NZ needs to keep love alive

After a week of mourning and sympathy, of coming together to show that we care about each other, we will return to our normal lives. It will be a time to prove that the outpouring of love was not just being carried along by the enormity of the occasion, but that we genuinely are a caring and inclusive society.

If we still hear people say “Go back to where you came from” will we just ignore it, or stand up for the person abused? Just one of many little signs that shout, “We don’t want you here!” It is not only Muslims who get this message. For too long we have ignored such behaviour, even thinking of ourselves as non-racist.

Our early settlers came because they wanted the land. The people who came with it have often been treated as an encumbrance. Now we must recognise that we invited immigrants, wanting their skills, money and the contacts they provided to the markets that grow our wealth. We have not always shown we welcome them as people.

This week we have risen above prejudices of colour and religion. Let us not waste the chance to keep it that way.

P. Belsham, Mt Albert.

Tragedy politicised

It seems that at the Aotea Square and Auckland Domain vigils, certain politicians insisted on politicising the Christchurch shootings.

Conflating a lone-wolf Australian killing 50 innocent Muslims with New Zealand having a white-supremacy and racism problem not only is a disservice to the victims but creates disunity here.

We should be proud of our inclusive society, commitment to Te Tiriti O Waitangi and positive acceptance of all cultures, ethnicities and faiths.

While there are isolated instances of racism and intolerance, which should be challenged, it is incorrect to assert that only white people are racist or that our country has an inherent problem with white supremacy. Ray Calver, Grey Lynn.

Redefine FB status

There is a difference between free speech and online platforms such as Facebook etc. Free speech must be protected and available to all. However, FB and the other platforms are not speech, rather they are forms of publishing and should be treated as such. In the old days publishing was recording on paper. FB etc are recordings online. This is the new “paper”, we need to treat it as such.

In the old days, publishers examined what they were going to publish but FB and similar platforms are publishers who take no responsibility for what they publish, it is open house. If necessary laws should be brought up to date to ensure these platforms are seen in law as what they are. Also, if necessary the definition of “objectionable material” should include all matters that can lead to a Christchurchtype outcome and it needs also to have a catch-all in the form of “any material a reasonable person would find objectionable” to avoid lawyers finding loopholes. Penalties for infringement should be based on a percentage of sale by publishers that they make in this country. Money, being their “God”, is the only way to ensure they will act reasonably.

This approach has the advantage that people can say what they want within the law, while denying others the multiple secret reach they need to feed on.

Michael Wrightson, Matakohe.

Message from SA

To the Prime Minister: The Muslim community of South Africa hereby expresses its deepest appreciation for the kindness and compassion that you have demonstrated in dealing with the terrible massacre that took place in Christchurch. Your words and actions are truly heartwarming.

The manner in which your citizens rallied to embrace the Muslim community and sincerely shared in its grief is a lesson to the world. We wish you and your country strength in this time of sorrow and pray that the future of New Zealand is one of enduring peace and security. Abie Dawjee (message co-ordinator),

Durban.

Soulless website

Not mentioning ever again the word F***b**k could be NZ's silent response to the silence of a company's owner closely linked to the Christchurch massacre.

Personally, F***b**k is simply a website, is overused, overrated, overabuses its dominance and loses its soul when human safety is not worth worrying about. Rob Buchanan, Kerikeri.

Non-PC gone mad

One of the divisive catchcries in NZ is the outcry at “the PC brigade”. Life is change. PC only means being kind to people regardless of sex, race, colour, sexual orientation or religion. Really, PC is nothing more than being polite and considerate. Isn't that what all parents aim to teach their children?

At its best it is being Peaceful and inClusive. Next time you hear someone bemoan “PC gone mad”, that is not the danger. As we have seen, the fear is NonPC gone mad.

Samantha Cunningham, Henderson.

Ardern joins Kirk

Since the tragedy in Christchurch, I have spent hours speaking with all outside the Ponsonby Al-Masjid Al-Jamie mosque. One name is praised continually, Jacinda.

In my lifetime, only one Prime Minister had spoken to the country and taken the country with him. Norm Kirk. We now have a second. Ardern’s leadership, empathy and understanding of this terrible event and her response has been respectful, generous and supportive.

The country is travelling with her. The country has moved. Gun control and hopefully a national register are only weeks away. This movement is because of Ardern.

Helen Clark came close with her Iraq speech in 2002 but did not quite get there. John Key made solid speeches after the Christchurch earthquake and Pike River but was unable to inspire the country as Kirk and Jacinda have.

Like Kirk, she follows her gut instincts. Like him, she believes in the values that Kiwis share and make New Zealand a better place. There is still much to do; a trial to go through, mental health and other issues to manage because of this tragedy. Ardern will be on top of all this.

Gerry Hil, Ponsonby.

Views forfeit

The terrorist should not only be nameless but also faceless and speechless.

Gordon Clout, Taupo¯ .

Ban counter-productive

The chief censor's decision to ban the gunman's rant gives it more status than it deserves. He has elevated it from drivel to dangerous.

Doug Hannan, Mount Maunganui.

Intellectual acrobatics

I have to admire Matthew Hooton's intellectual acrobatics (NZ Herald, March 22) to use the Christchurch massacre to promote his right-wing, neo-liberal ideology. First he insults Jacinda Ardern by likening her to Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher. Then he uses the Christchurch events to call the “political right to get back on track” and reclaim the term “neo-liberal”.

Reagan/Thatcher neo-liberalism (Rogernomics) created today's society of division. The winners get ever richer and the losers more deprived and desperate. One of the losers went on a deadly shooting spree. There have been many unexpected reactions to the attacks. A political right neo-liberal “call to arms” was the most unexpected.

Dr. Hans B. Grueber, Wainui.

Unfair on SIS

There is criticism of the SIS for not preventing the Christchurch tragedy. Some of this maybe comes from the sources who for years have decried security and defence, saying we don’t need them, and that they should not get funding. It is unfair to blame the SIS, who have pleaded for extra funding for years.

Rachel Lewis, Takapuna.

Tourism misses out

When will we get real with the real cost of tourism and who pays for it?

We recently visited national parks and historic sites in Chile and Argentina which in some cases were no more spectacular than many of our own. We advertise ours to the world as being essentially free.

Not so in South America. In Chile we paid handsomely for every site through a tariff levied on the tour provider. At Torres del Paine each foreign tourist pays $US30 per three days (citizens pay US$8 flat rate per unlimited visit). In Glacier National Park, Argentina, the levy is $NZ20 per day — every day.

Both countries are commercially “poorer” than NZ but have significantly higher tourist standards and make no bones that they want fewer tourists paying more and respecting the privilege of visiting something special. Every tourist spot we visited was on the whole cleaner than the equivalent in NZ.

Unless we promote NZ as something special, and charge accordingly, we will rapidly lose ground to these two destinations, which are just as difficult and expensive to get to.

Robert Burrow, Taupo¯ .