The real tragedy of Terrorism

[Addison D.]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 9:00pm

In the long run, the damage done by terrorism is the change it brings about in the quality of life in the community.

The irony--and one has to question whether the subtle genius of this fact is even understood by terrorists--is that for the vast majority of people within the community, the most frequent, unpleasant experiences that result from acts of terror are NOT those actions taken by the terrorists.

If one is unfortunate enough to be directly and personally affected by a hostile act, it is, no doubt, deeply upsetting. But the relative population of such people is small. One sympathizes with them, of course, but most of us are not directly, personally affected.

The vast majority of us, however, ARE then forced to experience the endless, seemingly hysterical, over-wrought and tiresome RESPONSES to such acts. One is at the mall--having a perfectly lovely day--and finds oneself forced to listen to a screaming crowd denouncing terrorists.

Every single time one wants to board a plane, one finds oneself delayed by endless, tedious rounds of banal scrutiny. If one wants to sit quietly in a park adjacent to a facility patronized by people who may be associated with Terrorism, one finds one's peaceful pursuits endlessly interrupted by shrill and pointless catcalls and denunciations.

Ultimately, daily life is rendered very unpleasant for everyone--not by the terrorists, but by those self-appointed "protectors"and "defenders" of the community who feel their uncivilized and disruptive actions are justified by their rabid hatred of the terrorists.

It seems so obvious. One wonders why the folks at Homeland Security--many of whom are obviously pretty intelligent--can't figure it out.

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 9:07pm

I think it's pretty safe to say they've won.

[Jane2]

Posted: 11/22/13 at 9:14pm

yes, they have. Look at how much harm one of their acts does, with the rippling effect is has. Quite powerful.

[madbrian]

Posted: 11/23/13 at 12:48pm

The shame is that this country overreacts to acts of terror, but shrugs at gun violence that has become so commonplace that we are immune to it.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 11/23/13 at 1:48pm

This country is messed up. When they want to give the latest Batman film, that is filled with violence, PG-13 rating, but yet the latest Judy Dench film, when she plays a woman looking for her lost son, gets an R rating (for saying the F word, twice) you know our priorities are screwed up.