My Thoughts on the Manchester Terror Attack, and Where This is Taking Us

JimRSmith

Last night, a terrorist attack took place in my home town. The death toll is currently 23, with dozens of others left with life-changing injuries.

Firstly, I'd like to congratulate the people on @smahala1991's thread who were making jokes about this, or thought it was all OK, once it was confirmed that Ariana Grande wasn't hurt. Not the right time, not at all.

I haven't been told if anybody I know was killed or injured, and hopefully, I won't be. My PA was due to go to a concert at that arena on Thursday however. This morning she got a WhatsApp text from another parent at her son's school telling her that a teaching assistant had died. Fortunately, this turned out to be merely a rumour, for her, but for many people today, they will be finding out that somebody close to them isn't coming back.

My Thoughts on the Manchester Terror Attack, and Where This is Taking Us

Now that that's out of the way, as I said on that thread, I'm not surprised at this, unfortunately. It *may* turn out to be an Irish republican group, it *may* turn out to be some previously unknown pro-EU fanatics, but we all know that it isn't, don't we? So congratulations, too, to the people whose main concern appears to be that we don't jump to 'islamophobic' conclusions.


This was an attack directed against young people enjoying themselves (as at the Bataclan in Paris), with an 8 year old girl confirmed as amongst the casualties.


We, the West, collectively, need to have an open and honest discussion about what kind of a society we want to live in.


Do we want to see this in the streets?

My Thoughts on the Manchester Terror Attack, and Where This is Taking Us

Do we want our women and children to be abused for dressing in a way that they please?


Do we want our schools bending over backwards to accommodate an alien and an intolerant culture?


Do we want Islamist extremists beheading civilians in the streets?


I think this is where we may be headed.

My Thoughts on the Manchester Terror Attack, and Where This is Taking Us

Self-segregation along religious lines, as in Northern Ireland. But perhaps I'm kidding myself, and I already do live in this kind of society, even if it's not this overt (yet).

Am I comfortable with this? I think that I *could* be, even if it's not the kind of society I ideally want to live in. But if it means people not running the risk of death or mutilation, because somebody has decided that they are unbelievers and need to die, because such people are kept in certain areas, then I think I *would* be OK with it.

For my part, I think it's time to confront and clean up the filth. We're past the point where we should be sticking our heads in the sand, and blaming ourselves for this.

For those who think I'm directing this at all Muslims, I'm not. Some are decent people. But I would like to see them being more forward in condemning this.


WE should define the society we want, not the terrorists.

My Thoughts on the Manchester Terror Attack, and Where This is Taking Us
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