Terrorism is frequent in today’s world and France may be as well known as a target as for their wine. In fact, I was lucky enough to experience the after effects of this very thing we call terrorism the second day I was here. “The airport is closed.” What? Seriously, ugh. I can’t believe this is happening to me. How am I going to get to Morocco? Granted, the moment I saw the televisions with the report that the police had in fact closed the airport, I was grounded a bit. But still. I did not try to understand what had closed the airport, I did not believe it was a terrorist attack, and I just didn’t care.
This time, it was different. “Allo? Qu’est ce qui c’est paseé?” It’s my copin on the phone. His colleague is on the other line. When you hear an excited voice in French say “What happened?”, it’s never a good thing. “What? When? Two people?” My heartbeat is now rising. What happened? He says, “No, I’m at my copine’s house. I don’t have TV.” I go to the remote, start searching for channels, even though I know they don’t come in. He hangs up.
“What happened?” I ask. Two policemen were killed. We go to the computer, to read that evidently, one police officer was kill, two others wounded. They were shot by a man who jumped out of a car and opened fire on the Champs Elysées. Now, I haven’t yet mentioned my friend is a police officer. And I haven’t really mentioned that my one rule in dating before I met him was to not date policemen. Before I get started, let me express another thing that I feel strongly about… the men and women of the armed forces are exceptionally brave and I would argue they deserve the better of this world’s compensation and respect. What I don’t care for is war, guns, hate, and fighting. Not to mention, discrimination, evoking fear in regular people, and abuse of power. This is all a moot point.
What it means is that the air now is heavy, as much because of me as my copin. Is he ok? What is he thinking? Was it someone he knows? When is Election Day again? Oh my gosh. Does he work on Election Day? The events unfold, and we go to sleep with the news on. Tomorrow’s Friday, and it’s his last day of work this week. The police involved in today’s events belong to another precinct. And Election Day is Sunday, when he will be fighting in a ring instead. Phew. Or can we really be relieved?
I find the word terrorism to be overused in the United States. Maybe tied with eco (although that’s made it’s way in and out in a quarter the time). Meant to invoke fear, create panic, promote discrimination and advance wartime spending. Propaganda. The terrorist attack this day in Paris was the responsibility of the Islamic State. And for the first time since 2002, I didn’t roll my eyes at the use of the word. Instead, I woke up with a knot in my stomach.
“Oh, I’m sorry, I know you don’t like guns here” he said, as he strapped on his gun to go to work. “Yeah, but I prefer you have it today”. Not until after an extra lengthy hug, he left my apartment. We are right to not hastily change our beliefs. But we are blind to not shape them to the events around us. And today will be the last day I allow myself to be upset by a closure in France. It may also be the end of my exasperation with the world’s obsession over terrorism.
So what really is the difference? What keeps me from rolling my eyes in France whereas in the US I’m driven crazy? I’m not an expert. But I can recount the sum of a few conversations with the French.
- The fact that the Police and Gendarmes populate the streets of Paris in numbers with automatic weapons does not scare French people.
- The French agree that the amount of gun violence in the US and the right to carry arms are absolutely crazy.
- The attacks of 2015 in France were so recent and serious that they’re living in what would have been our 2003 state of mind.
- People believe the difference between attacks in America and in France is that attacks in America result in heightened racism (implying that in France they do not).
- The crime rate in France is generally less than half that in the US, or more, depending on the statistic.
And there you have it…my hasty observation of the French perspective on terrorism.