It’s time to stop pretending that our conversations about terrorism are useful. Remember when terrorists’ truck bombed the Parliament Hill, CSIS and CBC? Or when the trains got derailed from New York to Toronto? No. Because our security agencies were able to investigate and apprehend those responsible. Canadian law enforcement agencies are good. Groups of people who make plans are usually caught. The sad fact is that if someone can prepare for an attack without breaking a law and doesn’t tell anyone about their plans then we will never be able to catch them before they act. The precursor to an attack is not race, religion or political ideology. It’s just the willingness to be violent. There’s no easy test for that.
In the meantime as reports of the attack started coming in, social media lit up. There were three attackers. There were two attackers. They were white nationalists. They were Syrian refugees who had just come to Canada last week. One was a witness. The suspect was a Moroccan Muslim. People hoping that it wasn’t the ‘wrong’ type of person. The unspoken implication being that there is a ‘correct’ type of person to commit this type of atrocity.
It’s time to stop being angry at people. It’s frustrating to feel powerless, it’s easy to lash out. So much easier to lash out, especially on the internet where words don’t seem to have consequence. It’s so easy to be convinced of our own righteousness, especially when the other side is just so wrong. Just look at how stupid they are. If aliens showed up tomorrow and asked me why we should be saved as a species I would not be able to give them a good reason why.
Get off the internet. It’s time to start doing something:
http://www.halifax.ca/volunteerservices/opportunitieswithorgs1.php
http://www.halifax.ca/volunteerservices/OpportunitieswithHRM.php
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