Those out there on the far right like to talk about terrorism. Or rather, they like to talk about certain kinds of terrorism. Two kinds, in fact: the kind perpetrated by Scary Muslims™, and the kind that can be blamed on Scary Muslims™, even if they didn’t do it. Terrorism that doesn’t fit either of those categories isn’t terrorism to them. So they don’t talk about it.
Hence the silence when the Independent’s Lizzie Dearden broke the news “There has been a shooting at a mosque in Norway, on the day before Eid … The suspect is a young white man who reportedly entered wearing 'uniform' and two guns, and opened fire”. White man attacking, Muslims the victims? Far right says tumbleweed.
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Another Tweeter added “Some guy went to shoot up a mosque outside Oslo and got overpowered after shooting one guy. It's been confirmed by the police the shooter had posted things online praising the the Christchurch and the El Paso shooter”. The BBC report confirmed that the attacker had not chosen his target wisely.
“Only three people were inside the mosque at the time of the attack … Mohammad Rafiq, 65, was one of the first men to approach the attacker … He told Reuters news agency: ‘I suddenly heard shouting from outside. He started to fire towards the two other men.’ … Mr Rafiq added that he then grabbed the attacker, holding him down and wrestling the weapons off the attacker”. Weapons plural? Apparently true.
“Irfan Mushtaq told local channel TV2 that the attacker had ‘carried two shotgun-like weapons and a pistol’ … Mr Mushtaq called on the government to take action to prevent action to protect the Muslim population … ‘For so many years, the secret police says the Muslims are the biggest risk for this country, but if you look at those last two major incidents of terrorist activities, it's not Muslims who have done this.’” Quite.
And just to show it was an act of far-right terrorism, “Acting chief of the police operation Rune Skjold said that the suspect, described as a white male, had been known to police before the incident … Mr Skjold said that the man appeared to hold ‘far-right’ and ‘anti-immigrant’ views and had expressed sympathy for Vidkun Quisling, the leader of Norway's collaborationist government during the Nazi occupation”. Oh dear.
But at least one far-right voice was prepared to spin the story in order to blame someone else: pro-am motormouth and full-time bigot Katie Hopkins chirped up “Given the news out of Oslo that a weapons cache was found in a suburban mosque - shouldn’t be be asking if the same is true in mosques in Moleenbeek [sic], Brussels, Paris, Birmingham, Manchester - and other cities known for terrorism offences?”
The weapons were the Muslims’ fault! They Done It! The far-right was absolved from blame! Sadly for Hatey Katie, one Tweeter put her straight, quoting a report which confirmed “Multiple weapons were found inside the mosque, Police said. The weapons are believed to be connected to the suspect” and adding “Nope. Wrong again Katie”.
The more far-right terrorism rears its head, the more excuses the far-right makes, the more spin it applies, and the more it gets it wrong. Far-right terror is the real danger now.
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2 comments:
Oh that's "nothing".
The largest post World War2 terrorist attack in Europe took place in Bologna, Italy, on 2nd August 1980 which killed 85 people and wounded over 200. It was carried out by an Italian fascist gang - possible connected to the same Gladio mob which assassinated Aldo Moro in 1978. That's the Gladio mob trained and deployed by NATO, a mob also part of the P2 Masonic Lodge at every level of the Italian political, military and "intelligence" establishment.
We have nothing to be proud of in this country. Not since Jo Cox was assassinated by a far right nutcase in 2016, an event increasingly likely since far right propaganda went into overdrive from 1979 onwards. It was almost inevitable after four decades of intensified racist and political poison. A country inured to the death of a single human being after years of Britain's role in invasion and mass murder in the East.
Corporate media of course has never had the courage to examine their own role in poisoning British society. At the present rate they never will.
Just as it is inevitable there will be another gun massacre in the USA, so another political assassination is likely in this country, though one still fervently hopes neither will happen.
Looking at far right political "leadership" on both sides of the Atlantic who would bet against yet more of this horror, propaganda and lies?
Katie Hopkins deliberately (surprise) misinterprets "multiple" to mean "cache" rather than "more than one". Proof, if proof be need be, of people only seeing what they want to see.
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