Remembering Christchurch...Not
Fifty lives were lost in an instant, their families left to grieve. Their chilling cries of pain were broadcast for the world to see on social media. The images of the senseless murder, and the cries of innocent children, refugees, men and women at prayer will live on forever in the age of the internet along with the stories of hope, unity, humanity and courage that sprung forth from the tragedy.
According to statistics from the FBI, the number of reported hate crime incidents in 2017 was up 17% over 2016 totals, representing the first consecutive three-year annual increase. A list of recent acts of white supremacist terrorism includes Robert Gregory Bowers' massacre of 12 Jewish worshippers at a Synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in 2018; Alexandre Bissonnette's killing of six Muslims in the Quebec City mosque in 2017; Dylan Roof's murder of nine African American parishioners in a Charleston, South Carolina church in 2015. The wave of right wing extremism has not abated.
One can endlessly argue over who and what factors are responsible for this massacre. The Daily Mail can argue video game maybe to blame for the perpetrator's hatred towards Muslims or the fact that his father died of cancer. But the question remains is that when an Islamic extremist commits such an attack why does the news media not question the provocation and circumstances of their actions. Why does the news media seek to find the "humanity" of only right wing extremists? How is it possible to describe a man who killed 50 people in cold blood as "an angelic boy" a day after the massacre? That in and of itself is an insult to the families who lost their loved ones by his hands.
I am not arguing that society should not attempt to discover the provocation behind a terrorist's action or what led them down this path of hate and violence. However I would like to address the bias of the news media as they cover terrorist attacks. In contrast, the same newspaper that described Brenton Harrison Tarran as an "angelic boy", described an Islamic extremist as an "ISIS Maniac". Both massacres claimed 50 lives and were classified as terror attacks, yet the portrayal and coverage of the two attacks could not be more different. Although both acts of terror share a lot in common, the Daily Mirror portrayed the New Zealand mosque attacker as a onetime sweet innocent pure child, while the Orlando shooter was a demonic Islamic extremist. This is not just unique to the Daily Mirror, the Australian Courier Mail also referred to the shooter as a “working-class madman.” The connotation of the phrases “working-class madman,” “blond boy” and “angelic boy” only serve to mask the Islamophobic motives of the shooter.
We do not even pay attention to hate crimes against Muslims for that matter. On NPR‘s Morning Edition (3/15/19), Jonathan Greenblatt, the director of the Anti-Defamation League, was interviewed by host David Greene regarding the terrorist at the mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand. When asked by Greene “how common” it is for online hate speech to turn into a “mass shooting this terrible,” Greenblatt responded: "Well, I think this act of violence really doesn’t have a precedent as far as we know, murdering people in a mosque like this, and the social media dimension is something new.”
Greenblatt’s claim that there’s never been a mass murder in a mosque before which is far from reality. In fact, in January 29, 2017, six people were killed by a gunman at the Islamic Cultural Centre of Quebec City in Canada. In addition victims to anti-Muslim mosque attacks include the 25 worshipers killed on October 11, 2017, at a mosque in Kembe, Central African Republic; Han Tha mosque massacre in Taungoo, Myanmar, in May 2001; and the 147 victims of the Kattankudy mosque massacre in Sri Lanka on August 3, 1990. The fact that none of these terrorist attacks against Muslims were even mentioned or recalled by either the host NPRs Morning Edition or by the director of the Anti-Defamation League is evidence to our lack of attention towards violence against Muslims. Or maybe one should consider the fact that an arsonist set fire to a mosque in Escondido, California, with seven worshippers inside just days after the Christchurch massacre was hardly covered by the major news channels. Or the fact that journalists were hesitant to even label Brent Tarran as a terrorist even though Prime Minister Ardern described him as one should be a cause of concern.
The implicit bias in the news media has dangerous consequences, the news media is the key to immortalizing the stories of the victims who lost their lives to senseless hate. The victims were valued and beloved members of their community who demonstrated extraordinary courage in the direst of circumstances yet they are not afforded the proper respect and dignity entitled to them by the press simply due to the fact they were Muslims and their murderer was a white right wing extremist. After all if history is not remembered then it will repeat itself.
References
Chavez, Nicole, and Madeline Holcombe. “Death Toll Rises to 50 in New Zealand Mosque Shootings.” CNN, Cable News Network, 17 Mar. 2019, www.cnn.com/2019/03/16/asia/christchurch-new-zealand-mosque-shooting-latest/index.html.
Lazreg, Houssem Ben. “The Hypocritical Media Coverage of the New Zealand Terror Attacks.” The Conversation, 27 Mar. 2019, theconversation.com/the-hypocritical-media-coverage-of-the-new-zealand-terror-attacks-113713.
Schweber, Nate, and Rachel Glickhouse. “New Zealand Massacre Dredges Up Worries at a Traumatized New York Mosque.” ProPublica, 28 Mar. 2019, www.propublica.org/article/new-zealand-massacre-dredges-up-worries-at-a-traumatized-new-york-mosque.
Yasmeen Serhan, Krishnadev Calamur. “The Media Still Haven't Figured Out How to Cover Acts of Violence.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 15 Mar. 2019, www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2019/03/british-media-christchurch-mosque-new-zealand/585076/.
