The horrific events that occurred in France this past week are so incredibly tragic I can't even begin to fathom the grief and fear flowing through the streets of Paris. Only in my deepest fears do I have any understanding of the intense sadness and and frustration that goes along with these acts of terrible cruelty, and only in my worst nightmares would I ever be able to apprehend the hateful and violent nature of the humans who could commit such appalling crimes against innocent people.

My heart goes out to Paris in these dark times, but my profile picture, does not.

I remain flag-less on several accounts, but I have two reasons I think are important for everyone to understand. First, the world opened its eyes within minutes of the shootings and bombings in Paris, Facebook, twitter, and Instagram flooded with #PrayforParis. But a mere two hours earlier there were twin suicide bombers in Beirut, Lebanon also accredited to ISIS, the same extremist group that claimed that Paris attacks, yet the internet remained silent. Facebook doesn't give me the option to change my photo to red and white or add a green cedar tree in support of the nearly 300 people wounded and killed in Beirut; nor does Facebook give me any sort of option to stand with the 224 killed in the bombing of Russian passenger jet a few days before.

This is in no way aimed to target the thousands of people who have changed the colors of their profile picture in these past few days, in reality I value and respect your support and condolences. But I can only hope that we take this opportunity to think more critically about the way the media is allowing us to grieve. If you type "ISIS attack" into google (as of today, November 16), the first 31 links are all surrounding the events in Paris; there is nothing regarding attacks in other countries until the fourth page. Facebook, one of the most globally powerful social media sites, only presents its support in relation to Paris. Terrorism is not relevant and meaningful only when it affects a large, popular, and influential country. Terrorism is something that is constantly affecting nations all over the world, all of the time and lost and disturbed lives of those in third world countries are equally important as those in developed countries.

But even aside from the lack of representation that this profile-picture-support campaign yields, we are still left with a colossally pressing issue, the lack of action. While displaying the French colors for all your internet friends to see is certainly a kind act of solidarity, what does it actually do? Does it send relief aid to victims and families affected by the disaster? Does it take measures to prevent tragedies like this from occurring in the future? Does it minimize the intolerance and injustices that perpetuate these acts of terror?

There tends to be a disconnect when hardships like these happen overseas. It is easy to feel both detached and powerless. Terrorism is not just a problem for the cities and people that are facing it firsthand, it is a problem for all of us. In times of tragedy, we as humans often feel the need to reach out, to share our condolences, to help in any way possible. I worry that bearing the French flag on our Facebook pages may fulfill our internal need to be supportive, when in reality it is not enough. If you really want to support France, spread love. Fight the prejudice and bigotry that takes place here at home. Stop assuming that terrorists are from one region, one race, and one religion. Realize that the discrimination stemming from fear is one of the main motives for extremist groups like ISIS. The marginalization of cultural and ethnic groups are what fuels this violent hatred. Terrorism is preventable. Now I'm not asking you to suit up and hop on the first fighter plane out of here, I simply hope that we can arm ourselves with knowledge and understanding. I want for us to look at the root of this problem and realize that each of us how the power to make a change.

So even though my profile picture may not show it, I stand with Paris, and Lebanon, and every other person of every other country that feels unsafe and fearful of injustices. I stand with action, I stand with change, I stand with tolerance.