I tried to avoid talking about this, but because it is affecting my experience so much right now, it seems appropriate to do so.
Sure, terrorist attacks are not new. But they seem more real now. It is no longer a story that media tells to just scare the public. It affects real people. Here in Viterbo, an hour away from Rome, Middle East is not an ocean away. Paris is not an ocean away. Terrorism is not an ocean away (not that America is safe or anything). So I will be quite honest: I am scared that Rome will be the next target. I am afraid to push through the plans my friends and I already made for Paris in three weeks.
But I am most dumbfounded by the fact that we still value Western lives more.
Before you say anything, hear me out. There was an explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, on Thursday that left 40+ people dead. I did not hear anything about it the next day. But when 120+ people died in Paris on Friday, media immediately covered the news. By the next morning, Facebook allowed the Parisians to mark themselves safe and also started the whole flag shenanigans.
Don't get me wrong - what happened in Paris is such a tragedy. But so is what happened in Beirut. So is what is happening every day in countries dominated by the ISIS. Should we not mourn for all of them? Are some lives worth covering on the news and not others? This article written by a Lebanese does a better job than how I did, so if interested, check it out: http://www.thegazelle.org/issue/issue-74/features/not-just-a-passing-thought/
Also, I am appalled (almost disgusted) by the politicians who use (and therefore abuse) this tragedy to push through their political agendas in regards to immigration, gun control, Islamophobia, etc. Can't we just spend one more day praying for those who were affected by the attacks?
Finally, do not blame this on Islam. Here is a fact: "Terrorism has no religion." People who claim that Islam is a hateful religion really need to be educated and become more open-minded. These terrorists are not true Muslims; even the Muslims themselves agree on this fact. So please, before you verbally or physically attack a Muslim for what ISIS did, think again.
I hope I did not sound heartless because that is not my intention. I just want to point out some things that we can learn from this tragedy: that every tragedy is equally tragic, that we should not move on from mourning so quickly, and that Islamophobia is absolutely wrong.
But meanwhile, let us spend another moment mourning for the victims. May you all rest in peace.