Black and white flag

There are no words to describe the senseless loss of life in the Lindt Cafe, the deep sorrow will remain with us, as a reminder of the pain on that day. Our way of life is under attack there is very little doubt about that, but by whom?

Was the culprit an Iranian cleric, precisely the type of individual organisations like "IS" and "Al Qaeda" would rush to behead or just a fake sheik with an extra marital affair? Was the culprit a product of hate preachers on both sides, or just a publicity hungry pawn in wider global game?

Was the culprit just another convicted felon with political motive, slipping through the radar as the hunt continued for the realterrorists or just another psychologically disturbed individual, like the one in the Adelaide Siege of 2011. In a world with infinite shades of grey is a black and white flag all that we can see?

Siege Mentality

The "siege" has been lifted, but the "siege mentality" remains. Fear and mistrust of the other escalates to an all time high. Victims of the siege pick up pieces of their shattered lives. Beards, skin colour and clothing become more confronting than ever. The bigots are emboldened and abuse anything in sight including my six month pregnant wife. Preachers of hate on both sides climb on to their soap boxes and shout "I told you so!" asking us to pick sides, in a world with infinite shades of grey.

So "Which side are you on?" they demand. I may have spent my entire life serving the public and working for charity but my loyalty to this country is once again being questioned. So do I succumb to the temptation of the lower part of the brain and allow for an amygdala hijack , for rage to flow from the recent memory of my distressed six month pregant wife calling me at work to describe the shell of a man who abused her?

It matters not that my wife does not wear a headscarf, just the fact that at the moment of the harassment she had a shawl over her head as she was remembering God, in the same tradition as the Blessed Virgin Mary the holiest of women in both Christianity and Islam. It matters not that my wife has spent her entire young adult life dedicated to charity including being recognised for her tireless volunteering efforts in the Commonwealth games.

No, it matters not to the bigots.

So do I allow the amygdala hijack to take place and let rage flow? No... then the terrorists would win and yes the terrorists are on both sides. No I am not a victim and I will not hand victory to the bigots.

Picking Sides

So which side am I on? Like many Australians I'm caught in the middle terrorised by both sides. We are witnessing psychological warfare at its extreme. As the deranged individual terrorised those at the cafe with a gun, this terror entered our collective psyche through another weapon. The airwaves did their professional best to bring this terror home – "Death cult! Shahada! Sharia! Jihadist! Islamist!" mixed with repetitive scenes of escaped hostages running for their lives as eery music played in the background, overlaid with a black flag proclaiming the first tenant of Islam, hypnotising the viewer into a trance-like state of terror.

The escaped hostages must have confirmed that the deranged individual was a lone gunmen. So one is left wondering, why was the camera the only weapon that took clean shots at the lone gunmen again and again as the prolonged event continued?

In contrast just last month police shot dead a man at point blank range instantly to end the Carlisle hostage drama in Perth. In contrast the Adelaide Siege of 2011 claimed more innocent lives but received a fraction of the coverage. So what's going on? Academics like Scott Poynting from University of Western Sydney will tell you that there is a populist propaganda campaign against certain groups which eventually leads to a culminating event such as the Cronulla riots of 2005.

Speaking of which the Australian Defence League a registered not-for-profit is apparently promising another Cronulla, an event that shamed the good name of this nation and made us a global laughing stock.

Edward Bernays the father of modern day propaganda - famous for engineering media stunts to overthrow the democratically elected government of Guatemala only to install a congenial dictator, and conning women into taking up cigarettes with the slogan "torches of freedom" - would be proud to see his diabolical tactics re-used in the modern day. These tactics inspired one of the most evil men in history, the Nazi Minister of propaganda Joseph Goebbels. Personally I am sick to my stomach, because I know Australia is much better than that.

The right to be bigots

George Santayana famously said "those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it" - so let's not forget the honoured work of Raphael Lemkin. Lemkin lived through the horrors of the Nazi Holocaust and dedicated his life to identifying and fighting genocide. He concluded that genocide happens in stages and preventative measures should be taken at each.

The first stage is classification: us vs them, the second is symbolisation: distinguishing by dress, colour or icons, and the third step is dehumanisation: they don't share our values and therefore are not human like us. After this it is a very slippery slope.

So before some scoff at the comparison and cry "beat up!", try walking a mile in someone else's shoes. The pattern is chilling and some doors should never be opened, not even out of innocence for we might find ourselves confronted with demons that we cannot control. Is it time to pause and reflect or just carry on blindly?

Indeed those who forget the past are condemned to repeat it, so do we remember the "birth" of this "death cult"? The bigots initially wanted to remove Saddam, through military force and links to 9/11, and when there was no connection, the argument changed to weapons of mass destruction and when none were found the argument changed to Iraqi liberation. Now that the entire region is worse off inspiring terrorists all over the world, the bigots blame everyone but themselves.

Let's not forget last year the bigots supported the Islamic Syrian Liberation front (ISLF) against the Syrian regime, as the world's super power pumped millions of dollars and arms into the belly of this beast. The beast bit back, as it always does and this strategic ally became a strategic liability. Enter ISIL, ISIS or IS depending on how you wish to scramble the letters.

This "franchise of terror" continues and unfortunately maintains shareholders all over the free world. Branding is very powerful both the extremist and bigots realise this. The extremist call themselves the 'Islamic State' the bigots ratify and support their claim by confirming the name.

It seems the French can see further and understand the consequences of such reckless branding and have refused to play this game of terror, and chose not to ratify the brand hijack. France's foreign minister has said for good reason don't call it Islamic State, because it creates confusion and fear. Who gave these heretics the right to use the name of Islam and who gave the bigots the right to ratify this gross misnomer?

It is true that religious fanatics in their infinite stupidity desecrate the name of the holy and pull the disenfranchised to their cause, but it is also true that bigots in their infinite stupidity abuse their freedoms and push the disenfranchised to the fanatical cause. Both serve as a recruitment ground for the other. Both bigots in their own right. Both a cancer to humanity.

Aftermath

As we pick up the pieces, we are left wondering if an untrained deranged 50 year old can bring our major city to a halt what could a real terrorist cell do? So before the bigots accuse me of being un-Australian and draw a long bow to convict me of insulting our national security, let me snap that bow in their face and ask: do they still not understand, that there is no military solution?

The future of this nation is to0 precious to be determined by demagogueryterrorising this nation into a collective amygdala hijack, suspending rationality. It is too precious to be led by a suicidal foreign policy of an ailing superpower. A superpower with a proud past, but one that has deviated from the traditions of its own forefathers. A glimpse of which can been seen in US Supreme Court, the highest judicial court in the US which in its proud tradition has risen above prejudice and bias honouring the Prophet of Islam on the walls of its building as one of the greatest lawgivers in human history - a nail in the coffin for those screaming Sharia law.

A trip to the library of the US congress, the bicameral legislature of the nation will give you another glimpse of this honoured past. Looking up at the main dome, Islam is honoured as one of the great epochs of civilisation that have contributed to the country's heritage. So enough of the clash of civilisations!

The world has seen too much pain, with too many divisions of the recent past and this must be a time for healing. The question is not whether we have the right to be bigots, but whether we can afford to be bigots. The price is civilisation itself.

They say the motive of a crime becomes apparent in the aftermath. The recent siege has seized our minds, leaving us with a siege mentality. It has polarised Australians and desecrated the holiest icon in Islam. In the eyes of the bigots it has the confirmed a suicidal foreign policy that has brought nothing but pain and suffering to the world and for the extremists it has provided for more recruitment fodder. That is the aftermath, one can't help but wonder whether that was also the motive.

In a world with infinite shades of grey, is a black and white flag all that we can see?