Responding to atrocity

Early yesterday morning I commented "at such times as these, isn't it a reminder that despite their mixed premises and many political differences between us -- and with significant low-life exceptions such as George Galloway and Keith Locke -- western people and politicians actually share more than we differ." The responses over the day confirmed that point; with the notable exception of Galloway the response world-wide and across New Zealand has been tremendous. If there has been some good news amidst the barbarity, that must surely be it.

So Simon asked me "What did [Keith] Locke say that you're unhappy with?" A fair question. In my defence, I called Keith a low-life not so much because of what he said yesterday (the offending post was published at 8:15am yesterday morning, before anyone had really said anything) but because of his post-September 11 actions around the country. I posted one such response of Locke's to the Frog Blog a few weeks ago.

[At a Rotorua public meeting] Keith sat there smiling and nodding his head in agreement [while Annette] Sykes told the audience: “I will never forget that morning turning on my TV and seeing those planes fly into those two towers, I jumped for joy, I was so excited to see that at long last capitalism was under attack. I was laughing, I was so happy, but then I saw those people jumping out of the windows and it suddenly hit me, oh those poor waiters, the poor cleaners, those poor lift operators, who the greedy capitalists had employed to do all the dirty jobs were probably the people jumping out of the windows.”

Keith neither challenged nor questioned Sykes’ rant, he sat there and smiled and nodded and then led the applause when she finished.

As it happens, when the Greens' response came out yesterday it was very good, unlike that of the Maori Party who expressed sympathy without condemnation, as if these barbaric multiple murders were some sort of natural disaster that had 'just happened' to tragically take people's lives. Bloggreen was similarly judgement-free:

Firstly all my thoughts are with the people of London. This tragic event will change your city I do not doubt. Be strong, look out for each other and know our thoughts are with you. ...

But I have to say this: Learn from New York. The question is not who did it, but why did they did it.

Actually, the question is this: who did it, who helped them, why did they do it ... and where do they live.