We got up early and breakfasted outdoors in the sunshine. However, the news of the distressingly high death toll, and the stories coming out of Norway this morning were such a distraction that I forgot to take myself over to St German's to say the ten o'clock mass after I'd said Morning Prayer. I felt ashamed of myself, but these tragic events and the world's reaction to them have weighed heavy on me.
A number of media watchers were reproachful of the initial presumption that this was a work of islamist terrorism, criticising the rush to judgement. Criticism was directed at US news sources describing this as 'Norway's 9/11' when likening it to the Columbine and Oklahoma massacres was the unavoidable home truth.
CNN to its credit interviewed a neighbouring island holidaymaker who'd taken his boat over three times to rescue youngsters fleeing the gunman. They showed a couple of his photos of them on his boat, shiocked by their ordeal. In the picture, a black lad was flanked by two blond lasses. You couldn't have made it up. It's how Norway is today, as open and diverse as any other european country, challenged, as we all are, by the demands of the prejudiced and intolerant. The diversity of the members of this youth camp under attack was to my mind the real target, plus the centre of government in Oslo sustaining this modern multi-cultural society.
Such pathogens are not interested in the vigour of debate, nor putting up with anyone who disagrees with them. What they cannot achieve openly in terms of change, they will take revenge for, suddenly by stealth. I hope the Swiss, equally rich, equally secure in their land, with not much larger a population than Norway, will take extra good care to keep an eye on its dissenters and extremists in times ahead.
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