The living ghost of John Howard: Pain hits, then opportunism strikes

In the raw aftermath of Sunday’s cold-blooded massacre, there was scarcely time for collective grief before the opportunistic pronouncements started rushing in. Even as we are still reckoning with the violence itself and the extraordinary acts of selflessness it revealed, some have moved quickly to exploit shock, grief and anger to reshape the country.

A terrorist attack on an ancient, peace-affirming cultural practice is not something we should simply move past. Nor should we forget the emergency services who ran toward danger, the strangers who shielded others with their own bodies, or the quiet courage that briefly reminded us who we can be before the noise returned.