The Student Room Group

Have we become bored of terrorism?

Seriously?

A hostage taker in France murders three people, and this time, people can't even be bothered to make a status or a hashtag.

Since 2015 there have been 60-70 people killed in school shootings - (some of them somewhat tenuously labelled as such including suicides and gang-related events) but nevertheless this is a big issue and there is currently absolute carnage in the US with students walking out of school, protesting, boycotts, celebrity endorsements and a widespread call for a change in the constitution of the United States.

In the same time period, nearly 250 people have been killed in terrorist events in France, a much smaller country. Just about the best that people have been able to muster is some hastags, facebook statuses and a lot of business for people who make candles in little glass jars.

So straight up - is that it? Are people just bored of terrorism now? No one really cares enough to be bothered with it anymore?

Last year had one of the most serious incidents of mass murder in the history of the UK - the Manchester Bombing, when 22 people - mostly teenage girls were murdered. It's barely a footnote in the consciousness of many people now, and we had the same response -some hashtags and a lot of candles.

We have had sword wielding terrorists roaming the streets of London killing anyone they can - and that's it - we'll keep on having vigils and buying candles and talking about love.
Bored is the wrong word, desensitised yes.
Not bored, I'd say desensitised and fed up.

By and large we all just feel a bit hopeless, I mean what can we actually do? We seem to be moving away from the candle vigil days now though and the general consensus is "We're fed up of mourning, we want some action."

It's quite sad really - no matter what we say or do the issue is too large for us to have any impact, and those representing and protecting us aren't doing much more either, besides mass surveillance.

A global issue requires a global response, and it just isn't happening. :frown:
Reply 3
Not bored, use to it. It’s not got that shock value anymore so it doesn’t set off the same level of outrage that inspires a hash tag or facebook profile frames.

Also anything that happens outside of the UK most people don’t tend to care about. Maybe if they’re planning on going on holiday there, they’ll do the whole β€œif it was a few weeks later that would have been me” routine.
Je Suis Charlie :cry:
Reply 5
Tbf the incident in France happened in a small town and wasn't a large scale attack. As well as this, there was other important news such as news about the Russian spy poisoning and the deterioration of relations between the UK and Russia and the EU and Russia. That's why it wasn't reported as much.
This latest one has failed to make as much of an impact. As if the fact that it was done in the name of terror is just a side note, which is very different to previous attacks. So yeah possibly.

I can't think of a better way to fight it than to get bored of it. It almost makes the attacker seem even more pathetic. If only he could see how little people care who he is or why he did it.
Original post by Quixote.
...I can't think of a better way to fight it than to get bored of it. It almost makes the attacker seem even more pathetic. If only he could see how little people care who he is or why he did it.


I think there's something in this. The more routine these kind of attacks are the more they just become an internalised hazard of life, like the risk of being seriously hurt or killed in a car accident. More people will probably be killed each year falling down the stairs in their own home than killed by terrorism in western countries.
Reply 8
Original post by Quixote.

I can't think of a better way to fight it than to get bored of it. It almost makes the attacker seem even more pathetic. If only he could see how little people care who he is or why he did it.


Or it just inspires them to do something bigger next time. Or something more shocking, like schools or hospitals. They get off on it, like an addict always chasing a better high. If they don’t get what they want they won’t just quit and go home.
Original post by cat_mac
If they don’t get what they want they won’t just quit and go home.


They might. Terror groups tend to have an expiry date. Not getting what they want weakens them, and a weak ISIS will have a tougher time radicalising young guys in western countries to carry out attacks than a strong one constantly in the news.

Can't really comment on how they choose their targets, but I don't get the impression that they've simply been going easy on us up until now.
Reply 10
Original post by cat_mac
Or it just inspires them to do something bigger next time. Or something more shocking, like schools or hospitals. They get off on it, like an addict always chasing a better high. If they don’t get what they want they won’t just quit and go home.


They've already attacked a concert full of teenagers and a celebration marking a countries national day. I really don't think they have the means to go much bigger.
Original post by Dheorl
They've already attacked a concert full of teenagers and a celebration marking a countries national day. I really don't think they have the means to go much bigger.


I wouldn’t want to underestimate them. It just takes one person to walk into a school, hospital, pride festival, remembrance day and do a lot of damage. Someone could easily take your last line as a challenge.
Reply 12
Original post by cat_mac
I wouldn’t want to underestimate them. It just takes one person to walk into a school, hospital, pride festival, remembrance day and do a lot of damage. Someone could easily take your last line as a challenge.


I guess you have more belief in their competence than I do.
we just need Auntie Merkel and the UK Labour Party to let in a bunch more jihadis, that will get people interested again
Reply 14
What would you have people do? Spend every day teary eyed and renting their garments?
Because terrorism has gone down significantly over the past few decades.


Also, the comparison between terrorism and america's gun problem is invalid. America's gun problem revolves around the fact that their gun laws are very relaxed, filled with loopholes and protected by corporate lobbying groups that pay millions to politicians to kill any gun reform. In other words, there's a lot more that can be done to prevent kids and toddlers getting gunned down in schools and it comes right down to their legal system. Terrorism on the other hand, well, we've done everything we can to prevent it.

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