Hard_Rom
Northumbrian Skald
- Joined
- Apr 24, 2014
- Posts
- 13,623
Very good article! It's an opinion piece not news but still good.
http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/opinion-story/6125999-peace-is-the-only-answer/
Peace is the only answer
London Community News
By Eric Shepperd
Terrorism is a performing art.
The ultimate goal of a terrorist attack is not to kill or destroy — it is to elicit fear. If you are scared, then the terrorists have succeeded.
On a Friday night, a group of armed extremists attacked the city of Paris, killing dozens of people. In the wake of the attacks, the 24-hour news networks furnished wall-to-wall coverage, complete with dramatic theme music and speculative hysteria. Facebook turned red, white, and blue with profile picture overlays and “prayers for Paris.”
The day before, suicide bombers attacked the cities of Beirut and Baghdad. We did not have the same reaction to the attacks in Iraq and Lebanon, nor to ongoing violence and suffering in Syria and elsewhere in the world. Why the difference? Symbolism.
It’s no wonder attacks of this kind happen in the most iconic of locations. Paris is symbolic: the city of love. An attack on a symbol invades our minds, threatening us wherever we are.
Because of the symbolic power of the act, we erupt with an outpouring of grief. But in our state of heightened emotion, fear begins to creep in: could my city be next?
By way of mass communication, we are made to feel fear from half a world away. The terrorist needs no weapon; the Internet and mass media does all the work.
I’ve written about fear before. It’s built into the very centre of our brains to help keep us safe from danger. The fear reflex is a powerful and valuable emotion, but it is easy to exploit.
Without a large army and heavy weapons, terrorists use showmanship to scare us. They release well-produced propaganda videos with threatening masked figures and graphic executions. They target civilians with bombs and small arms to provoke retaliation.
It’s an easy jump from fear to anger and finger-pointing. Within days of the attack, there were hate crimes targeting innocent Muslims and refugees.
In response to violence, our governments inflict yet more violence — not always against the guilty. In some parts of the world the sky is full of military drones. The terror of sudden death from above is very real. ISIS uses this form of terrorism to their advantage too.
Western airstrikes and military occupations are ISIS’s best recruiting tools:
“Look,” the charming jihadist exclaims as explosions are heard in the distance, ‘the infidels are trying to kill you and your family! Join us and together we will destroy them.’”
Every time a bomb drops, a terrorist gets its wings.
ISIS is fundamentally a doomsday cult. Their territory is small and marginal, and they have little popular support. The concrete threat they pose is minimal, limited to a few targeted acts like these.
The real danger is in the reaction they provoke. To a group bent on bringing about the apocalypse, peace is the enemy. Fear is their only weapon.
These people are not Muslim, in the same way the Westboro Baptists are not Christian. By hijacking the name of Islam, they’re provoking the West to turn against Muslims, stoking the flames of a false religious war.
The goal of ISIS is to incite xenophobia, paranoia, and hatred. They’re exploiting our instinctual fear of strangers to turn us against each other.
ISIS will not be defeated through military might. The antidote to hatred is not war, but peace.
Extremism is countered by moderation, and fear is erased by understanding.
The militants say they love death more than we love life.
The turning point of this struggle will come when we learn to love life — all life — with a zeal unbreakable by fear.
http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/opinion-story/6125999-peace-is-the-only-answer/
Peace is the only answer
London Community News
By Eric Shepperd
Terrorism is a performing art.
The ultimate goal of a terrorist attack is not to kill or destroy — it is to elicit fear. If you are scared, then the terrorists have succeeded.
On a Friday night, a group of armed extremists attacked the city of Paris, killing dozens of people. In the wake of the attacks, the 24-hour news networks furnished wall-to-wall coverage, complete with dramatic theme music and speculative hysteria. Facebook turned red, white, and blue with profile picture overlays and “prayers for Paris.”
The day before, suicide bombers attacked the cities of Beirut and Baghdad. We did not have the same reaction to the attacks in Iraq and Lebanon, nor to ongoing violence and suffering in Syria and elsewhere in the world. Why the difference? Symbolism.
It’s no wonder attacks of this kind happen in the most iconic of locations. Paris is symbolic: the city of love. An attack on a symbol invades our minds, threatening us wherever we are.
Because of the symbolic power of the act, we erupt with an outpouring of grief. But in our state of heightened emotion, fear begins to creep in: could my city be next?
By way of mass communication, we are made to feel fear from half a world away. The terrorist needs no weapon; the Internet and mass media does all the work.
I’ve written about fear before. It’s built into the very centre of our brains to help keep us safe from danger. The fear reflex is a powerful and valuable emotion, but it is easy to exploit.
Without a large army and heavy weapons, terrorists use showmanship to scare us. They release well-produced propaganda videos with threatening masked figures and graphic executions. They target civilians with bombs and small arms to provoke retaliation.
It’s an easy jump from fear to anger and finger-pointing. Within days of the attack, there were hate crimes targeting innocent Muslims and refugees.
In response to violence, our governments inflict yet more violence — not always against the guilty. In some parts of the world the sky is full of military drones. The terror of sudden death from above is very real. ISIS uses this form of terrorism to their advantage too.
Western airstrikes and military occupations are ISIS’s best recruiting tools:
“Look,” the charming jihadist exclaims as explosions are heard in the distance, ‘the infidels are trying to kill you and your family! Join us and together we will destroy them.’”
Every time a bomb drops, a terrorist gets its wings.
ISIS is fundamentally a doomsday cult. Their territory is small and marginal, and they have little popular support. The concrete threat they pose is minimal, limited to a few targeted acts like these.
The real danger is in the reaction they provoke. To a group bent on bringing about the apocalypse, peace is the enemy. Fear is their only weapon.
These people are not Muslim, in the same way the Westboro Baptists are not Christian. By hijacking the name of Islam, they’re provoking the West to turn against Muslims, stoking the flames of a false religious war.
The goal of ISIS is to incite xenophobia, paranoia, and hatred. They’re exploiting our instinctual fear of strangers to turn us against each other.
ISIS will not be defeated through military might. The antidote to hatred is not war, but peace.
Extremism is countered by moderation, and fear is erased by understanding.
The militants say they love death more than we love life.
The turning point of this struggle will come when we learn to love life — all life — with a zeal unbreakable by fear.
