doing so, to gentle nudge people towards a more engaged and creative life.
I usually keep quiet when it comes to political debate. Often because I find the arguments, on either side, to be overly simplistic and not terribly well informed.
Sometimes, like many other people, I feel the problems that we face all seem too hard to deal with and too far into the future to act upon.
I’ve waited for a government to take the kind of long term action that’s required to build a safer, more tolerant and inclusive society.
I’ve dreamed of a determined and properly funded response to homelessness and of a government who takes the environment seriously.
But enough is enough. My own apathy has led to a failure to express sensible viewpoints. That makes me part of the problem.
A tree branch divides a colorful carpet of flowers in Christchurch.
Should Freedom Of Expression Be Tempered?
Why should it only be extreme viewpoints that catch our attention on social media and are given so much attention in the news media?
The messages that reach us should be broad and diverse but, to my way of thinking, we all need to be protected from the extreme views of ultra radical hate speech.
Freedom of expression should not provide an open door for extremists to penetrate the consciousness of decent people.
Immediate Action To Silence Hate Speech
It seems to me that there should be much more pressure on social media channels to stop the posting and sharing of such horrendous content.
To achieve this it's necessary to remove the opportunity for oxygen being added to the fires these people start. That's where social media comes in.
Anyone who posts such content should be immediately and permanently banned from social media, across all channels.
It's for the social media channels to determine where the line exists and then to communicate that in clear and unequivocal language to those folk who use their platforms.
If social media companies fail to properly self police then that power should be imposed onto the social media platforms by legislators.
That’s my opinion and I don’t feel it’s at all unreasonable.
Social media platforms should have to manage the blocking of such content and the suspension or banning of users who break strict terms of compliance regarding hate speech, violence and the expression of extremist viewpoints.
And they need to do so quickly and efficiently, before there’s any chance of that content going viral.
If they fail to meet such legislative requirements then, perhaps, they should be forced by government to pay the costs for independent companies to do the job for them.
Either way stringent and independent oversight is required. Social media companies have had their snouts, deeply imbedded, in the trough for years.
Isn’t it time social media companies started taking responsibility for cleaning up their own backyard and getting rid of the stink and putrid remains that proliferate and fester on their platform?
The market share, as a percentage of users, for these platforms will not be affected if offenders who breach clear and obvious protocols are banned across all social media platforms simultaneously.
Perhaps anyone who then re-shares this kind of content could be suspended from all social media platforms for a period of time (e.g., 90 days).
If these social media platforms fail to act, quickly and decisively, then they should be fined a significant amount of money and face the potential of their platform being closed down for a period of time.
Money talks and the only way to push these social media behemoths to act is through a coordinated and cohesive approach to policy development and application from governments throughout the world.
Vibrant crimson flowers in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens, Christchurch, New Zealand.
Time For Worldwide Legislation
We all know Facebook and the like can't be trusted to act in the best interests of account customers, by which I mean consumers.
It's important for us to realize that it’s advertisers, not consumers, who are the customers of Facebook.
This issue has nothing to do with right or wrong, left or right. It goes far beyond the pettiness of local politics.
What I'm talking about is the need for millions of people around the world to be protected from hate speech and extreme violence.
Most folks want government out of their face.
But the reality is that we all need government and the legal system to provide reasonable boundaries inside which we can express our views and learn from each other without the threat of physical or psychological abuse.
Red and yellow flowers indicate harmony at the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.
Are You Happy With Your Own Life?
Do we actually live in a kind, safe, inclusive and prosperous society?
You could argue that it's all relative and compare life in Melbourne, Helsinki or Seattle with living under a totalitarian regime.
However, few would say our societies are all they could be.
Despite significant advancements in technology, are we any happier?
Most of us live a mostly sedentary existance and rely on technology to keep us passively entertained but, as a consequence, we’ve become disengaged from actual physical communities.
Has our psychological evolution stalled?
Are we actively pursuing a meaning rich and purpose driven life?
Will we continue to fail ourselves and each other?
Social Media - Break Your Addiction
Perhaps a good start would be to take a break from social media. Say a 30-day, self imposed ban.
It seems to me that the more people who take this action the less attention would be placed there by advertisers and the more social media platforms would respect their user base.
I hardly ever use social media. Over recent times I haven't even used it to promote most of the blog posts I create.
I'm glad to say I've never experienced any level of addiction with social media. I'm one of the lucky ones, but we all make decisions that influence our actions.
And it’s actions that determine our happiness, success and personal growth.
I vote for engagement, community and a kinder, more empathetic and pluralist society. What about you?
One way to move us in that direction is for each of us to do what we can to stop the proliferation of hate speech on social media platforms.
While there’s very little these platforms seem to do to ensure a safe and pleasant experience for their users they’re whole business model would evaporate without us.
Question the Value of Live Streaming
Imagine, if you will, a more decent, inclusive and friendly social media platform that’s free of hate speech, racism and radicalism.
One way to begin to create such a space would be to limit the opportunities for live streaming on such platforms.
Markets and businesses will find other ways to promote their wares. They did just fine before live streaming.
But if social media platforms are unable to control the content posted in live streams, and it’s proliferation across the platform, then it’s not unreasonable that such features are removed from the platform.
Live streaming offers extremists a platform and a potentially massive audience.
I can’t help but wonder if removing live streaming technology from social media platforms might actually reduce the likelihood of extreme acts of violence, such as the Christchurch Mosque shooting, from being committed.
We were promised communities. Have we ended up in ghettos? Is this the kind of space you want your children hanging out?
Isn’t it time we made it clear just what kind of platform we want to spend our time inside?
Whenever I become dissatisfied or stressed I get up and head outside, into the light for some fresh air and a fresh perspective.
One thing I’ve never done when I’m outside is open up a social media app. To me that just completely goes against the very reason I’ve sort solace in nature.
You might want to try it sometime.
