Let’s be clear. The video footage that the Christchurch murderer streamed online shows him gunning down innocent men women and children in real time – and fifty of of his victims died. Writing in Rising East Lulu Zen-Aloush thinks that this footage should not have been taken down, because we need to “know what terrorism looks like.”
But she is wrong. The footage needs to be censored for two reasons: firstly out of respect for the victims and their friends and families, and secondly because watching footage like this could traumatise children for sure, but others as well.
Imagine if this was your relative. How would you feel to know that anyone – including other right-wing terrorists – could watch your loved one dying? And if you were a parent would you really want your child to be able to “know what terrorism looks like” when it looks like this?
Out of respect for the victims, and out of concern for our children, this content does not belong anywhere online.
