The United Kingdom has been through hell these last two weeks.
In a bloody turn for the worst following the Manchester Arena attack, London saw 2 terror acts June 3rd, 2017- a van on London Bridge that plowed through pedestrians and suspects in Borough Market who began stabbing bar goers. In spite of the critical threat level instituted following the May 22nd Manchester Attack, 7 more people lost their lives Saturday and dozens more were injured and continue to fight for their lives. ISIS has already claimed responsibility for the attack, which some are saying is a response to the Royal Air Force "Love From Manchester" bomb dropped on an ISIL-target.
Above: The handwritten message on an RAF bomb headed for an ISIS target following the Manchester attack
The truth is I'm horrified. But then I'm not. I'm desensitized. When the Pulse shooting happened, we asked ourselves how anyone could invade this special and safe space for the LGBTQ+ community. When the Paris attacks happened we cried, not the City of Love. When Manchester happened, we said spare the children, at least. Now, not 2 weeks out from the bloodiest attack in the UK in over a decade, we have nothing left to bargain with. There are no places to hide. Nothing to offer or destroy the insatiable terror group that would stop them.
And at the same time, we can't stop fighting this. There is no relief in defeat. The West cannot let a bloodthirsty, caliphate-seeking pack of "losers" determine how we live our lives. We can't allow a regressive and violent terror group bully us out of living our lives. We have to go to concerts, we need to travel, we need to be Western and proud of it. Admittedly, it's less safe than ever to go for a walk or grab a burger. But it's these little things that terrorists try to scare us out of doing, with every bomb, truck, and knife.
We're living in times where it's incredibly easy to be disheartened by the atrocities around us and it's not going to end anytime soon. The harsh answer is that this problem is a long way from seeing resolution and that solution will not be peaceful. Knowing that we can't stop pushing for the world without jihad, terror and honor killings. A friend of mine gave me a phrase for this: "Hope is the last thing that is lost". We can't lose hope. So with that,
Good luck to the world.
