What do you imagine New Zealanders think of us now?

[lunatica]

I’m sure they hate Trump quite personally today. What decent person doesn’t? But what’s to stop them from blaming us for apparently doing nothing about him. We probably all look like MAGATs now.

We need to get rid of the monster! He’s destroying whatever respect they may have had for us. I know I’m not responsible for him and his actions, yet he makes me feel ashamed that he is our president.

It’s not just New Zealand either. Australia has been dragged into it by a Trump MAGAt too. He is a grotesque sub human monster who is poisoning the world now, not just the US.

[BeckyDem]

1. Yea. He tried to make policy to keep Muslims out of the country, pretty much from day one.

He has been a danger from day one of his campaign too.

[lunatica]

2. Now his followers are an even greater danger

They’ll still be here after he’s gone. Not just here, but now all over he world.

[BeckyDem]

7. Good point, he has set in motion a great deal of evil.

[MontanaMama]

3. Just had a good friend from NZ staying with us.

They don't think we're all MAGAts at all. They understand that he is an aberration and not representative of most Americans. I spent a good amount of time in 2018 in NZ and Australia and never once heard criticism of America...heard plenty of "what in the world were people thinking voting for that doofus"...there was a lot of that but they're reasonable people.

[lunatica]

5. My observation is about the terrorist attack yesterday.

Trump can no longer be dismissed as a mere doofus anymore. The world probably saw him as being contained within the United States like Kim Jong Un is contained within N Korea. But now terrorists are adopting Trump as their figurehead.

I know what you’re talking about. I’m an American who grew up and spent my first 25 years in Mexico and South America. Whether I wanted it or not I was considered a representative, an unofficial Ambassador of the U.S. there were many, many people who weren’t happy about American foreign policies who didn’t blame me or the American people personally for anything. I do get it.

[marlakay]

11. I bet most educated countries are fully informed

About our electoral process and how we are stuck because of so many red states with less people ending up with more say than the popular vote.

[meadowlander]

4. Probably that the US isn't the centre of the universe

and not everything that happens in the world is about Trump so why try to make someone else's tragedy about US politics?

White supremacy and Islamaphobia are global problems. Both Australia and New Zealand (particularly Christchurch) also have issues with racism which didn't start in 2016 and, sadly, are unlikely to end with yesterday's events. Prior to the 2010-2011 earthquakes, Christchurch was the most "English" (read white conservative) city in New Zealand. There was a huge influx of immigrants from all over the world to help with the rebuild which significantly increased the diversity there. One of the shooters was Australian but there were others and I wouldn't be surprised if any of them were locals and that part of their anti-immigrant radicalisation resulted from feeling threatened by that increasing diversity. I see it myself all the time, particularly directed at Asians.

But if one good thing can come out of all this, it's that a number of communities can start to take an honest look in the mirror and think about how they can contribute to stopping the perpetuation of hatred and violence.

[lunatica]

6. Thanks. You make good observations.

Trump didn’t create anything, but he’s sure thrown gasoline onto the embers of racism hat already existed. Maybe it was inevitable. I don’t know.

[ansible]

9. Australia is a very long and dark history of racism way before the US was relevant

The shooter's manifesto takes pages straight out of the old "White Australia" policy.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Australia_policy

[roamer65]

8. If we allow him to steal the election again next year, the world's viewpoint WILL change.

They will blame all of us for it. Period.

[JI7]

10. the world already knows the US has a large number of backwards bigoted assholes

they know there is also the US of Obama which they love.

our own school kids have been dying. even when the little first graders were killed in their class we did nothing.