Today's MOZEN: WE Are the World!

Words F LoBuono. Photo CNN

Along with most of the world, I am horrified by the events that recently transpired in Christchurch, New Zealand. However, what haunts me as much as that terrible act of violence is the fact that I have to use the word MOST instead of ALL. In fact, there will be those who do not care at all about this unspeakable crime, and will even laud the perpetrator as a HERO. Sadly, there will be MILLIONS who feel that way.

As part of my duties at a major TV news outlet, I have to edit footage of all kinds that come in from all over the world. It comes to us as so-called raw footage, i.e. what you see is what you get. We then, in turn, chop it down to clips for time and content that is suitable for the average viewer. Because it is indeed raw, I've seen just about every kind of violence imaginable, included beheadings. Someone has to do it and that's my job. So, of course, I got to see the entire 17+ minute video of the massacre as streamed LIVE by the man committing this heinous act. Two things struck me most:

First - just how cool, calm, and collected the murderer was. He parked his car calmly next to the mosque, music blasting an English army marching tune, opened the trunk of his small SUV, and exposed a cache of weapons. He then preceded to grab a a high powered rifle and casually walk into the Mosque.

Second - As he entered the Mosque, with some type of video camera affixed to his helmet, he began shooting at anything that moved, including the man who came to greet him reportedly saying "welcome brother". And, because of the unusual vantage point coming directly from the killer, it looked like a god damned video game - shoot a burst, watch people fall. Move through the mosque, find more people, shoot them down. There was a shocking sense of purpose and no hesitation at all. He was a trained killer doing what he saw himself as born to do.

All of this leads me to believe that this man was not crazy at all. He had a sense of purpose. He believed deeply in what he was doing. So, he murdered without hesitation, remorse, pity, or  guilt of any kind. And, he is just the latest in a long line of cold-blooded killers who murder in the name of some perverse sense of duty. We can draw a direct line from the KKK to the Nazis to the Alt Right and the New Zealand killer. He even had the names of some the most notorious white supremacist killers written on his weapons for inspiration!

This type of maniacal hate is not new. In reality, it has been with us since the dawn of civilization. Homicide, patricide, fratricide, infanticide, domestic violence and more all play BIG roles in the Bible. It's obviously part of the human ethos. However, the point of ANY type of spirituality is to counter these negatives and replace them with the higher ideals of mercy and compassion. Well, it doesn't seem to working in too many cases.

As the rate of hate crimes seems to rising not only in this Country but around the globe, something is terribly wrong. The most recent FBI report states that hate crimes increased by 17% in 2017*. And, they seem to be getting even worse.

It is not difficult to extrapolate the rise in hate crimes with the election of Donald J. Trump as President. His hate filled rhetoric, especially against migrants in general and Muslims in particular fuels a smoldering fire of bigotry. He has called the mostly families at our borders, rapists and drug lords. He attempted to issue a Muslim ban on allowing people of that faith from entering the Country. And, in response to a question that, in light of the Christchurch massacre,did he feel the White Supremacist movement was a global threat, he answered negatively. And, as leader of the free world, his words MATTER. Furthermore, he is not saying these things simply to distract from his own legal issues (see Robert Mueller) but, rather as a coordinated policy of White Power. In my mind, Make America Great Again can easily be interpreted as make America White and Christian Again. It's the very antithesis of what America is supposed to be. And, this policy is supported by the likes of Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, Mike Pompeo, and others within the administration.

If you're like me, you can get very frustrated by the fact that there are so many people in the world who espouse this perverted doctrine - Facebook is full of these miscreants praising the attack. And, they are relentless and persistent. So much so, that it can be easier to just turn away and look for excuses to not be involved. But, that spells disaster. That's letting the hateful bastards win.  We must be as fanatical and dedicated to our cause of peace, inclusion, and compassion as they are to hate, division, and mayhem. WE are the world. Let's take control of it and condemn HATE wherever it is found and those who practice its evil intent.


*https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/13/18091646/fbi-hate-crimes-2017