Choosing compassion amid hate

In the aftermath of the horrific shooting inside two mosques in Christchurch, New Zealand, one figure stands out for her tough but humane response. She is Jacinda Ardern, New Zealand prime minister, who at 38 is the youngest leader of her country since the 1850s.

How tough is she? In the immediate aftermath of the massacre where 50 were killed, Ardern vowed to end the “easy availability” of assault weapons, including a ban on military-style rifles, high-capacity magazines and military-like semi-automatic rifles.

In the wake of numerous other shootings in other parts of the world, leaders have talked on and on about gun control, only to fold in the face of the powerful gun lobby. Only Ardern, it seems, had the gumption to act on the crying — and obvious — need of the day.

But more than cracking down on assault weapons, it’s been the prime minister’s compassionate response that shows her mettle.

First off, she refused to add to the shooter’s notoriety. The gunman, she declared, “is a terrorist, he is a criminal, he is an extremist, but he will, when I speak, be nameless, and to others I implore you: Speak the names of those who were lost rather than the name of the man who took them. He may have sought notoriety but we in New Zealand will give him nothing — not even his name.”

As she took office, Ardern was pregnant, and soon became the first elected head of state to take maternity leave. With her partner Clarke Gayford, who is a TV host, she then traveled to New York for a United Nations meeting bringing along baby Neve, who was still breastfeeding. This alone would have made her a remarkable figure, but her postmassacre demeanor shows the world that motherhood did not weaken the steel behind her rapid ascent to power.

If she were a man, Ardern would have been described by now as “decisive,” “strong,” “no-nonsense.” But apparently, the world has yet to wrap its head around a politician who is both leader and lady, decision-maker and mommy.

This, especially when we compare her to her male contemporaries elsewhere, who can’t help harking back to their misogynist roots and anti-immigrant agenda.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan, in a campaign video, used footage shot by the Christchurch gunman during the attack and then challenged foreigners with anti-Muslim sentiments to launch a similar assault in his country, vowing to send them back home in coffins “like their grandfathers were” during the 1915 Gallipoli campaign. This was where hundreds of Australians and New Zealanders were killed in a tragic failed attempt at occupation.

US President Donald Trump, whose country is no stranger to mass shootings, was approached by Ardern to express “sympathy and love for all Muslim communities,” which have been the object of attacks from Trump in previous years.

But, instead of responding to Ardern’s appeal, all Trump could do was to dismiss the notion that white supremacy and white nationalism are growing threats, simply saying “not really” when asked if he thought these had fueled the gunman’s actions.

Nor are Filipinos spared from hateful rhetoric by this country’s President. A day before the New Zealand shootings, President Duterte renewed his attacks on Catholic bishops and priests, saying he couldn’t care less if critical clergy ended up getting killed.

Smarting from charges that his biting criticism of the Church had led to many threats against men of the cloth, Mr. Duterte said he didn’t care “if all of you die right now. Our cemeter(ies) still have room.”

All talk, you might say? There have emerged findings that the killer in Christchurch imbibed and took to heart his anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant sentiments through exposure to online exchanges with fellow haters and the toxic rhetoric of far-right personalities. What more if the same sentiments are shared and publicized by no less than a country’s head of state?

Hate-mongers and their sponsors in government can take a leaf from the relatives of the mosque victims, who would have greatest cause, it seems, to return hate for hate.

Instead, they chose to air their affection for their friends and neighbors, their admiration for Ardern, and support for democracy in a land where they chose to live. In a world full of hate, they chose love, inclusiveness and compassion, sending the message that intolerance and violence will not prevail.