Latest death count: 7.
This is the Muslim month of Ramadan. Supposedly the fasting helps with reflection. I despair.
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Latest death count: 7.
This is the Muslim month of Ramadan. Supposedly the fasting helps with reflection. I despair.
I have not studied politics and recent events in the U.K. As much as I should have. It now interests me, in light of terrorism and Brexit......and the upcoming snap election. I believe the United States can learn a few things for the future by paying attention to currents events in London and Manchester. I will be interested in seeing if the police take a more militarized presence in order to combat terror. What is an individual citizen permitted to carry for self protection? A handgun.......a knife....a screwdriver.......or a hat Pin?Quote:
Originally Posted by IshbelRobertson
How can we stop this?? I think it might come down to doing something that, up until now, was considered very unacceptable and "uncivilized"? "unconstitutional"? Whatever we (the U.S., Europe, etc.) are doing, doesn't seem to be helping.
What do you think? It sounds like England has a large number of middle-easterners (especially young men) who go to Syria, etc., even several times. Seems to me that maybe there should be some rules about them being allowed back in to the country they left? I know they are "citizens", but like I said, whatever we're doing isn't working. And it's easy for those of us who live far away from these horrible acts to say that certain courses of action are uncivilized, etc., but I'm sure our feelings would change if we were in the midst of it. It's just got to be stopped. I'm open to possibilities.
I believe Theresa May was right in her statement regarding these latest attacks. She said and I quote, "Enough is enough." Yes, she is right as far as I am concerned. This is getting ridiculous. This may stun the conservatives here but at this point I'm even starting to agree with Trump's travel ban - as much as I despise it at the same time. I may be a Liberal and a humanitarian, and I do believe that many of the refugees have suffered tragedy and are legitimate refugees - but how do we know who the very small percentage of terrorists are? It only takes a few to cause widespread terror/panic/tragic needless deaths. I don't have any answers as to how to stop this but I'm getting on board with the travel ban as I don't have any other answers.....and I fess up to my Liberal and Humanitarian views on this one providing no real answers as to how to prevent attacks such as these most recent in London. Rob
Internment camps within a host country would be an alternative to a travel ban. If I were fleeing a war zone I would prefer being confined to a camp in peace to worrying all the time I or my family members would be killed.
I've been hanging out with my cousin-in-law the past few weeks, as we've been dealing with my father-in-law's final days and his passing. My cousin is the only Quaker member of the 82nd Airborne I've ever met. He was a combat medic, he's now a psych nurse, having retired afgter putting in his full career in the military. He told me the tale of when he was in charge of Cuban refugees who were being detained in Gitmo. It's pretty daunting stuff. I'm not sure, based on what I've heard from him, that we want to be in the business of setting up and running internment camps - it sounded pretty hellish, and people had no options to move on with their lives. Interestingly, we got several cards and phone calls of condolence from refugees he helped out during that time - he became very close to some of them, helping find legitimate reasons to send some on to the US for resettlement, which at the time was only an option if you had some pressing medical issue...Quote:
Originally Posted by Yppej
bae, what would you consider a good way to deal with the terrorists now? I think we should start with the obvious persons who exhibit some signs of disliking the others around them, and who make trips to the middle east.
There has been talk about holding sites like Facebook and other internet sites more accountable in surveillance. I know this angers some people who don't want big brother watching.........but don't we have to think about the innocents who are being killed?
It's quite a dilemma, and not everyone is going to be happy.......but we definitely need to do more than we are doing now.
My sympathies with your FIL. It's never easy.
What's a "terrorist"?Quote:
Originally Posted by CathyA
Who are "terrorists"?
How do you, before they act, separate a "terrorist" from a "non-terrorist".
Interestingly, my daughter was in London at the time of this attack, and I haven't heard from her since. I'm presuming all is well. But I'm not prepared to put people into camps just because I'm worried a bit.
A terrorist is only a terrorist after the fact.
In the US I think we have more reason to be concerned about white, male, Christian, citizens.
Camps turn into hell holes and refugees prisoners. Think about the Japanese-American citizens that this happened to. That is not the answer. Many countries on the travel ban have not had any terrorists commit crimes yet some of the Middle Eastern countries not on it had terrorists commit crimes. I don't have the answer but neither of these will work.
bae, I hope your daughter is okay. Why wouldn't she have called you?
It would be good to hear from people whose loved ones were killed in some of these attacks, as to what they should think should happen.
I don't know. But I can't see the world continuing like this.
And I wonder about the emotional state of the police in London/Manchester/France, who deal with this carnage.
No the camps are not a pleasant environment, but I respect countries like Jordan that are setting them up for refugees. Dealing with radicalized citizens is a lot more challenging.
In another time, it was the IRA. Terrorists spring from a well of weakness--which doesn't make them any less dangerous.
I hope this bunch is only a memory some day soon.
I just read- only half way because it distressed me- The Train to Crystal City about an internment "family" camp in Crystal City TX during WW2. The whole ugliness of rounding people up based on heritage...and the families. I realize I am very sheltered and have no idea how frightened people and the government were during the wars, but I had such anger while reading how we as a people reacted to fear. I don't know the solution. I don't even know who should make the decision. We have many white young men who have murdered groups....not Muslim terrorists but American Boys. Until we face that and figure out how to change it, I'm not sure we have any business telling other countries what to do. Was the IRA any different?
Bae, have you heard from your daughter yet?
I hacked her "find my iPhone" and have tracked her down to the deep deep sub-basement of an obscure library. She's clearly been holed up either avoiding terrorists, or finishing up her thesis work and ignoring the outside world.Quote:
Originally Posted by CathyA
I got a thumbs-up to a classics joke I posted to a family list, so there's some sign of life.
I'm glad to hear your daughter is OK then. That must be a huge relief for you. RobQuote:
Originally Posted by bae
She travels all over to sketchy places. We have a "leave a flight plan with a trusted person" scheme in place, so I don't expect to hear from her when things are going well, only when I need to beam in with an army of guns, money, and lawyers.Quote:
Originally Posted by gimmethesimplelife
So glad to hear that, bae! What a relief for you!