Not a dog-whistle
An isolated, disaffected mad man killed a gentleman who came to his aid. The tragedy is that both are dead. A good man died. He was stabbed by a mad man. A mad man is also dead. He was shot by those who’s duty it is to protect us. And in a city that prides itself on civic virtue as the “worlds most liveable city”, we pause and think of what values we place in our society. Fridays crime was disgraceful, because it went to the very core of our sense of self. It violated a sacred principle of trust and compassion. And the lingering question; “How could this be’? Is distorted by the cheapness of scapegoating, isolating and revenge. This is after all, “Our Melbourne”. Where ex Lord Mayors are unable to own their drink filled philandering tendencies and the homeless become heroes rather than shadows for a moment, before they’re pushed back into the place where they belong.
And that’s where the mental people belong. Not in asylums, they’ve been sold off to developers. Not in hospitals, they’re full to overflowing. But to the community. To fester and allow the dark forces of any opportunistic ideology to take hold and consume them
Another incident of daily madness. This madman, unlike the other isolated dissafected madman who drove his car through Burke street killing and maiming spoke in his madness of “Allah’. This makes him a terrorist. The man who killed and maimed with his car was acting under instructions from “God”.
These isolated, dissafected mad men were similar perhaps to the men who rape, kill and mutilate women. Except we’re told that their crimes are usually pre-meditated. And derive for a history of sexual violence and deep seated personality disorders. One thing we do know, if you combine the word terrorism with murder, you have politicians. Like flies to the carcass, they cannot help themselves. And in the heat, the message, the distillation into cause and responsibility for all of us, is lost to oblivion.There are always those who seek to divide. To score points, and cheapen us all.
Great to see the Home Affairs Minister Peter Dutton, leader of the State opposition and the PM jump on board. In a word Tragedy becomes ” SHOW-TIME”!
Who would have thought that Rupert’s finest would help our PM and our Home Affairs Minister determine that Islamic Terrorism is Australia’s greatest threat? One person killed by a mentally disturbed black man born overseas represents a far greater threat to our way of life than the 69 women and 19 children killed in domestic violence incidents this year. The logic here is clear. Killing women and children is part of Australia’s way of life. So the ongoing killing of them is actually supportive of this cultural practice. Just as our jingoistic war-mongering leads to far greater deaths of civilians (usually women and children) than of soldiers. Estimates put the ratio at something like ten civilian deaths for each soldier killed. Thus we remember the soldier and forget the civilian. Oh, could it be that systemic violence begets violence? Never. And there is no connection with Australia’s aim to become one of the top ten Armament Exporters. 
Those polliticians who led us all the way to the maw of Gallipoli and the Western front knew one thing. The desire for revenge is good politics.