Member-only story
He Who Shall Not Be Named: The Censorship Following on from Christchurch
They say when confronted with a monster or enemy, the three typical responses a human has are fight, freeze and flight.
Fight, meaning you tackle the monster head on, freeze being when you are stulted by fear, and lastly flight is when you run for the hills.
The reason I bring this up is in reference to the responses that governments and tech companies are having in the face of the horrific tragedy of Christchurch.
While 50 people were horrifically and publicly murdered in a killing that ostensibly had been inspired by online memes and a culture of trolling, the monster has since ceased to be physical.
As Brenton Tarrant now lays behind bars, the true monster has now taken psychological form, in the fear that there may be others like him.
These are fears I share.
When I read Tarrant’s manifesto, it was coherent, lucid, and articulate. It was also a call to arms. This was perhaps the most shocking factor. Anyone who might be on the precipice of white nationalism, could very well be pushed over the edge by reading the manifesto.
But my response to those fears appear to be quite different to those of the New Zealand government, who has since declared they will be…
