- Around 130 people were shot dead in Paris, with around 350 (I think) others being injured badly.
- Around 127 (I think) people were killed in Kenya.
- There was an undersea earthquake in Japan. While there was no casualties, this can still have had some effect on people's lives.
- A football game in Germany was cancelled because of bomb threats.
There were lots of other things, but I can't find any news stories relating to them, because the only thing that was covered by the media was the attacks in Paris. I saw a quote that relates to this, and it was something along the lines of "One death is a tragedy, a thousand deaths is a statistic". This basically means that we can ignore the suffering and deaths of thousands of people, because we don't see it, we aren't there. But when something happens in the West, like Paris, suddenly, everyone is all political, and everyone is in mourning for those who died.
I'm not saying that it's wrong to mourn these people, but I feel as though we should also know that they weren't the only ones who died this weekend. Before I properly get into this, I'd like to say that I in no way support what ISIS are doing. I know that it's wrong, but the way that we're reacting to it is also wrong.
Okey dokey, so, I think I've already established how I feel about the lack of coverage on things other than the Paris attacks, so I can move on from that, even if I revisit it later on.
So these attacks in Paris. It is horrifying. At least 80 people died (were shot) in a 1,500 capacity music venue. Explosions were heard outside of a large football game. Restaurants were targeted. The attack was coordinated. People died. I cannot get over that. People were killed. And for what? Most of the people killed were under the age of 30. What did they do to deserve that?! They had barely lived!
For me, personally, the most horrific thing was the attack on Le Bataclan, the music venue in Paris. The thing that helped me sleep that night, after the attacks happened, was the idea that it would have been a large music venue. I mean, terrorists wouldn't attack a small venue, would they? The idea is to cause as much terror as possible, right? Well I was wrong. They targeted a 1,500 capacity venue. My first thought when I read this was 'that could have been me'. It's so selfish, I know. But those people could have attacked any music venue, anywhere in the world. I could have been at one of them. All I could think of was how terrified the people at Le Bataclan must have felt when the people around them were shot. Their friends could have died right in front of them. Or what if you were at the football stadium, and you heard explosions? Or having a nice meal with your family when people fucking died, right in front of you? I will be the first to admit that, holy shit, that really does scare me. It scares me a lot. And it's so wrong. And we act like we care, but do we really? We can say that we'll stand by Paris, but we won't, will we?
And yes, the events that happened were truly terrible. Shocking. It's so awful. Lots of people lost their lives. Families lost a member. People lost a lover. People lost their lives, when they did nothing to deserve that.
But the way that we have responded is wrong. France bombed Syria. Apparently a few people died. Surely that makes us just as bad as them? I read an article yesterday, written, apparently, by someone who was held hostage by ISIS. It stated that our bombs don't scare them. We cannot destroy what is going on there by killing more and more people. What we need is unity. We cannot argue between ourselves, as I saw some people doing on my Facebook feed. We cannot close our boarders and pretend like nothing is happening out there. Because it is. People are dying everyday and we're just ignoring it.
We have done nothing to help, other than change our Facebook profile pictures to the French flag. And yes, it does show unity, it shows that we do care, and that we are affected by what has happened over in Paris. But even this might have been turned against us. I saw in my Twitter feed (social media, woo!) that if you haven't changed your profile photo to the French flag, you can be considered pro-ISIS. I don't know if it's true though... The world is a weird place...
Since starting this post, I've had a driving lesson, and I have no idea what else to say, so the following will now be terrible.
Okay, I said I'd revisit this, so now I'm going to. All that I've seen on Facebook and Twitter since Friday evening is the Paris attacks. Only a few people took the time to realise that other people died. I feel so bad that I don't know what happened, but it wasn't covered by the media, at least, not as intensely (?) as the Paris attacks. Like, I want to know what is going on in the world that I live in. Is that such a crime?
And finally, while I'm thinking of it... Why do people feel the need to blame immigrants for this? Like, I swear we (the West of the world) caused this mess? Those people just want to be safe, from the destruction caused by something that they didn't do.
Wow, okay, I should probably stop writing now, because I don't really know what I'm talking about anymore.
Okey dokey guys, bye for now!
- Dottie.
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