christchurch terror attacks solidarity rally march
(Image: AAP/Erik Anderson)

As shockwaves of the Christchurch shooting continue to be felt around the world, and coverage continues unabated, Crikey readers took to the comments to help process one of the most challenging events in recent memory. Readers responded to our bumper edition yesterday, covering everything from the conditions that allow for white supremacy to thrive in Australia, the warning signs of right-wing terror that the media have ignored, the difficult homecoming many New Zealanders are facing, and the mainstream media’s normalisation of racist discourse, among many other issues.

On Christchurch

Richard Shortt writes: The biggest mistake anyone could make after the tragedy of Christchurch is to label it “a New Zealand attack”. This was a global attack, aimed at a global audience, seeking a global response from both like-minded and opposing groups. However, it did not happen in NZ by accident. It was a deliberate exploitation of weakness in NZ gun laws. NZ has to fix the law, we all have to fix extremism.

Humphrey Bower writes: Show me an ethnonationalist, ethnoseparatist or white supremacist and I’ll show you a racist, sexist, homophobic fascist every time. These have existed long before multiculturalism, globalisation or neoliberalism were invented. They are fuelled by the hate speech of demagogues (including politicians, journalists and public figures of all kinds).

Jim Sykes writes: One wonders how long it will be before one of the Murdoch tabloids reverts to form and has one of their anti Islamic and/or racist scare front pages. Maybe Sportsbet could open a market. My tip is late next week.

Helen Gaynor writes: I have a friend who lives in a small town in far north Queensland who called me in despair yesterday. Not one person of many he had talked to had expressed any sadness or sympathy for the victims of the Christchurch shootings. These fellow Australians, my friend tells me, think they know what’s really going on, unlike the media or city folk who are all being duped. They believe that what they hold dear and true is under threat by Muslim and non-white immigration. The only politician they feel who hears them and understands them is Pauline Hanson. It is this part of the country that the Coalition has been turning inside out for to stay in power. At what cost to us all? My friend took a bunch of flowers to the small mosque in the next town. The only other tribute was a single red rose.

Ken Nesha writes: Humans have only progressed when we cooperate. The fear of the other has to be seen as pointless and a waste of time. The world is not going to go back to cultural purity (which never existed). Humans are travellers and since time immemorial have moved to other places and countries to improve their lot. This is the world, so to all the Tarrant types out there: stop the racist bullshit and find something creative to do with your life.

Send your comments, corrections, clarifications and cock-ups to boss@crikey.com.au. We reserve the right to edit comments for length and clarity. Please include your full name if you would like to be considered for publication.