In the most horrific manner possible, right-wing terrorism has once again entered the mainstream consciousness. This time, a 28-year old Australian man posted a racist manifesto online before gunning down mosque-goers in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Immediately, the outpouring of support rang in across television broadcasts and social media. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern took the obvious route, promising changes to New Zealand’s gun laws to prevent future violence. Most others simply regarded this heinous mass-murder as an act of terror.
The lesson is simple: violence based on ideology has no exclusive domain towards a race, ethnicity, or religion. Therefore, we shouldn’t stigmatize certain groups of people, even if they appear to over-represent in specific criminal categories.
Certainly, we can all appreciate these sentiments. Individuals should be judged by their actions and behaviors, not through assumptions and stereotypes. However, I also can’t help but notice that few people are acknowledging the elephant in the room:
Forced diversity protocols don’t work.
The Short-Lived Nature of Diversity
In the mid-1990s, a remarkable event took place: South Africa elected its first black President. Nowadays, such a pronouncement hardly seems remarkable. But back then, the African nation imposed apartheid, or a racially-segregated society.
At first, the white Afrikaners met Nelson Mandela with extreme skepticism. But within a relatively short time period, Mandela won near-universal support among his countrymen. The inspirational film, Invictus, chronicles this difficult, but ultimately heartwarming journey.
Of course, as a Hollywood production, Invictus leaves out many critical details; most notably, South Africa today is no place for white people.
Rather than implement a true “rainbow” nation, South Africa has fallen into a radicalized and racialized sectarianism. With extremist organizations feeding propaganda to the black populace, many Afrikaners, particularly farming communities, live in fear.
In a stunning twist, South Africa has reverted back to its old ways. This time, though, the blacks are the majority aggressors, and the whites the disenfranchised minorities.
Right-Wing Terrorism an Unfortunate Inevitability
The above example is just one case where diversity has failed. Throughout Europe, we see rising tensions between native communities and Third-World migrants. Invariably, a heinous act of right-wing terrorism was about to explode.
Please don’t read this wrong: I don’t condone violence of any sort. If you break the law, you must face the consequences. That said, I look at the Christchurch massacre from a broader perspective.
No matter how you try to dress it, imposed diversity simply doesn’t work. Generally speaking, people want to associate with those whom they have the most familiarity. This has nothing to do with racism or discrimination: we are merely talking about human nature.
Where we have problems in our globalized society is when governments impose demographic changes. By forcing two unlike communities to live in the same quarters, you are guaranteeing conflict.
Unfortunately, we will likely see further acts of right-wing terrorism — or any kind of terrorism — until the madness stops.