Paris. Orlando. Baghdad. Istanbul. Brussels, and now Nice.
These are only a handful of the most recent terror attacks that have been plaguing our modern-day society. I remember when the bombings in Paris happened, I had gone into a frenzy trying to think of something I could do to help the people in France. I knew at that moment that the world had really changed for the worse. Then, more bombings happened. We never heard much about them. I didn't think anything of it. My life continued as it always had. I went to classes; I went to work; I came back to my res hall when I was at school, and that was it. I had changed my Facebook profile photo to have France's flag overlaid across my photo, and everything else was normal.
Then, The Orlando shootings happened. Big gap in time, yes, but that was when my life was next affected by terrorist attacks. I was scared, and I had been thinking hard about what the future had in store for the human race, because we seemed to just slowly be imploding around ourselves. I decided to run to Facebook to tell the world that I was not afraid of being who I was, and most especially that this meant gun restrictions needed to happen. I cared in this moment, but then it was over for me, and many other people.
Then I came across an interesting article by the Huffington Post that was all about how after the suicide bombing on Istanbul's Ataturk Airport, there was virtually no support coming from any predominantly white country. It seemed that we couldn't have cared any less for this attack, but when any country that was similar to us is in pain from an attack, we do not hesitate to show our support. I had shared the article on Facebook, and a mutual of mine decidedly commented "When I find a gallon of milk on the floor I'm confused. When I find the milk in the fridge, I don't think anything of it. Same thing really."
I'm so heartbroken to hear about the attack in Istanbul, Turkey. This image is so sad, but so true. pic.twitter.com/6Y8xnPUqIy
— Anna Todd (@imaginator1dx) June">https://twitter.com/imaginator1dx/status/747908081... 28, 2016
I wanted to vomit when I read that. By saying this, he said that since these attacks were meant to stay located in the small regions of the Middle-East, because that's where they're meant to be. When these attacks are outside of the invisible lines created only to divide people, then there is cause for action, and that action is to put the milk back in its place.
When I was younger, my mother always told me "never cry over spilled milk". I listened, I was a clumsy kid so I probably spilled milk a lot. Yes, it was a waste, but I cleaned it up and the problem was over. That's not the case here.
With the newest attacks in Nice, France, I cannot help but imagine the same thing will happen. Americans will stand in solidarity with France once again, and while that is absolutely the right thing to do, we will only do this while we clean up the spilled milk and try to bottle it back up and hide it in the back of the fridge. Everyday Americans would never do this for any of the Middle-Eastern countries that have suffered and are suffering now through these atrocities.
I wish that so many people would realize that these attacks are growing, and because of our denial of them existing in the first place, this is why we find ourselves moving towards a world in which all we do now is cry over spilled milk.
