At this point, we’d be more surprised to not see an awful take from Slate. And yet, somehow, we’re still amazed by this one on the deadly mosque shootings in Christchurch:

After Christchurch, we need more blame, not less. https://t.co/30qekn2ftF — Slate (@Slate) March 19, 2019

Rachel Withers writes:

Who is responsible for the terrorist attack that killed at least 50 New Zealanders as they prayed in their mosques? Looked at one way, the answer is simple: The shooter alone bears the guilt for his crimes. But the picture is wider than that.

No, it’s really not. But Rachel’s hellbent on implicating a lot more people than the shooter. Namely, “all white Australians.”

So why do I feel so guilty? And why am I so angry not just at the obvious targets, but at my country?

Could it be because you’re demented and self-loathing? Actually, yes:

I’m a white Australian. I know that blaming myself and my cohort is illogical, but I can’t escape the feeling that all of white Australia is implicated in the deaths—a white majority that has fomented and let foment hate. Though he may have labeled himself a European, [the shooter] was an Aussie through and through, growing up in a country town north of Sydney, steeped in mainstream Australian racism and our particular national brand of Islamophobia. He grew up in the same Murdoch-controlled mass media environment that the rest of us did—one that recently trashed Islam 2,891 times in a single year—and under the same governments, with prime ministers who have repeatedly stoked anti-Muslim sentiment for votes, with one major party making it central to their electoral strategy. … You might think that this is all too strong, that placing at least some of the blame on white Australia is a kind of self-centered masochism, that blaming a nation’s culture for the sins of a citizen is like blaming humanity for the crimes of one man. But it’s better than the alternative, of saying “#notallAustralians” and looking the other way, thinking, well, there’s nothing I can do. White Australians may not be strictly answerable for [the shooter’s] crime, but we have some big questions to ask ourselves. If you’re an Australian and reading this makes you feel defensive, you should ask them now.

If Rachel wants to self-flagellate for crimes someone else committed, that’s her prerogative. But to suggest that this is a “white Australian” problem is incredibly disingenuous. Not to mention seriously messed up.

Isn't this what the shooter wanted? — MonoValentine (@DagothValentine) March 19, 2019

This is… not a take Slate would publish if the circumstances were different. pic.twitter.com/DSeck9FN4J — Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) March 19, 2019

It most certainly is not.

So should all Islamic terrorist attack be blamed on all Muslims? — Drink your Cocoa (@j0nath0npr1e5t0) March 19, 2019

So then every single Muslim is responsible for every single Islamic terrorist event? And every single black person is responsible for every single murder committed by a black? Why do you hate blacks and Muslims? — Chihoowa' oshi' (@DroppinTheMitts) March 19, 2019

Rachel hates herself. And she’s taking it out on people who did nothing wrong.

Slate, this is a new low, blaming millions of innocent people for the atrocity at Christchurch — Don't Tread (@tastysquirrel7) March 19, 2019

Yes of course. Let's continue spewing hate, because it's working wonders for is so far. Right???

And like others have already pointed out. This is akind to blaming all muslims for the actions of a few. Something that I'll never take part in. No matter the underlying ideology. — Klaus Bech Rasmussen (@BechKlaus) March 19, 2019

Terrible choice, @Slate.

Racism in Australia is relevant. The writer's feelings of white guilt are up to her. But the Christchurch attack definitely does not implicate all white Australians.

Collective guilt is wrong. Counterproductive strategy and wrong.https://t.co/aTtBFrfn0z — Nicholas Grossman (@NGrossman81) March 19, 2019

For those keeping track at home, white terrorism is a cultural problem, Islamic terrorism is not a cultural problem, except for when its carried out by men, which is indicative of a cultural problem, or the target is a gay bar, which is indicative of a Republican cultural problem — Alex Griswold (@HashtagGriswold) March 19, 2019