The best and worst

An Australian mass murderer, whose name should never be mentioned again, has been sentenced to life without hope of parole in New Zealand. His guilt was never doubted as he had livestreamed his murder of 51 people and the attempted murder of another 40 people as he shot his way through two Mosques in the city of Christchurch (“New Zealand mosque shooter sentenced to life imprisonment,” Aug. 27, Gulf Today).

From this great tragedy came stories of heroics, as often does in times of need, but no matter what level of courage a person shows, there is no hope against an AR15 Semi-automatic rifle at point blank range although this action allowed others to escape to safety. The murderer arrived with six high power guns and surely no one could argue that was needed to protect his family.

This time of sadness offered insights on the nature of humanity with the evil of one greatly overridden by the strength of faith of the families, many of whom showed not hatred but forgiveness. Anger would be the expected response but so many were tempered by their better nature. What the murderer did not understand was that the differences between people is what makes the world a better place.

It is often said that tragedies bring people together but why is it at so great a cost?

Dennis Fitzgerald — Melbourne, Australia