Terrorism is defined as the use of violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims. No race is included in this definition, so why do we act as if there is? Terrorism needs no certain number of people that must be included to be classified as that; so why do we only focus on the big attacks? Terrorism doesn’t have a designated location. So why aren’t the attacks in Africa or Japan as publicized as they should be? How come the attacks in Paris carry a greater weight than the threats in Missouri?

Of course, ”we” is subjective. I do not believe in these accusations, but I say “we,” because we are all humans and until every single individual moves towards progression to make this racism leave, we are responsible. Until we reach this position, we are not united in fighting terrorism to our fullest potential.

So here I stand, making an attempt at putting out my opinion and offering an educated perspective to any of my readers that may have ignorant views. If the famous Ann Coulter can openly tweet, “Why does NO ONE say the obvious thing on TV?! It’s insane. Don’t want terrorism in the US? Stop importing Muslims!” then, there is written proof that we have a major problem we must get rid of. To many of you, I may be just stating the obvious, but this issue must be addressed by everyone before there is an impactful change.

Unfortunately, in this past month there have been inhumane events that have taken the lives of innocent people and left an impact on many of us. The much-known occurrence of the shooting and explosions in Paris took place only two days ago, putting over a hundred people’s lives in danger. The thought of being in that same stadium or restaurant is unimaginable, yet multiple people who would never imagine themselves in that position had to experience it. Social media took a respectable step towards giving awareness to a huge audience - Twitter, Snapchat, and Facebook users all over the world, and reminded each one of us to give out our thoughts to the ones who have been attacked or taken.

A simple filter or hashtag brought people together to learn more about the event as well as express their disgust towards the cruelty displayed by the terrorism. This has shown us the power of social media and the news, yet why don’t they do this for every terrorist attack? Why don’t we come together to speak our minds for the other targeted people around the world?

In other recent news, fatal racial threats were made at the University of Missouri. The football team protested the threats by refusing to play until the President of the college resigned due to the lack of action he took towards these threats. The students were desperate for help when they, too, were under a terrorist threat. Both groups targeted, in Paris and Missouri, were differently sized, yet both groups were under the threat of death. Missouri was desperate for help as it remained under racial discrimination for longer than many people know, but instead of receiving help, they were forced to boycott until the situation was more controlled than what could’ve been. The dynamic of both situations were at opposing extremes, but both had the same problem: terrorism.

Although change must occur, improvements have started and it’s phenomenal to see that so many people across the world are able to understand what has happened in Paris but occurrences in Mizzou, along with other less addressed terrorist threats, need to be treated with equal severity. The two situations were different in many ways, but that is the reason I stand comparing the two. Mizzou’s threat was given beforehand and could’ve been stopped earlier than it was because of the blunt warning, but instead, it was not given enough attention. Paris was extremely sudden and there was no help that could be provided to the deaths that occurred.

Every life threatened needs to be fought for and every death is an equal loss. Social media and news can spread much of the awareness we need, but instead of doing it after the fact, we must begin making change in a proactive manner.

Unfortunately, these attacks will not be the last ones heard or experienced, but starting now will help end it sooner than later. Terrorism can spring up anywhere and affect any number of people. It is some of us who have the wrong impression of what terrorism actually is, and how it should be publicized. With further understanding and involvement, we can move to a better change; we are greater than terrorism and if united, we can make a difference.