Research by Sally
When I read the press release from the Green Party on the LynnMall terror attack I noticed two things. One, it wasn’t from Golriz Ghahraman, who was front and centre writing a number of press releases about the earlier Christchurch terror attack, and two, the language used was different. It seems that when the target of the terror attack is different and the terrorist is different, the Green Party’s sentiments and the language they use are different.
I wanted to compare both press releases but the link to the 2019 press release from the Green Party no longer works. Strangely, the page appears to have been removed, so a direct comparison wasn’t possible.
Instead I have compared this month’s Green Party press release with the Ministerial Statement on the Mosque Terror Attacks in Christchurch March 2019 made by Marama Davidson.
Let’s compare the language used shall we?
Green Party Press Release on LynnMall Terror Attack
“We send our thoughts and aroha to the victims and their whanau as they deal with this shocking terror attack,” Green Party Co-leader Marama Davidson says.
“This is a time now to support our communities and guard against the kind of hate and prejudice that inspired this attack.”
Co-leader James Shaw said: “We must ensure this hate is not turned towards our migrant communities of colour, and particularly our Muslim communities who have already suffered so much.”
“We stand with everyone today, stand for love and inclusion in our communities across Aotearoa, and we thank the Police and bystanders for acting quickly in such a terrifying situation.”
The Green party press release from the co-leaders contained the following:
- Sending thoughts and love to the victims and their families.
- A statement telling people to support their communities and guard against hate and prejudice.
- A statement telling people to not react by acting in a hateful way towards migrant communities of colour and particularly Muslim communities as they are already victims.
- A statement of solidarity with all New Zealanders and an expression of thanks to the police.
Marama Davidson’s Ministerial Statement on the Mosque Terror Attacks in Christchurch March 2019.
I acknowledge the lives cruelly taken and badly injured in our Muslim community by a terrorist attack driven by hatred. We are holding deep love for your families and loved ones, and your entire Muslim communities. We are holding deep love for the city of Christchurch and all of us who are hurting and are angry.
[…] I am as passionate about the well-being of your tamariki, your children, as I am about making sure my children are OK and have everything they need. These are the values we should be upholding with every inch of our being. This spirit of connection is how we will stay together and bring everyone with us.
I also acknowledge the calls from those in Muslim communities to ensure that we tell the truth right from the start. I note the Muslim voices highlighting the truth that New Zealand has a long history of colonial policy, discourse, and violence that sought to harm indigenous peoples. As tangata whenua, I am aware that we need to build connections now more than ever, to heal, and to create loving futures for everyone. I was privileged to sit with the elders at the Al-Mustafa Jamia Masjid in ?t?huhu on Sunday. I shared with them the story of Parihaka and the violent Crown invasion into a peaceful community[…]
We must never again ignore or contribute to anti-Islamic hatred as part of the rise of white supremacy and extreme white-right ideology. […]
[…] We know that people in your Muslim community need to know, as that rightful anger is harboured—we need to let you know that we hear you, that we get it. We know that you need to feel and see and hear that we have got your back, that we will do all we can to prevent this and protect you so that you aren’t left alone with that burden in your rightful anger.
I acknowledge that today, there is not one Muslim voice in this House. It is time to understand whose voices need to be put first.[…]
I want to end with thanks to all those who responded so bravely on Friday: to the police who put themselves in the line of fire to prevent further deaths; to all the ambulance paramedics who rushed to save lives; to all the nurses, doctors, and hospital staff who rapidly treated the wounded and continued to look after the survivors; to all the people standing on the street who did all they could to support those in need. […]
In closing, to our Muslim communities, we love you not just because you are us but because you are you. Kia ora.
In addition to those statements above in an article on teaomaori news Marama Davidson expressed the following sentiments:
Green Party Co-Leader Marama Davidson says the wrong people have been under surveillance and the muslim community aren’t being protected from white supremacists.
[…] “What it says is that there is a clear bias, a systemic bias that distracts away from the very real dangers of white supremacists all around the world.”
- A statement of support for the Muslim community specifically.
- A statement linking the wellbeing of the Muslim community and their children to the wellbeing of Marama’s own family.
- A deliberate linking of Maori historical issues to what happened to the Muslim community.
- Pointing the finger of blame at the NZ Community and white people who are right-wing while claiming that there has been a rise in white supremacy.
- An acknowledgement of the “rightful anger” the Muslim community will be feeling.
- A statement that Muslims are not represented in Parliament and that their voices need to be put first.
- A statement of thanks to all those who helped.
- A statement of love for the Muslim community.
- The “wrong people” (we don’t know for sure which people she is referring to here) aren’t the danger, White supremacists are the danger.
Now that I have broken down both responses into key statements, let’s look at both the similarities and the differences.
The most glaring difference that jumped out at me is that one points the finger of blame at a particular race and political belief system (white, right-wing people) whereas the other points no blame at a particular identity group at all.
The next difference is that one is at pains to ensure that no hatred or blame is directed towards those who share a religion and cultural identity and race with the terrorist whilst the other does not.
In both examples Muslims are singled out as a victim group that should be protected regardless of whether it was a member of their community that was targeted by a terrorist or a member of their community that targeted the white West Aucklanders for an act of terrorism.
**Note: we do not know the race of the members of the West Auckland community that were stabbed by the Islamic terrorist as the MSM have chosen to not reveal that information. I suspect it is precisely because he targeted people on the basis of their skin colour that the MSM have kept that information from the public – but my hunch is purely speculative at this stage
Another difference is that one makes a statement of solidarity with ALL New Zealanders whereas the other specifically makes a statement of solidarity with one community only.
The latest statement cautioned people not to blame or hate people from the same community as that of the terrorist but the earlier statement about the Christchurch terror attack not did not seek to protect white people or Australians or people with right wing views at all. Instead the finger of blame was quite clearly pointed at them.
In summary the Green Party sees Muslims and their community as a victim group to be protected no matter which side of the terrorism fence they sit on. White right-wing people, however, are to blame no matter whether they are the victims or the perpetrators. It is this blatant prejudice that makes me loathe the Green Party.
On a side note, Golriz Ghahraman, who had so much to say about the Christchurch terror attack, is strangely silent about the LynnMall attack. Perhaps ‘Westies aren’t us’ in her book?