It may surprise some who read this that I am not in possession of any kind of social media- I do not have a Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or SnapChat. While this does not trouble me in any way, it does mean that I am not necessarily in the loop when new trends or debates surface among my peers. My main "feed" is usually the New York Times, when I have a chance to look it up. I also learn a lot about what is going on in the world from my parents, who are much better at keeping up with current news than I am. However, one event that exploded in the news, both in newspapers and on social media (I presume) was the slew of attacks on Paris. I realize this isn't exactly a current issue- it occurred on November 13th, after all. However, it still remains in my memory for two reasons: Firstly, because of the completely unexpected nature of the attacks (and the brutality of the party that instigated them) and secondly, because of the massive amount of press coverage that it received.
Now, as I said, I don't have any social media, so I was unable to see or share any "posts" about the event. However, I read numerous news stories about the topic in the days that followed, which probably doesn't count, but I thought I might mention anyway.
My first reaction to the news was a feeling like someone had sucked all the air out of me and left my shell behind. I felt sad not just for the people of Paris, but also for humanity. There were so many people at the time who instinctively reacted to the event by calling for blood: In essence responding to violence with violence. It seemed like as a species, we have descended into a circle of death. We justify it by calling our radical responses justice. What we forget is that this mindset does not solve anything. EVER.
I was drawn to this story because it was heartbreaking. However, as I continued to research the event, and kept reading the endless stream of articles about it, I also started to ask questions. Why was it that an attack on Paris that yielded 129 casualties got more news coverage than almost daily ISIS attacks in Islamic states and resulting in just as many deaths? Stories of that nature had been flooding out of the Middle East for years prior to this event. For instance, a double suicide attack occurred on November 12 in Beirut, which caused 43 civilian deaths, and the only news I heard about that was in a short side article in the New York Times. Hearing about this baffled me, because it made me question why that story wasn’t making headlines. In addition, ISIS has been launching attacks in places like Algeria, Egypt, and Pakistan, yet these attacks are apparently not considered important enough for the press.
This didn't stem my sympathy and horror at hearing about the attacks on Paris. Quite the contrary. However, the story overall also made me conscious of how little the Western press seems to value Islamic countries. ISIS hasn’t just affected Paris. It has affected Middle Eastern and African countries for years. More importantly, it has affected people, and that’s what I feel we should take away from this.
Much later in the month, I saw a Youtube video that was heart-wrenchingly beautiful. It was of a Muslim man standing in the Place de la Republique in Paris wearing a blindfold. At his feet was a handmade sign that said (in French) "I'm a Muslim and I'm told that I'm a terrorist. I trust you. Do you trust me? If yes, hug me!" Many mourning Parisians in fact did hug him. Even re-watching it two months later, it still brings tears to my eyes, because it so perfectly encapsulates what our mindsets should be about events of terror like this. The answer is not as simple as eradicating everyone who is of the same race as the instigators (as Donald Trump advocates at every turn). It is instead to unite as one people against an evil that we should all be concerned about. It doesn't matter if we are different genders, ethnicities or ages. We are all the same, as cheesy as that sounds, and inciting violence at every turn is not going to make anyone safer.
The Youtube video I referenced can be found here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lRbbEQkraYg
