Does it really surprise anyone that the dreadful murders of innocent people in Sydney, carried out by a man wielding a large knife, descended into a media ruck about the evils of islamist maniacs? Of course not. Within a few moments of the attacks the usual suspects were at it. Inevitably, far right activist and all round criminal Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, AKA Tommy Robinson blamed muslim extremists and soon hard right, minor radio shock jock Julia Hartley-Brewer was on the case. Here’s what she said:
Fairly unequivocal there, then. A journalist reporting facts. Then, the writer and pro Israel activist Lee Kern joined in:
Those muslim terrorists again. Then Countdown number cruncher Rachel Riley joined the fray:
Perhaps, your average pub bore will excuse these reckless assumptions because, and let’s be honest, islamic fascists do have more than a little history when it comes to murderous attacks. I’d be lying if at some point after hearing the dreadful news from Sydney, I didn’t think “I hope this isn’t some kind of islamist attack”. In the context of this blog, I hope you notice that my first thought wasn’t “muslim terrorists have killed women and attacked babies in Australia”. But now we know, having waited for actual facts, that the killer was likely Joel Cauchi, who according to the police “suffered from unspecified mental health issues.” Not an islamist terrorist at all.
I wonder what all this sounds and feels like to the survivors, their families and their friends? I have no idea whether the Australian media is as crass as its British equivalent, but if it is, I cannot imagine how this hysteria helps anyone. If a member of your family, or close friend, has been murdered, the identity of the killer, whilst of course important, will not be at the forefront of your mind. The Hartley-Brewers, Kerns and Rileys of this world won’t care about that, though, as, it seems, actual facts don’t matter.
But let’s not waste anymore time with Talk Radio’s odious breakfast host. She’s just a bottom-feeder in the media world and, frankly, all people like me are doing at times like these is giving her the oxygen of publicity she doesn’t deserve.
Truth still matters, even in these Trumpian/Johnsonian post truth times. Or at least it should do. Sure, we’re all in shock after the Sydney attacks, especially the good citizens of Sydney, but wouldn’t it be better to know the real truth instead of the truth we imagine, or perhaps even want, it to be? Doubtless, if Cauchi was an islamic maniac, it would have confirmed the prejudices of the likes of Yaxley-Lennon and Hartley-Brewer and given them carte blanche to step up their attacks on all muslims. But he wasn’t. It looks like he was a severely mentally ill man, which is a different story altogether.
More than anything else, the events in Sydney represent tragedy, heartbreak, lives taken far too early, acts of heroism and a million other things. And surely, the only thing we should be doing, as distant bystanders, is showing respect to the families and friends of the victims at the worst time of their lives and not engaging in ghastly fantasies and conspiracies.
Only bad people want to benefit from tragedy. They’ve already shown their true colours. We need to be better than them. It would be hard to be worse.
