I cannot speak for others. I’m not going to pretend I can. And I won’t do it, lest I misrepresent any voices and viewpoints. But I will speak what is my perspective; that’s certainly all I can do.
This past Friday night (11/13/15) a group of terrorists launched coordinated attacks on innocent people throughout the city of Paris, France. A bomb went off, shots were fired, bystanders were taken hostage. And in the end, 129 individuals were dead and another 352 wounded. People had just been going about their daily lives. Then suddenly they were targeted, and the thin veil that hangs between each of us and the violent nature of this world fell away. Through the media updates and images, we — those not in Paris — bore witness to the terror experienced by the people within that city.
The entirety of the situation is both complex and simple. It is complex because of the multifarious nature of the terrorists’ motives and the politics surrounding the implications of what they did. And, yet, it is simple because many people are dead, and that means so many others are in mournful despair — families, friends, and those who survived.
Numerous politicians and media outlets are so quick to place blame for these events. And we all know who will be yoked with that blame. It is far too easy to do this, and the act only serves to create further barriers against peace and solidarity. The throwing of recriminations at all Muslim-identifying people throughout the world is utterly foolhardy and irresponsible. What these terrorist organizations proclaim to be in the name of religion is not truly religious in nature at all. Instead, it is a horrifying blend of misogyny and extremism that they cloak in a banner of something that they only call "Islam." What they truly do is far removed from the heart of that religion to which they have laid claim. Not to mention that thousands among those they target are identified-Muslims. And what of those other victims of terrorism throughout the world that the media and politicians have not deemed as worthy of our attention as those in Paris, France? There are many names and faces missing in the updates and headlines that also deserve our support — most of these being non-white and non-Western in origin.
That said, no one should feel any shame for mourning, for experiencing sadness, toward what happened in Paris and those affected. It is certainly a terrible thing. No one deserves it. And those who survived and the rest of us out in the surrounding world all have a right to our emotions. We need time to experience them fully and allow even more time to reflect on both the complexity and simplicity of what has occurred. It is in these moments of mourning and sadness that we ought to realize that how we react to our emotions will be very important in the coming days, weeks, months, and years. This is a time to take stock of what and whom we deem important in this world. Because the type of terrorism seen in Paris is not singular to that city and its people. It is a sincere hope of mine that the events of last Friday night will open up some — hopefully many — minds to those other cities and peoples throughout the world, to the horrors and oppression they have suffered. Mourning and condolences should not be limited to only those that the media deem worthy. Stand also with all terrorized people — be it due to racism, misogyny, homo/transphobia, religious extremism, capitalism, classism, whatever — in all places on this earth.
I am not certain that this will have a positive outcome as I have yet to see one under such circumstances in the past. It seems more likely that there will be a severe and fevered backlash against the entirety of the Islam-identifying world — though the overwhelming majority of which do not share any ties or agendas with those who terrorize. This makes me increasingly wary as it does more to divide those of us who would stand against the terrorist threat from one another, creating a much more vulnerable population. And it makes many others more susceptible to the dangerous messages humming about from these terrorist organizations all over the world. We’ve seen this numerous times. I just wonder how many more times we will let history play out in this manner before we can begin to change the course.
"later that night
I held an atlas in my lap
ran my fingers across the whole world
and whispered
where does it hurt?
It answered
everywhere
everywhere
everywhere."
-Warsan Shire
No comments:
Post a Comment