How can we make sense of the attacks?
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Preliminary news reports say that at least 120 people were killed by blasts and gunfire in 6 separate terrorist attacks around Paris. The attacks are call “unprecedented” and a “horror” by French President François Hollande. US President Barack Obama was quoted as saying, ““This is an attack not just on Paris, not just on the people on France, but an attack on all humanity and the universal values we share.”
And that statement is worth examining. Because, in a case like this—there are no universal values. That is why it is so hard to make sense of it. An attack on humanity is simply not a universal value in all but a few people’s book. But for the people perpetrating these attacks, they must somehow believe these attacks “good”. That the death and destruction they are creating will somehow make the world a better place for others who share their beliefs.
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As terrorist attacks become more widespread, more brutal, more destructive, one worry is that not only people who are killed, maimed and injured in these attacks, but that there will be an increasing amount of people who are traumatized, and we don’t know what to do about it. A few years ago I was injured in a terrorist attack at the Boston Marathon. It was such a joyous day, then there was a flash of light, a boom, and the world changed in an instant. I’m still part of the community of survivors, and hundreds of us who survived are still receiving ongoing treatment. When hundreds of people who need ongoing treatment for trauma turns into millions around the world—how does it change humanity on this planet? It also reminds me of how, on November 11, Veteran’s Day in the United States, it seemed like everyone I knew had a father or close relative who served in a war. Every one. And if everyone who I knew had someone who survived a terrorist attack? Mind-boggling. But not completely unrealistic.
So, how do you step up against escalating violence without resorting to more violence? Is there any want to increase humanitarian efforts to solve the problem at a deeper level, or is “neutralizing” terrorists the only way to go?
And is there a way to think about this as part of the larger conversation about men?
These questions are not an attempt to create panic or spread terror further. The are a way to figure out together how we can keep trying to build the type of world where these things don’t happen.
Thoughts in the comments section are welcome.
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Illustration “Peace for Paris” by Jean Jullien (www.instagram.com/jean_jullien/)
From one seeing it first hand silke I think you bring up very valid points. Here in the US we have the space but with such a dysfunctional government the situation is more about terrorism than anything else. There are those who hate us so much that they will think nothing of mass civilian casualties. And the government pooh poohs our concerns but we do know better. 8 years of Obama’s missteps and mistaken agenda and actions have shown that. We as a whole do not trust him any longer. But unfortunately can’t do anything about it but wait him… Read more »
Lisa, Thanks for sharing your experiences and starting a dialogue. When this kind of violence occurs many react by wanting to “get those who did this.” There is a pull toward retaliation, which escalates violence and continues to cycle. It may be comforting to think of the people who did this as “terrorists” and look for a simple solution, “get rid of them.” But here at GMP we go deeper and ask questions like “What is the significance of that the killers are male? What causes some men to join groups like ISIS? What is missing in their lives? What… Read more »
Hi Jed Unfortunately the video does not give correct info about what is happening in Europe right now . And it is not only from Syria people now come ,they come from many countries,and Syrians seems to be only one third of the newcomers ,and they are NOT well educated . Maybe the well educated Syrians fled a long time ago . What happens in Europe now is far more complicated that what this video seems to think. And the problem is not that “Europeans fear Muslims, ” We can not integrate people that fast. We do not have enough… Read more »
Silke, I’m glad you brought this up because I have adoptive sons in Germany and Italy and what Americans are seeing is not a clear picture of what’s actually happening. For various reasons, I hesitate providing news feeds. All I can tell you Silke is that Americans are not being given many facts and according to BBC, some european countries news agencies are doing the same.
I have come to the conclusion that typical thought has miserably failed us. To make war on a nation and create civilian disruption of THEIR way of life is unacceptable. When one determines the need to make war then the costs if battle and then afterwards reconstruction needs to be factored. We did this with Japan and within a reasonably short time the devastated nation was stable and economically growing. No masses of Japanese refugees went anywhere because they were in their own homes and homeland. The Nazis were not unlike ISIS. In the beginning of course there was large… Read more »
First of all I will say a huge thank you for being part of a dialogue vs the monlogues usually on the gmp. Says a lot for you Lisa. I appreciate what you say. I do get what you say. I want to be clear too I also want a holistic approach. Which is why I say we as a world will help rebuild the infrastructure of Syria and Iraq. But what will come first will probably be mass destruction. It just needs to be done. Its ugly but it was allowed to go on for too long. Unfortunately there… Read more »
@ Mark
“Sharia is not freedom. It is not democracy in any respect.”
I remember an interesting statement someone made when we were spreading freedom throughout the Middle East. It went something like freedom and democracy means that people have the choice to be your enemy. The dictatorships weren’t democratic either, but there was some semblance of order.
I think that is what is bothering people so much about this particular attack—there doesn’t seem to be a way out of it without more harm being done.
I also like this part of the story, which I only just heard when @MichaelKasdan shared it: Michael Kasdan: Wow. When I heard about the detonations *outside* the stadium filled with 80,000 people, my first thought was that must have been a miss. Thank God for those security guards; this could have been far worse. “The guard—who asked to be identified only by his first name, Zouheir—said the attacker was discovered wearing an explosives vest when he was frisked at the entrance to the stadium about 15 minutes into the game. France was playing an exhibition against Germany inside. While… Read more »
Thanks for sharing this Lisa. Engaging trauma, both individual and collective, remains one of the key priorities, especailly in terms of stopping cycles of violence. If we dont transform our pain we will surely transfer it to others. The case of terrorism is such a complex one, and it seems each of us can, in very small ways perhaps, curb more violence by allowing our justified anger and outrage to invite us into lament for the lives lost as well as the global systems and structures of inequity–political, social,relgious, corporate–that allow terrorism to survive.
Thanks Ryan,
One of the things I was talking about with Chris Anderson, head of MaleSurvivor.Org, is making trauma training as readily available as CPR training or first aid (both of which trainings should be even more widespread than they are). Recognizing it, talking about it, dealing with it, healing from it. Why can’t people see this is of utmost importance?
Your other point is even more interesting to me, because I hadn’t thought about it this way before: “it seems each of us can, in very small ways perhaps, curb more violence.” YES.
thank you.
Obviously this is a good question. Problem is with these folks there is no other way to deal with them. This was a major mistake by Obama to think he could and hence allowed them to get stronger with time. Serious mistake. Second mistake was to have accepted those leaving and overrunning Europe as they are doing here as well. There are many terrorists among them and we are welcoming in and their intent is to kill us. We should have turned them back and put a major coalition together and wiped out , literally their enemies too and let… Read more »
Thank you for your response Mark. I want to be absolutely clear that just because I am saying “how do we stand up against escalating violence without resorting to more violence” does NOT mean that I don’t ever think violence is an appropriate response. And I want to be even clearer that I do NOT believe “do nothing” is an appropriate response. But what I want to be a part of is people who understand that a) We need to look at a systems approach, and we need to solve this problem on multiple levels. b) Some of the solutions… Read more »
Twice, I thought of writing something, but chose to write something different. I think we pretty much agree. Courage and violence are human traits, but why are men at the forefront? Society had that role for men (men’s disposability), but why did men accept it? I’m not sure how much we knowingly, consciously, accept and how much we’ve been conditioned and simply react to our conditioning. I remember reading about how boys were forced to swim naked in schools prior to the 1980s. One of the rationales I heard for it was it was conditioning boys to enter the military.… Read more »
Wow. Thanks for all of that John. Lots of food for thought here. I hope others jump in. I will try to process and add something.
John, you left out “king of the hill” and “skitching” I am of the generation where we swam naked but never saw it as any preparation, it was just the way it was. I simply thought it was a process to gain a comfort level in the locker rooms, not to be insecure about being naked. That being said, I agree that men/boys have always been groomed (my word) to step up so as to be ready to do that which is “expected” of men. Personally, I don’t have a problem with it. My dad was a WWII veteran but… Read more »
I don’t know, but that does seem to be what I (I think we) push back against. This whole concept that elements of society can have their cake and eat it to when it comes to men. They can create a guard dog without having to worry about getting bit. Men’s contributions haven’t been respected for a long time. Can you get someone to step up without giving them a reason to? I don’t know.
“And is there a way to think about this as part of the larger conversation about men?”
There is just as there was an opportunity a few years back when 19 fire fighters died battling a wild fire no one would simply bother to ask in that instance and what does that say about society and how society views men?
Thanks John, I am SO glad you brought up the story of the firefighters. I talked about that here on GMP, on more than one of our Weekly conference calls, and I actually think that comparing the two events is both important and fascinating—-and gets to the heart of the discussion we’re having here on Good Men Project and its importance. I would also like to hear your viewpoints, because even though we don’t always agree, your comments almost always get me to think about things a little differently. And I appreciate that. So—-what fire was so important that it… Read more »
Lisa
“How do we stand up against escalating violence without resorting to more violence..?”
A good question Lisa.
The terrorists seems to be French speaking very young men,and most probably Daesh ( Islamic state).
How do you deal with islamo fascism ?
Let’s pray .
Hi Silke,
In the US, there are people who shoot up schools, malls and workplaces. They are also young men. They don’t seem to belong to a group or religion. But the behavior is similar. And it is the behavior we want to change.
Lisa,
You will keep supporting these Islamic terrorists till you or your family members die by their bullets!
Please start wearing a burkha or hijab,
An Indian
I do not support any terrorists or terrorism, ever.
Thank you for giving others a forum to process this chaos. I can’t imagine what Paris is going through right now. I’m sure it’s similar to what we went through during 9/11. I remember the shock of seeing the destruction unfold on live television and the pain of not knowing if my dad was going to make it back from deployment to Afghanistan. Fortunately, he did but the anxiety changed my view of the world. I agree with what you said – there are no universal values. The only thing I can control are the values I try to instill… Read more »
Thank you Joe. I like that you are “raising global citizens”. I, like you, believe in controlling what I can control and helping where I can help.
I worry about the effect on ongoing anxiety as a cumulative effect of attacks that are so big, in cities that are such a part of our collective consciousness, like NY and Paris. But all the more reason why we have to keep talking about it and the underlying issues that affect our view of goodness today.
Do we really mean: what do we do when terrorist attacks strike in the developed world, because it seems that we do little unless it is close to home. It only gets airplay when it threatens us, rather than threatens those in the countries farther afield. A wise compassionate response would be welcomed. Ensuring children in all countries have access to education and clean drinking water likely would in the long run bring us closer to peace. Even if 10% of the money spent on warfare were diverted to schools, and infrastructure support(with no strings attached), things would turn around.
Thanks Alistair. I like specific, tangible solutions like the ones you propose. Clean water and education. Simple but important. We need to keep getting solutions like that more to the forefront of the conversations.
I also agree that the closer to home it hits, the more people pay attention. Which is precisely why a city like Paris is chosen—because it is universal and so many people feel as if it is close.
When I start to look at you, and engage with you as just ‘you’, and not the ‘other’….I’ll start to create that change.
When I embrace your ‘different-ness’ with curiosity, and open-ness, rather than fear, or judgement, I’ll start to create that change.
When I understand that your being of a different race, gender, sexual orientation, culture or tribe simply enhances my opportunities to engage and create even more beauty, I’ll start to create that change.
You’re not the ‘other’. You’re quite simply, just another. As I am.
Yes. Thank you.
This is what we try to do on The Good Men Project on numerous levels. We don’t always succeed. But to inspire people to look at the multidimensionality of men, to understand the benefits to openness. I love this: “Enhances my opportunities to engage and create even more beauty.” Beautiful.
I love Paris…so this terrible attack is such a nightmare….I guess if look back on its history, you will be reminded of how much violence has gone on through the centuries…religious wars, Crusades, Reformation, Counter-Reformation, ….men constantly attacking each other….
I am sad for Muslim men who grow up marginalized and strait-jacketed in their rigid societies….the only form of acceptable expression is that of anger and violence….a Muslim growing up in Europe must endure all kinds of suspicions and wayward glances….where is their place in modern Paris?
Great essay, Lisa…
Thanks for commenting Leia. These events are so difficult to process that I think it’s important to put it into your own words early on, and then add more POV’s in. I like the way you look at it both through history and with empathy for a modern-day Muslim. Appreciate the perspective.