A Response to Hateful Commentary on the Terrible Events in New Zealand

There is an acronym that is sometimes used - with results for individuals ranging from ineffective to harmful, in my experience - by some people when they're trying to overcome fear, which is that the letters stand for

False
Evidence
Appearing
Real

I've finally come across a situation where that applies, and is useful, which is addressing some of the responses to the terrible events in New Zealand.

Firstly though, for an individual, the acronym denies that there is often a validity to fear - but biologically, fear evolved when we were little mammals  and keeping still was the best way of not being eaten (actually, it may have evolved before mammals existed). Thus, physically, ignoring fear can be harmful; emotionally, that sort of suppress-or-overcome-it-by-willpower approach can be extremely harmful.

In the broader context, a few people (possibly one) with guns in New Zealand demonstrated - again, as it has happened elsewhere in the world - the absolute devastation that can be caused by a fear that is False Evidence Appearing Real, which is what likely motivated them.

For MANY years, the greatest number of people killed by violent extremist events (I refuse to give those people the acknowledgement they want by referring to them as terrorists) has been Muslim people. In the past week, around 100 people died and 125 were injured in other violent extremist attacks, including 74 in nations that are predominantly Muslim (Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, etc).

As an illustration of the way Muslims detest violent extremism, key leaders have issued fatwas against violent extremism * . Yes, there are sects who are not obeying that, but there are similar extremist problems in neochristianity - particularly the USA ** . (The problems of child abuse, misogyny, homophobia/transphobia, etc in neochristianity are a separate matter.)

There is also statistical evidence that the proportions of refugees (they have to pass character tests, by the way - I wonder how many Australians could pass such tests) who commit crimes - let alone violent extremist attacks - is lower than in host populations *** .

Next, if I turn to the admittedly small number of Muslims I have met or worked with, they are all amongst the best humans I have ever known (one helped a major advance in the way we do work which I've gladly used ever since) - which should not be taken as saying they are all "better", only that I have enough evidence from my life to cast considerable doubt on the False Evidence that they are all, mostly, or significantly "worse" than "us".

One of that group of people was, incidentally, an Anglo-Saxon Aussie who had converted to Islam after a spiritual search. I also have met another Anglo-Saxon Aussie who did such a search and then converted to . . . Christianity. On that, people in Australia are ALLOWED to change their religion - it's why I'm Pagan now, for instance. It's also why a significant subset of refugees come here - because they have done a similar spiritual search, and converted to Christianity or neochristianity.

So, let's recap:

1. There is likely a problem with False Evidence Appearing Real on the part of the violent extremist(s);
2. The greatest proportion of victims of violent extremism are Muslims - Muslims who are human beings with love of family, the struggle to survive and support and/or provide for loved ones, emotions and fears and insecurities and hopes, thoughts and the capacity for reason, just like other humans, just "like us". 
3. The Islamic religion has demonstrated how antithetical violent extremism is to their religion by issuing fatwas against it, and their communities do what they can to raise children as decent, law-abiding human beings, and to be good people themselves - the same as most other people (I would dispute their views on matters such as gender identity, same sex attraction etc [as I would many neochristians], but I would not dispute the genuineness of their intent [which I would in the case of neochristians, but not Christians]. I also note that, when we were lobbying to change the Equal Opportunity laws for trans people, they had one objection but were otherwise accepting);
4. Neochristianity also has a small extremist element, as do other religions (including Buddhism, for instance, which has a terrible history in Sri Lanka and Thailand);
5. In general, refugees are less likely to be criminal, let alone extremist, than host populations; 
6. A number of refugees from nations viewed as Muslim are actually fleeing because they are Christian/neochristian; 
7. Muslims in my personal experience have been amongst the best people I have ever met.

So what is going wrong? Why do some people, such as the violent extremist(s) and the notorious Senator whose appalling comments led to this post, have such hate? 

Well, that's where the "False Evidence Appearing Real" (F.E.A.R.) comes in.

It would be easy to write that F.E.A.R. off as just "fake news", and there are news outlets (predominantly the overtly conservative ones) that lean towards the sensational, high impact, "shock! horror!" type of reporting (notoriously summed up as "if it bleeds, it leads") that actively contributes to socially regressive values. The problem is, people buy those papers - or, in this era, click on those links. If no-one gave those news outlets any air, they would disappear - or possibly change.

That isn't, however, going to happen. Why? Because most people crave validation. If they're feeling insecure and fearful, they'll latch on to whatever reflects that back to them - and we live in a world of growing economic insecurity, increasing complexity and pressure of life, and general uncertainty that is probably worse than since the World Wars, the Great Depression, or the Cuban Missile Crisis. (I'd mention climate change, but I'm not sure that is a factor amongst the people I'm writing about.)

That validation those insecure and overwhelmed people (and I also am insecure and overwhelmed at times, but I seek to manage that constructively, not through validation of inaccurate causes of victimhood) are seeking doesn't only come from certain news outlets: it comes also from peers - family, friends, workmates, anyone we respect. As a result, this tends to be a self-reinforcing cycle: an opinion may be expressed, and, on the flimsiest of pretexts, it becomes widely accepted as a (fake) truth. Thus, in the social circles I am considering:

• a view that climate change is due to, say, extra sun spots (I actually heard that expressed this week by a caller to a radio talk show) leads to climate change scepticism; or 
• a rumour that a child abuser/abductor is in a certain area leads to vigilantism against innocent people (after such rumours were circulated on social media, has led to appalling lynchings of innocent people in India in recent years); or 
• an opinion that violent extremism is due to a certain group of people (who quite possibly no-one in that circle has met or really knows) can create people like the violent extremist(s) in New Zealand.

This social regressiveness has become a particular problem in some areas, and is actually one of the main reasons I left a northern Australian state nearly four decades ago, a state where one of their Senators, already notorious, has made appalling comments that have led to this post.

The premise and details of those remarks are misleading, and many are downright wrong. Many others have commented on that person's appalling rant, and I've now outlined my additional concerns above.

So what do we do about that - and the violent extremist attack?

Well, firstly (and noting that criminal prosecutions, preventative measures, and assistance to those affected are under consideration/action by others, I'm going to suggest we maybe not make a big song and dance for a few days about our Muslim neighbours (unless you already have an established friendship): instead, I suggest we make a point of treating them the same as we would anyone else, and for an unlimited period. From my personal experience, when you're in a minority group that either has a member who does someone wrong or is attacked, it can be intimidating and scary to be singled out, even when the other person is trying to be supportive. A warm smile and a willingness to share space will do far more than a big speech, especially if it continues on past the next few days or weeks.

Next, we need to continue to call out the haters (and those who fail to take action, fail to admit responsibility, or are hypocritical about their role/views) - not in anger, but calmly, rationally, and using evidence and arguments likely to persuade those people, not us or our peers. Preaching to the choir is a problem to be aware of, and avoid. We need to listen to people who have changed **** , and use wording and examples that will reach the haters, not those who don't hate. (One of the reasons the belief that the world was flat persisted for so long was that evidence was presented that was significant to the scientific types presenting the evidence, but it didn't resonate with the audience. Education has helped since, but so has word of mouth from respected peers.)

Along that line of thought, we - Australia (the main violent extremist is Australian, and thus we likely bear a significant level of responsibility) - probably need to find a way to humanise Muslims and refugees (two separate, and only partly overlapping groups) so that the haters see them as real people - humans, individuals "like you and me". Amy Chua, in "Political Tribes" (Pub. Bloomsbury Publishing, 2018, London, ISBN 978-1-4088-8154-5; Amazon; a review here) wrote of the power of face to face contact. That is true ***** , but as I wrote here, it's not practical - we simply don't have anywhere near enough Muslim refugees to go around and meet all Australians for a start. However, organising contact with key "peers" in regressive communities, if that can be done SAFELY and constructively, may begin the long process of changing social attitudes - and it is a long process: look at the time taken (ranging from centuries to millennia) to change attitudes to slavery, racism, and women. I would suggest such key "peers" in regressive communities needs to include newspaper editors and sub-editors, as well as key community and local religious figures.

On that, story telling is a powerful tool, and would go a long way, if performed well and persistently, to starting to change the views of people like those who elected the appalling politician I mentioned earlier, even if they do not have face to face contact with Muslim refugees. Of course, the power of storytelling is no doubt a key part of why access to asylum seekers is being restricted, but journalists do have the power to do that for the Muslims who are already members of our community, and the smaller proportion who are refugees. That community is doing what it can (for instance, open access days, and community responsibility and action), and it is now up to us - especially those professional journalists working in, or with reach into, the areas of Australia that are particularly uninformed or misinformed, as well as those community leaders who (unlike the politician mentioned before) are good - to counter the False Evidence, and thereby cut off the air flowing to the furnace of social hate that allows such violent extremists to fester (or nurtures them) until they create terrible acts like this.

Supporting that is the responsibility of all of us, and can be done by assertively, relentlessly, but politely urging our elected representatives, community leaders, and journalists, to act for reason, civility, and civil society. 

And finally, my heart goes out to all those who have, directly or indirectly, in New Zealand or out, been affected by this terrible tragedy.



 * See https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Fatwa_on_Terrorism&oldid=884737846, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=List_of_fatwas&oldid=885418883#Fatwas_against_terrorism,_Al-Qaeda_and_ISIS, and https://www.icna.org/u-s-muslim-religious-council-issues-fatwa-against-terrorism/. 

 ** For examples of that, see https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2017/08/white-extremist-murders-killed-at-least-70-in-u-s-since-1995.html, https://www.alternet.org/2013/07/10-worst-terror-attacks-extreme-christians-and-far-right-white-men/, http://www.religioustolerance.org/tomek34d.htm, and https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/10/21/christian-extremists-threat-muslims-homegrown-cliven-bundy-column/17679789/.

 *** See https://www.abc.net.au/news/2011-05-26/davidsonrefugee/2732220, https://www.bustle.com/p/these-refugee-crime-statistics-are-astonishing-34074, https://www.dw.com/en/are-refugees-more-criminal-than-the-average-german-citizen/a-38371284, and https://scottjhiggins.com/are-crime-rates-higher-among-migrants-including-refugees/.

 **** See, for instance, https://www.npr.org/2018/01/18/578745514/a-former-neo-nazi-explains-why-hate-drew-him-in-and-how-he-got-out, https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4286678/Former-skinhead-Angela-King-converted-life-hate.html, and http://cavemancircus.com/2019/02/22/neo-nazi-michael-kent/.

 ***** This is something we were advised to do in TGV when lobbying to change equal opportunity laws in the late 90s, and it worked well - but we were focused only on Members of Parliament, not everyone in Victoria, and there has been an outstanding education campaign since then.