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Post by Deleted on Nov 13, 2015 20:54:19 GMT -5
As many of you who have social media accounts or watch the news likely know, there has been violence in the city of Paris, France today. There is currently an a hostage situation-in-progress at a concert venue where people are reportedly being killed, and three bombs have gone off. Many (an exact number is not known) are already dead and the police have issued warnings for people to stay in their homes.
There are rumors flying about that the attackers are still out there and are shooting people across the city.
People in the city are also using social media to spread #porteouverte, or "open door" as a way to show those looking for shelter amid the violence where they can find a place to go.
Please keep this city in your thoughts this evening and weekend.
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Villerar
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Post by Villerar on Nov 14, 2015 17:12:59 GMT -5
It's a very sorry attack. The death toll is already 129 and it could well increase.
The odds are very high that the attackers were Muslims who affiliated with Da'esh. This will put the Muslim communities in Europe under greater pressure. That will in fact benefit violent fundamentalist groups. Europe's far right and the murderous jihadists are in this together as far as gains in recruits are concerned.
Another problem comprises rumours that one of the attackers was a Syrian who came from Turkey via Lesbos in Greece. This will be used as an excuse to turn reject refugees from Syria. In fact the Polish nationalist government has already used that as an excuse to backtrack on an earlier (very modest) refugee-sharing agreement.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 14, 2015 17:33:05 GMT -5
Thank you for the further information, Villerar.
I agree, there's going to be a lot of backlash for the Syrian refugees and Muslims because of this, and from what I've been hearing, it's already started. It seems that when the world faces crisis, it's easier for many people to collectively blame an ethnic or religious minority than to hold individual opinionated factions (or in some cases, just individuals) within those groups responsible. It's sad, because many of the Syrian refugees are educated people who can make contributions to the countries they come to, but this gives people a new excuse to turn them away.
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Villerar
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Post by Villerar on Nov 14, 2015 17:52:12 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2015 8:03:42 GMT -5
Exactly. By the way (this is slightly off-topic) but thank you for using the term Da'esh instead of ISIS. Calling them ISIS legitimizes them, and that's what they want. The French president and others have reportedly started to use this term as well.
However, I notice that the articles are using the term "Islamic State", which could cause problems. I think that might too heavily imply that this was an attack by a governing body and not a terrorist group.
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Villerar
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Post by Villerar on Nov 16, 2015 9:30:08 GMT -5
Yes, it's important to use precise language when you talk about the identities of many people and the violence of few. Even among violent religious groups, support for the Da'esh calibate is a minority view, as Hezbollah, the Muslim Brotherhood (including Hamas), Al-Qaida (including Jaabhat An-Nusra and Ash-Shabaab) and the Taliban oppose it.
But sadly enough most media don't care about the implication for identity (and haven't done so since early 2014), even normally quite sensitive ones like The Guardian.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2015 12:23:05 GMT -5
Exactly. It's sad, considering how easy they could learn these things, but don't bother to.
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Villerar
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Post by Villerar on Nov 16, 2015 18:08:54 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 16, 2015 19:00:26 GMT -5
Personally, I think the BBC's logic is a tad flawed there. If they're claiming that using Da'esh is supporting the opponents of this group, then what does using the term ISIS supposedly say they're supporting? ISIS is what they want to be called, and it implies that they are a legitimate organization tied with a governing body. Seeming to ally yourself with those AGAINST this group is better than that.
I agree, the "Islamic State" part is unnecessary. It basically just causes misconceptions as to what Da'esh really is.
That's awful. A friend of mine's sister was in Paris at the time. She's home safe now with no injuries, but others near her weren't so lucky.
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Post by Villerar on Nov 18, 2015 17:10:46 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 18, 2015 20:40:42 GMT -5
Indeed.
Interesting. That's a good thing to be looking at, and could maybe help quell all the rumors about the next targeted city that are going around.
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Villerar
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Post by Villerar on Nov 19, 2015 17:58:32 GMT -5
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Post by Deleted on Nov 20, 2015 19:48:51 GMT -5
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Post by Villerar on Nov 21, 2015 15:25:34 GMT -5
Thanks, that's a very good reference. Renzi's right to point out the social causes to radicalisation. However, the odds are that the current French government will be ousted in the next election. Both the mainstream right and the National Front will likely give Da'esh what they want: more repression, limiting or blocking refugees and a larger recruitment pool.
By the way, House Republicans aided by Democrat defectors passed a law prohibiting entry to Syrian refugees, but Obama will veto it.
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Post by Deleted on Nov 21, 2015 16:45:13 GMT -5
Exactly. If we don't put more focus onto those social causes, then we're going to have more problems than just Da'esh. It's impossible to stand against an outside threat if you don't have everything worked out internally. Hopefully somebody will take this as a cue to start addressing some of these issues, but it's not likely to happen. It seems like so many attempts to fight Da'esh is just giving them what they want, and too many people are taking action without information.
All the same, it's definitely worrying that this is passing in the House...
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