Shaneel Lal: Mosque attacks shattered colour and Muslim terrorist stereotype

Police officers keep watch outside the Al Noor Mosque in Christchurch a year after the terrorist attack. Photo / Mark Mitchell

OPINION

Trigger Warning: Terrorism

The March 15 terrorist attack was a heinous attack on Aotearoa's Muslim community. It was a racist and Islamophobic terrorist attack orchestrated by a white supremacist. However, right-wing broadcaster Sean Plunket took to his online platforms to announce that the March 15 terrorist wasn't a terrorist but a mass murderer who "just wanted to kill people and create chaos". The comment implied the terrorist was neither racist nor anti-Muslim.

Plunket claimed that the March 15 terrorist was "not convicted of terrorism. He was convicted of mass murder." The fact is, he was convicted of terrorism and is a designated terrorist entity. Plunket was spreading misinformation.

Doubling down, Plunket tweeted, "Nutter with a gun not terrorist, sad mofo but lone wolf, suggest you read manifesto." There is no happiness level one needs to achieve before one can be classified as a terrorist. Being a "sad mofo" does not preclude one from being a terrorist. Plunket encouraged people to read the terrorist's manifesto, banned in New Zealand because it contains objectionable material.

Tripling down, Plunket said, "I think it would be most accurate to call him a mass murderer." I have questioned why Plunket is so invested in clearing the white terrorist's name.

When you search the word terrorist, google throws at you pictures of South Asians and people who wear hijab. Google rarely ever shows a picture of a white person when you search the word terrorist. After 9/11, Pākehā made the word terrorist synonymous with South Asian and Muslim, and for years Pākehā have used that harmful stereotype as a weapon against the character of people of colour and Muslims. Pākehā have reserved the label terrorist for people of colour.

The facade is that Pākehā are the innocent victims of terrorism incapable of doing any harm, whereas people of colour are the terrorists. This facade insists that Pākehā and Christians are the civilised and peaceful group while people of colour and Muslims are violent and dangerous. They had been very successful at creating and reinforcing this image until March 15.

The Pākehā March 15 terrorist betrayed the facade of white purity and innocence through his actions. He showed us that Pākehā are capable of being terrorists, and people of colour and Muslims can be victims of terrorism. Pākehā can no longer pretend that they as a group are incapable of terrorism and thereby can no longer hide their racism behind the pretend fear of terrorism perpetuated only by people of colour. The March 15 terrorist stole that weapon from Pākehā.

By denying the March 15 terrorist was a terrorist, Pākehā are trying to achieve two things. One, they are trying to restore the facade of white victimhood, innocence, civility and purity, and two, they want to prevent society from thinking that people of colour and Muslims can be victims. We must staunchly resist the reinforcement of this racist imagery. We cannot return to a reality fabricated by Pākehā that denies the existence of white supremacy.

We create more mental and emotional violence by denying the experiences of black and brown Muslim families who suffered at the hands of a white supremacist terrorist on March 15. We all have an obligation to contribute to the healing of those affected by March 15. The best action is to eradicate racism and Islamophobia.

The issue of white supremacy isn't solved by imprisoning a terrorist. We can lock away terrorists, but we can't imprison terrorism. Let's face it. New Zealand has a deeply rooted issue of white supremacy. Pretending we do not does not assist social progress. Instead, it actively preserves a racist status quo. That serves Pākehā whether they like it or not, and it hurts people of colour.

I want to live in a country that has the guts to own up to its problems and is brave enough to solve them. We won't solve racism if we cannot accept that we have a problem.

Shaneel Shavneel Lal (they/them) was instrumental in the bill to ban conversion therapy in New Zealand. They are a law and psychology student, model and influencer.