It would be absurd for someone reading this to not know what event I am referring to, but for the sake of providing context: On Friday, November 13, Paris was attacked by the Islamic terrorist group ISIS. With the death toll at 137 currently, and most likely to continue to rise, this is the worst attack France has suffered since World War II. And now comes the aftermath.
We all know what will follow. We experienced something similar on 9/11, and although the death count was much higher on 9/11, France is also roughly the size of Texas. Security will heighten, everyone will get a little more nervous, and many people are unsure of what will happen next. This is one of the first attacks ISIS has made on the western world, and French president François Hollande claims that this was an "act of war." What does this mean for the United States? Is it possible the U.S. could be next? Or potentially dragged into a war? This is clearly much scarier than an insane person going on a murderous rampage (though this would also be tragic don't get me wrong). Terrorist groups such as ISIS can be smart. They can be methodical. They have organization and a plan and no one can guess what that plan is. This is also not ISIS's first attack. Events in the Middle East in countries such as Syria and Libya have been tragically resulting in high death numbers for awhile now, though not commonly covered by the United States media. In Beirut, Libya, suicide bombers killed 40 civilians going about their day, similar to what happened in Paris. Adel Tormous, sitting at a nearby coffee stand during the incident, would die tackling the second bomber in an act of bravery.
These events are not going to be broadcast in America on a wide scale. Which, to be fair, it is natural for media to care more about the Western world, especially as Paris is so close to the United States, and this kind of attack is extraordinarily uncommon in France, as previously stated. So now it is clear that ISIS has bigger intentions. France is now retaliating with airstrikes in Syria, and basically what needs to be taken away from all of this is this: what is happening right now is very important. Historical events are occurring, and if you are not paying attention to details of these attacks, it's time to start. If the United States won't show media coverage on other attacks elsewhere, such as Syria and Libya, it's your job to look for it. Instead of complaining about how corrupt our media is, get the information out. It's a time in our country where people everywhere young and old need to understand the seriousness of events unfolding and start caring. Start helping. Start figuring out what you can do and, at the very least, the first step is being informed.
While no one can be absolutely certain as to what will happen next, one thing I can say with almost absolute certainty is this: whenever something as tragic as this happens, racial profiling is almost always an unwanted and unwarranted result. You need to make a greater effort than before not to racially profile Muslims, and people of Middle Eastern descent. This Islamophobia is already bad since 9/11, but we as a country need to understand that ISIS is a group of outliers. No one is generalizing a whole group over the actions of the KKK, and that is what ISIS is to many Muslims. This is a very hard time for Muslims -- they have to grasp that people of their religion are doing this. Don't go around judging anyone in a hijab, they need our support now more than ever.
We don't know what is going to happen. The Western world is now thrown into a state of fear and confusion, and it is a time for us to come together to try and make sense of ISIS's brutality. We need to stand with Paris and support France. We need to stand with Lebanon. And Syria, and Libya, and many innocent civilians in other nations who need our support and help at this time.
Where you can lend your support:
- Doctors Without Borders: https://donate.doctorswithoutborders.org/onetime.c...
- Red Cross: www.redcross.org
- Local French charities who provide aid during emergencies such as this: https://don.secours-catholique.org/don_non_affecte...
