Thoughts on Terrorism

My ranting reflection on terrorism in the wake of the Paris attacks.

Terrorism. noun

1.the use of violence and threats to intimidate or  coerce,  especially for political purposes.

2.the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism  or terrorization.

3.a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a  government.

 

 

The events on Friday night in Paris were tragic. There is no arguing that point. The violent way that innocent lives were cut short. The seemingly random selection of locations for the atrocious acts. Fear is natural after such events, however, we cannot let fear govern our actions, nor can we let fear blind us to the harsh realities of what is transpiring around the globe, because that is exactly what is wanted. You see the whole purpose of terrorism is to instill fear. The usual methods are either physical (bombings, shooting sprees, beheadings) or psychological (YouTube videos depicting executions, videos threatening attacks in other locations). 

After something like this happens, and as long as it happens in a place that is considered civilized, the immediate reaction is a cry for retaliation. Blood for blood. People want bombs dropped and more boots on the ground. This comes from that primitive part of the human psyche that expects and equal or more violent reaction for every action taken against them.  The issue with this mindset, outside of the obvious “Eye for an eye” proverbial references, is the fact that the enemy is an ideology. Radical idealism does not have a physical body, it does not have a base of operations. Think of it like the mythical beast called the Hydra. If you cut off one head, more pop up in its place only in this situation the heads that pop up may be in a different country or even a different continent.  Violent retaliation is only going to cause more heads to appear by solidifying their claims that the Western world is anti-Islam.

I know that some reading this are going to be asking “But these monsters commit these atrocities in their own back yards not just in Western cities, but on their own people, how could militaristic action from the West cause more people to join ISIS?”.  It is simple really.  Everything they do, while it appears random, is actually quite calculated. You see the whole purpose of terrorism is to manipulate the masses through fear. The people committing these acts are told that the western world, more accurately the United States and its Allies hate Islam. Now anytime an irrational idea is submitted to a group, the law of averages takes effect and there is bound to be a few people that will raise their hand and be like, “Um, I admire your passion, but you really aren’t making any sense”. Unfortunately this results in multiple deaths with the slogan “Join us or die”. This will bolster the numbers solely due to the human race’s natural fear of death. Once they have bolstered their numbers, they begin their campaign at home. They talk about how America and her friends like to pick on the faith of Islam, how they act like they are your friends when it is convenient for them, but who despise you and talk s**t on you behind your back. They drive this message home with bullets, and oppression. This goes on for a while, and the atrocities will get 5 seconds of recognition on the evening news, and then will get brushed over for breaking news on the newest Kardashian Exploit, or the latest river of crazy to flow out of Trump’s mouth. After years of these acts against humanity, the Western countries finally wizen up to the truth of the matter, and decide that hey, maybe we should do something to help these people. So since it still isn’t directly effecting them yet, they take the humanitarian approach and open their borders to the refugees of war. This goes against the sermon that the Hydra has been laying on, and it infuriates them. So they lash out in the most violent manner possible. They target civilian gatherings in a country that has opened its doors to refugees. This is when things get really out of hand.

A few things happen in quick succession following these events. The first is that the primitive reactionary device will kick in full force. Revenge must be attained. Bombs are prepped, targets are selected, and wait….what targets? Remember how we talked about how this is about an ideology not a physical target? Where does ideology thrive? It lives in the same places as everyone else. So when those bombs fall, you aren’t just attacking the enemy, you are attacking those who mere hours before you were so eager to help. These innocent lives will get written off as collateral damage, because you may have gotten your guy, or his cousin who may or may not be planning something. No the holy doctrine of Hydra will emerge from the smoke, dust and blood. It will let everyone know that the West doesn’t care about them, just look how they rained bombs down on you. The hydra will gain a few more heads.

The next thing that will happen is a form of domestic terrorism that is evident in everyday life but most people ignore. The American new channels will replay that video depicting a blatant threat on Washington DC, over and over and over and over again. This is a method to instill fear, to sway the public to one side of a political debate on whether or not we should allow Syrian refugees into the country. Yes I said Instill fear, and yes that is part of the definition of terrorism, but please do not gloss over the part about how that fear is used for political purposes…UH-oh. Turn on the radio, turn on the television, and you are going to hear how it’s possible that one or more of the perpetrators could have maybe entered France with the refugees. You are going to hear about how America needs to close its borders so this doesn’t happen to us. So the governors of Michigan and Alabama said that Syrian Refugees are not welcome in their respective states. Good job guys you just cut off another of the Hydra’s heads. You gave them the ability to say “see America doesn’t care about you, why not join us?”, and the Hydra now has a stockpile of heads.

We need to stop embracing fear. We need to stop embracing hatred. The news tells us that we need to fear the Islamic faith.  The NRA tells us that we need more guns, and more people wandering around packing heat. People are crying out in America for a new era of segregation. They are claiming that shooting ranges should not be open to anyone who identifies as Muslim, because they do not want them to train at their ranges. This is all fearmongering. Islam is not a violent faith, and not all Muslims are terrorists. That would be like insinuating that all white males are members of the KKK. It is an irrational fear that is pounded into minds devoid of rationality. The western world is collectively adding heads to the Hydra by lumping an entire group of people, one of the largest groups of people in the world, together and labeling them as extremists when that is not the case for 99.999% of the Muslim population. The rally cry for more guns in the hands of more people is always the first thing that 2^nd amendment activists chant. “If those people enjoying their dinners, or the concert, or that heathen sport soccer had guns, then this wouldn’t have happened.” Or there are people comparing France to Texas. “When they tried to attack the Texas cartoonist, the Texans had guns and the only dead were the terrorists.” This an insane argument. If you are in a restaurant enjoying your two pound steak and someone walks in with an assault rifle and an explosive belt, I do not care if you’re Clint Eastwood, you and your snub nose .38 are not going to magically alter reality. Putting more guns in more hands is just asking for more events like this, only it won’t always be the evil terrorists, sometimes is going to be the disgruntled white guy who just wants some attention. Calling for a ban in gun ranges is asinine too. I mean first off, if there is ever a group of people who should be strapped for protection, it is Muslims in this day and age. You have millions of hate filled Americans with itchy trigger fingers just waiting for an excuse to play hero. And secondly, the biggest group of supporters for this mindless action are the same group whose beloved regime is responsible for supplying and training these people. History repeats itself over and over again, because it is easier to find a simple solution to the now (ie. Arming whatever side we want to win) than worry about the long term ramifications of those actions.

People need to take a step back from those faces on the magic picture box, and really take a look at the world for themselves. Terrorism is not just violent acts like what happened in Paris. Terrorism is using fear to manipulate. When we start building walls, and buying more guns, and regurgitating everything our favorite political pundit says, we are not only buying into terrorism, but becoming terrorists ourselves. The fear that is pumped into our minds every day blinds us to the lives that our actions ruin. We need to stop simplifying the world’s turmoil. We need to dissect it piece by piece, until we get to the core of our problems, and learn how to unify despite differences. If you really want to beat terrorism, stop funding their ideals with your fear based actions.

Reviews

[David Marsden]

I agree with all of this. I can remember, here in England, a few years ago we had a knife amnesty where thousands of knives were handed in at the police stations around the country, no questions asked. The obvious question to ask ourselves was: how many criminals handed in their knives?
As regards muslims or any other religeon around the globe, I think you made a valid point about the minority not the whole. Most people just want to live a free and happy life away from violence. In my opinion there are only two types of people in this world, good and bad. That is the message you convey in this piece.
I'm not a bible thumper but when Jesus said "turn the other cheek" I think there was more to it than letting someone slap you on the face without retaliating. This verse should be studdied more. He was a man of peace and a man for every cread.
I think peace is the way to go. We demonstrated this eventually by listening and talking to the IRA, now Ireland has peace, almost.
I like how you show the horrors of war to demonstrate that peace is the answer.