Woke up to the news and felt a sickness in my stomach I only experienced on 7/7 and 9/11. I'm also angry at the way a lot of American conservative gun nuts (on social media and mainstream news channels) have jumped on this tragedy spouting "more guns and Jesus" as the answer.
I saw this in the news as it was happening here, just absolutely horrifying. Its going to make the European refugee crisis worse as well, because many people will be questioning bringing in more Muslims after this terrorist act.
I don't have words to describe how I feel. To say I feel sad isn't accurate. I feel sickened and shocked and many other emotions. United, the world is a stronger and better place. This is a truth that will never change.
They're both afraid and stupid, with the emphasis on stupid. Of course isis are evil, that's why the refugees are fleeing them, if they weren't evil then there wouldn't be such a problem. Unfortunately people when they're scared tend to fall back on apelike tribe dynamics of dislikin anything different to them (usually males) and forget their own rational humanity.
Unless it turns out these terrorists came into France with the refugees. It's a possibility the far right have been touting for months.
I've been quite impressed by the response to be honest. Between this and the Charlie Hebdo attack France responds to these horrors quite magnificently. My only hope personally is that the knee jerk responses are kept to a minimum and there's not some silly reactionary laws made with regards to refugees or whatever. You can't stop terrorist attacks from happening really, but the only way they truly achieve anything is if it makes the victims change because of it.
You can, you have intelligence and security services for that very reason. This was a highly coordinated large scale attack and France's intelligence services didn't see it coming. As I see it, that either means the French intelligence service is incompetent, the terrorists are getting really really good at keeping their plans quiet, or the planning was done outside of France.
If true (which as far as we know its not) it's a good argument for having a proper system set up for the refugees on arrival. Iirc several of the terrorists have french passports, so its likily they just flew in, it isn't practical to make a sleeper cell walk/swim/float from Syria to France without any help.
No prevention is ever 100%, and if it were, state surveillance would be intolerably high. We took the war to ISIS, they brought it back to us. We need to accept this, assess our actions abroad, assess are actions at home, and sort out a long term plan, quick fixes like drone strikes are not going to end this.
I'm saddens by the stories I'm hearing from friends in France where random people will tell them that they don't feel safe anymore. I hope people stay strong and not let fear grip them, not let fear lash out at Muslims and create mass disenfranchisement which will just bolster the ranks of Extremists (because that's what the extremists want)
The same intelligence and security services whose support of Libyan and Syrian rebels allowed ISIL to become a major force in the first place? Yeah, I'm sure they have our best interests at heart. It's yet another example of the West's inability to contain their "strategic assets". Part of me hopes that there is some sinister long-term game going on, and ISIL is part of that... an evil plan seems more reassuring than a hopelessly failed plan. https://medium.com/insurge-intellig...west-saw-isis-as-strategic-asset-b99ad7a29092 My heart goes out to all the innocent people who've died, and those who have lost loved ones because of these childish power games, in Paris and in Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria, Libya et al.
I'd say that hardly justifies the immigrant and muslim hating vitriol that's been splashed all over social media and news websites, most of it thousands of miles away in the States.
I've seen huge amounts over here as well , what everyone seems to be ignoring is a radicalisation process seems to be happening here by the right wing playing on the fear that these attacks cause.
