RIFLE RANGE BOY: As Christchurch cries...

Man is a social animal. He finds comfort in numbers. Generations of living in fear of the elements of Nature and wild creatures have made him develop survival instincts. He had become very comfortable in his 'comfort zone'. His senses heightened when the status quo is disturbed. He becomes agitated when there is cognitive dissonance. Any ideas that questioned his accepted hierarchy and structural make-up of his world are met with violence, the most archaic of his primal defences.

Scrolling through the 73-page manifesto issued by the Christchurch shooter, Brenton H Tarrant, a 28-year old man full of hate, one can appreciate the loss of space that everybody feels when one has to share his living area. Most sane people would also empathise the plight of legal immigrants (whom he refers to as invaders) and not shoot at them in cold blood.

Tarrant who labels himself as an eco-fascist believes that all the present world ideologies seem to lead to destruction. The environment is degraded, and consumerism is glorified. The world order is only to fatten the rich. He praises China as the only country that seems to be doing things right. China managed to maintain their lifestyle and not to succumb to the growing pressure of the Muslim population in their backyard. He denigrates Muslim migrants as polluting the Western way of life in Europe, Australia, and the USA. With the persistent decline in the Caucasian birth rate compared to the ever-increasing rates amongst the Muslims, he fears that the 'invaders' would take over the civilisation established by the Europeans. It does not matter if they had systematically eradicated the populace of the Americas, Australasia, and Africa centuries ago.

It is natural to want to protect people who share a similar ideology and history. It is also normal to conform to the majority's decisions when they had decided that visitors were needed in the country. When a person is engaged in a quiet moment with his Maker, it is also the human thing to respect his belief, even if you do not.

To think that a 28-year old man can singlehandedly walk-in cooly to shoot down 50 over people in broad daylight is unbelievable. On top of that, all the stringent measures deployed to keep violence and hate away from social media failed miserably. The perpetrator with ease showcased his dastardly act live on Facebook from his bodycam. He must surely be just a pawn in a chess game of global proportion. Tarrant did all that he did in a clear state of mind without an iota of guilt or hesitations when he shot down women and children. In his mind, a Muslim child dead is many more less in the future when he procreates.

Have we not heard of similar conspiracies before - that group of ultras 'psy-op'ed to carry out the dirty job of the puppetmasters? Is it the work of a lone wolf? Is his manifesto a reflection of people of the time? Diversity and multi-culturalism, do they show weakness or strength?