Last week Brussels, today it's Lahore. The Taliban, ISIS, you name them, are at it... most days have some kind of horrendous news story that makes one shake their heads and think that this world is no longer worth living in. There is so much violence and destruction that especially the West is freaking out because, let's face it, these guys don't really remember violence and destruction. It's been over 70 years since Western Europe has seen proper attacks that cost human lives and people just started getting comfortable. Mind I say that the attacks the West now faces are pathetic in number compared to the destruction World Wars brought and which is still happening in the rest of the world. Despite all these bad news every day the problem I'm perceiving on a daily basis is not the terrorist; it's the people that fall for their tactics.
What brought more destruction to the European continent in the middle of the last century, Jews or those who wanted to get rid of them? Easy answer, of course, although we could argue that many of the bombs dropped on Germany were not put there to save the Jews. No sane person would argue that 31 dead people in Brussels are not 31 too many, but through the retrospective lens the actual casualties of terrorism are still not very high. A fear of being killed by a terrorist still rationally shouldn't outweigh the fear of dying in a car accident and still we have thousands of people refusing to wear their seat belts or driving under the influence. The common-sensical conclusion should therefore be that we hate terrorists as much as we hate every murderer, and we will try to catch and put them to justice like all of them. The fact they seem to be acting out of a religious belief is as banal as a robber killing a grandma for her earrings. And let's face it, Christians weren't too great not too long ago either.
The danger the world should fear, on the other hand, is the result of these ridiculous attacks: xenophobia, fear-mongering and straight out discrimination. If the world continues to punish a religion of over a billion people for the acts of a few we sure as hell will have a huge problem soon, and it will cost more than 31 people. What's truly tragic about it is that the only thing this does is not make sense, The human race has done this many times, and I can convincingly argue it was a disaster every single time. The Jews were persecuted for centuries for killing Christ. Who really did kill Christ? We don't even know. It's not like his murderer ever stood trial. All we know is he was a Jew and the Jews loved it, so let's kill them all. If this is an acceptable rhetoric for people today then I've got news for you: the terrorists are not our problem.
I quite personally know some people whose attitude make me think that I no longer want to live in this world. Of course I despise terrorism, but I despise a person concluding that refugees I have met during my work in the Balkans only come to kill Christians and the freedom of the West more. Unfortunately it is exactly that freedom that allows racists to achieve incredible successes politically by projecting fear on a demographic for personal gain because there is nothing in it for one Gerd Wilders, Frauke Petry or Gabor Vona other than influence. Being of true conviction that refugees entering the EU being the end to our lives because the majority of them are terrorists or will become them can have only one origin, and that's not the truth, but ignorance and misinformation, because that's not an opinion but an incorrect fact. I'm scared too, but I'm scared of these bigots that refuse to adapt to facts and as a result antagonize the world.
On social media these poorly educated people are vocal about their fear of the unknown, and their poor education does not justify why they have hateful stances but explains it since their lack of making correct conclusions is evidently non-existent. With nothing but pity for their fear I actually fear them more than the threats of terrorism: their votes will make my country's radicalized politicians rise again, their hate will poison societies and their nationalism will prevent thousands of stranded refugees in Idomeni from securing survival. I genuinely fail to see how some douchbags on a suicide west are bigger threats than that, and how the United States of America continue to be scared of some immigrants when all of them walk around with guns. A mere look at the odds would do some people some good. And I will continue to prove these people wrong on social media because that's all I can do against it right now...
What brought more destruction to the European continent in the middle of the last century, Jews or those who wanted to get rid of them? Easy answer, of course, although we could argue that many of the bombs dropped on Germany were not put there to save the Jews. No sane person would argue that 31 dead people in Brussels are not 31 too many, but through the retrospective lens the actual casualties of terrorism are still not very high. A fear of being killed by a terrorist still rationally shouldn't outweigh the fear of dying in a car accident and still we have thousands of people refusing to wear their seat belts or driving under the influence. The common-sensical conclusion should therefore be that we hate terrorists as much as we hate every murderer, and we will try to catch and put them to justice like all of them. The fact they seem to be acting out of a religious belief is as banal as a robber killing a grandma for her earrings. And let's face it, Christians weren't too great not too long ago either.
The danger the world should fear, on the other hand, is the result of these ridiculous attacks: xenophobia, fear-mongering and straight out discrimination. If the world continues to punish a religion of over a billion people for the acts of a few we sure as hell will have a huge problem soon, and it will cost more than 31 people. What's truly tragic about it is that the only thing this does is not make sense, The human race has done this many times, and I can convincingly argue it was a disaster every single time. The Jews were persecuted for centuries for killing Christ. Who really did kill Christ? We don't even know. It's not like his murderer ever stood trial. All we know is he was a Jew and the Jews loved it, so let's kill them all. If this is an acceptable rhetoric for people today then I've got news for you: the terrorists are not our problem.
I quite personally know some people whose attitude make me think that I no longer want to live in this world. Of course I despise terrorism, but I despise a person concluding that refugees I have met during my work in the Balkans only come to kill Christians and the freedom of the West more. Unfortunately it is exactly that freedom that allows racists to achieve incredible successes politically by projecting fear on a demographic for personal gain because there is nothing in it for one Gerd Wilders, Frauke Petry or Gabor Vona other than influence. Being of true conviction that refugees entering the EU being the end to our lives because the majority of them are terrorists or will become them can have only one origin, and that's not the truth, but ignorance and misinformation, because that's not an opinion but an incorrect fact. I'm scared too, but I'm scared of these bigots that refuse to adapt to facts and as a result antagonize the world.
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