The Paris Attacks And After

I wrote this in parts over the weeks since 13 November. At home, on the train, at work, on my phone and on my work computer. It sort of makes sense and doesn't. Disjointed, like the news that shaped my thoughts. Before I scrap it, I think I should put it out there. They are still words from inside. Then start again. 

__________

Who is the terrorist?

You are. You who is lucky not to know any violence because everything bad that happens is so far away that your ability to emphatize is limited to not being able to find a seat in a cafe or not being able to find a parking lot when many others have to deal with threats, fear, bombs, guns and knives on a daily basis.

You are. You with your bias that who we choose to help should look like you, a view that strikes fear among those who look different, pray different, dress different and eat different. A bias that feeds the fear and sparks the hate.

You are. You with your shock for what happened in Paris and ignorance of and apathy towards the 19 who were killed in Baghdad and the 43 who were killed in Beirut the day before, the 50 injured in Dhaka, 22 killed in Pakistan and 27 killed in Nigeria the month earlier. 

You are. You who keeps your head down and eyes glued to your phone, ignoring the world around you because all that matters is a Facebook tag or an Instagram like, ignoring those who need some help, dismissing the voices and opinions of those who care to make a difference, just cruising along life.  

I'm sorry. I am guilty too. 

Apathy, ignorance, intolerance and indifference - these traits will slowly us turn into the ones that feed the hunger in the terrorists we see on TV, the ones with the Kalashnikovs and suicide vests. They relish the simplicity of knowing you won't fight back or are afraid to interact with those who are not like you or that you wouldn't stand up to defend a stranger. 

Where are our saviours now? I read a couple of weeks ago that members of the Satanic Church were open to give protection to Muslims. Today I read the Sicilian Mafia has warned IS against going too far. The tough guys are now standing up to the enigmatic terror. Funny how tables turn. 

Now that France declared a 'pitiless' campaign to rid their attackers, the question of military might over personal rights needs to be asked. Do we do a Jack Bauer with his all-it-takes antics to get information (and bone marrow) from his captives? What personal freedoms will we surrender for this explicit mass intrusion into our private lives? I'm sure people are asking already, and are worried. 

The onslaught of bombs on Syria began almost a day after the Paris attacks. Russia also started from the other end (amazing how they can fire missiles from ships from over 1,000 miles away, a long awaited display of Russian power with lots of photos, videos and patriotic rhetoric to boot, from their Defence Ministry no less. #chestthump) The ground must be obliterated by now. In the wake of the rapid rebuttal, no one cared to ask about the people on the ground, the ones who couldn't run away. Images are now emerging of the innocent dead. Has Syria and Iraq become everyone's tit-for-tat playground? 

We know the Syrian regime isn't going anywhere anytime soon, now with Russia stepping in as muscular aide confidant. We know the western powers have been aiding different opposing groups in the Middle East to keep their favourites in power or help bring their not-so-compliant dictator down. It's been going on for decades. The difference now is that someone else has decided enough is enough and he wants that power too. The religious spin is just a way to get more people believing in the cause. In the end, it's always about land and resources. (Look at how China is buying up both overseas, to eventually feed and support its own people far away.) it's also about control. The US wants some, the UK wants some, maybe even France wants a piece of the action. Russia clearly has demonstrated its desires with their ongoing wham-bam show. The problem is that these superpowers haven't dictated any terms to make the status quo any better. The Saudis openly behead criminals in the name of Shariah law. No western power has said "Hey you Saudi ruling family, can we tone down on the savagery so that we can work together?" So what's stopping IS from invoking the same law? The Saudis are the keepers of Islam. So monkey see, monkey do? 

I asked my team mates, two Singaporean Chinese guys, at work this question - So what if there was only the IS assholes left in Syria, no one less, would you be ok if some country dropped a nuclear bomb on the place? The father of two said yes almost without hesitation. The other guy, no kids, said no. I'm sure other people are thinking it too - just do a mass clearing of the people, leave the violent Islamist cult there, and blow them to smithereens with a megaflash of blinding light with pretty, white mushroom cloud after. I say no too. It'll open up too many doors that we couldn't come back from. The terrorists will want to get a nuclear device to blow everyone else to Kingdom Come too. We've all seen the movies. This is one version of fiction that needs to stay that way. 

It's making us crazy, and we're likely to make more mistakes before things start to be better. We'll probably be ok with sending in more soldiers and dropping more bombs. And saying stupid things to make everyone just a tad more upset and perhaps unwittingly justifying the terrorists' cause. 

__________