Discussion about Friday the 13th Paris Attacks

The possibility for this thread to spiral out of control is high, but it is important to have a thread to discuss, complain, grieve, and to overall just feel about the incident as a group. If you have been affected by the attacks in any way know (whether it is personal injury, loss of a relative, or just having a friend who was there) that I feel for you and empathize with your situation. I can not know what you or any of those people are going through nor may I ever truly "know" what they are feeling but know that as a human being I am here to listen and respond to you. Whether others in this community will be there for you in this time I can not say. But I am here. If you feel the desire for your words to be heard here is the place to discuss them.

It is tragic that these events occurred and that so many fell victim to these attacks but it is important to not lose sight of the situation. Do not say something that you may come to regret. Empathize with all those affected, not just those injured or killed in the attacks. Not just their relatives. But also those truly innocent refugees who will certainly suffer backlash from people's responses to this attack.

The unknown is a scary enemy and people will try to blame what they can understand. Many will stereotype all of those from the middle east as responsible. Many will blame policies put in place by politicians or lack of policies put in place. Many will blame the refugees because their arrival hid the attackers. It is important to rise above that fear and to not let lead to uninformed statements.

But I understand that any tragic situation requires people to cope with the event in their own manner. If you wish to lay blame to vent your anger then I'll calmly do my best to point you to a less aggressive or more informed line of thought. I pledge that I will not berate or belittle you. I warn you to not try to convince me that your point is correct or that your opinions are an absolute truth. I have my own views and you have yours and I will allow you to state your views and I will respect them as long as you respect mine.

If disrespect is given I will report your post to the proper admin, but I will ask them to not remove your post but to put it into spoilers so that your voice will not be erased but your disrespect will be noted. To those admins who watch this thread: It is important to not silence people's message no matter how vitriolic or negative it may be. If a message is flagged or something is seen as offensive please spoil the post and explain why it was spoiled but leave it so that others may view it. I do not ask you to not ban them or to not give them warnings only to leave their message so that others can understand. It will be important for other members of the community to discuss why those "spoiled" posts were disrespectful and to sort through their ideas and beliefs communally and learn how to be civil.

So this thread is place to discuss the tragedy but also is an instrument to teach members in the community how to respond to tragedy, be empathetic, and to overall be more effective at conversing with others in a difficult situation.

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This will be the start of my own thoughts on the subject. I can't help but think about how IS has shown how their capabilities have escalated. Coordinated assaults, multiple bombings, a large hostage situation, using the refugees as cover... it was effective... Too fucking effective. Exploiting the sympathy of the general populace to the plight of refugees, that they created from Syria, as an effective leash on the governments from enacting draconian but effective strategies (those strategies being completely closing off borders it sucks for the refugees but it would have prevented cells from entering in that manner)... It sucks. It sucks that we haven't figured out an effective way to help those in need and to root out potential threats without being completely inhuman. It sucks how so many people couldn't see the dangers from the tide of refugees. That tunnel vision on helping people and being charitable people... man they found an effective tactic to exploit that emotion. It all just sucks.

I don't want to get into a huge argument about higher levels of beliefs like "universal" or "relative" morality or whether in the grand scheme of things helping people and having those weaknesses would be worth it... Those arguments always go in circles and some beliefs are too deeply entrenched. The way I cope with this tragedy is that I look at how protecting against some vulnerabilities are a constant balance between going too far and going just far enough. In order to really be human you have to have that sympathy, that ability and emotional vulnerability that connects you to others and to accept them and help them despite those "costs." If we ignored those refugees and didn't provide aid and shelter I would have lost a lot of hope in humanity. Whether we are inherently good beings or inherently anything... I don't think I'll know that in my lifetime but when people make those sacrifices to help others knowing that there will be dangers I can say that they deserve my respect. So yeah thats my little diatribe about it... feel free to discuss.

 

All I have to say is that I am grieving for them. And that I blame IS.

 

Hit me by surprise, that's for sure.

I wonder, in 50 years, how we'll look back on this time. Will it be a massive scare? Something which will be forgotten to most in a few decades? Or will it be WW3?
Guess we'll find out.