Move over, Jason Voorhees, there are worse killers claiming this day. I'm sure people have been checking my blog since that day to see my opinion. I purposely waited longer to gather my thoughts and see the opinion of French people before I posted.
The thing is, the French in Besançon aren't really talking. At least not to us. There could be a multitude of reasons. It happened on a Friday night, so by the time Jeremy went to work Monday, people weren't talking. They had probably discussed it all weekend with friends and family and figured it was moot to keep talking about it. Maybe they didn't want to talk to a foreigner about it. Maybe they figured they couldn't express their feelings well enough in English and we wouldn't understand them in French. So no one said much of anything to us besides a few words of grief. Not only that, but we feel tentative bringing it up as we are outsiders. So since they're not bringing it up and we're not bringing it up, nothing is said.
From what I can see and feel when walking around town is that people are sad, but determined to keep living life the same as always. There are rallies and the centers of some of the squares have flowers and candles, but people are still going out to cafés and drinking with friends. The few French friends I have on facebook all posted something along the lines of "Keep living free and carefree, because that's what their jealous of and want to destroy." They have the feeling that if this turns them into hermits who are afraid of everyone, then Daesh has won.
As for the Muslim population, I haven't seen much hate. I've read articles of Muslims allegedly fearing for their lives now but at least in Besançon that doesn't seem to be true. Muslims are a huge part of France. I would go as far as to say that they are almost not a minority. There are kebab stores on every block owned by Muslims. There is one corner near me that has three right on that corner. Outer city limits where apartments are cheaper are mostly Muslim. What I'm getting at is everyone personally knows Muslims here so I think it's easier for them to understand that comparing Daesh "Muslims" to normal Muslims is like comparing the KKK and Christians. There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. There are 30,000 - 50,000 Daesh members. That means 0.00003% of Muslims are a part of ISIS. In reality it's even less because a Daesh campaign is to convert vulnerable or angry people from outside of Syria, outside of the Muslim religion, and convince them to join their cause.
In fact, not a single one of the terrorists from Friday so far have been Syrian. They were all European nationals. One Syrian passport was found but proven to be fake and one Egyptian passport was found but proven to be of an injured tourist. All the terrorists identified so far were European nationals, mostly French and Belgian, who joined Daesh. Remember I said that was one of their campaigns? It has also been theorized that the Syrian passport was planted on purpose to cause fear towards refugees.
And why do I keep referring to them as Daesh instead of ISIS, ISIL, or IS? Well for one it's because that's what the French call them - although it's Daech due to differences in translation. It's an acronym for the group's full Arabic name, al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham. The second reason is that it's what many political leaders are urging people to do. Calling them ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham), ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), or IS (Islamic State) not only makes them sound larger by calling them a "state", but it blurs the lines between this group, Islam, Muslims, and Islamists. Daesh wants to be a caliphate (a form of Islamic government led by a ruler called a caliph) but has been denounced. Calling themselves a state makes them feel like a caliphate and gives them legitimacy. Why are we giving them what they want? The third reason is the best. It's because they hate being called Daesh. Depending on it's conjugated in Arabic, Daesh can mean "to trample and crush" but it can also mean "a bigot who imposes his view on others". It's for this reason they hate it and have declared they will cut out the tongues of anyone they hear calling them that.
I am also deeply saddened at America's response, the response of wanting to now turn away all Syrian refugees. Like I said before, none of the terrorists were Syrian refugees. These people are just trying to flee the same group we fear and fight against. In fact, not a single Syrian refugee has ever been arrested in the US for plotting or performing terrorist attacks. In the past 18 months, nearly 70 people have been arrested in the US for plotting terrorist attacks. 6 were Bosnian refugees, 1 was a Somalian refugee, and 1 was Cuban. The other 60 were Americans. People you would never expect like a nurse or a pizza shop owner. In fact, just as many veterans were arrested as refugees. Do you fear all our veterans now that you know this? Should they all be turned away or arrested when they come home after risking their lives for our country because 0.0000007% turned into terrorists? After all, it's a greater percent than the number of Syrian refugees who turned out to be terrorists, which is 0%.
I'm glad Francois Hollande, the president of France, has not ceased effort in aiding Syrian refugees. Processing has become more strict, which I understand. Even though there has been no Syrian refugee terrorist yet doesn't mean there never will be. Caution is warranted, even fear is warranted, it's the factless and irrational fear like banning an entire population that should be in check.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and this is mine. If you personally don't want Syrian refugees in your country, that's fine too. But don't call them terrorists or sleeper agents because the facts just aren't there. Just keep in mind that Albert Einstein, Max Born, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Michael Marks, Current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Jackie Chan, and even Jesus are/were refugees.
The thing is, the French in Besançon aren't really talking. At least not to us. There could be a multitude of reasons. It happened on a Friday night, so by the time Jeremy went to work Monday, people weren't talking. They had probably discussed it all weekend with friends and family and figured it was moot to keep talking about it. Maybe they didn't want to talk to a foreigner about it. Maybe they figured they couldn't express their feelings well enough in English and we wouldn't understand them in French. So no one said much of anything to us besides a few words of grief. Not only that, but we feel tentative bringing it up as we are outsiders. So since they're not bringing it up and we're not bringing it up, nothing is said.
From what I can see and feel when walking around town is that people are sad, but determined to keep living life the same as always. There are rallies and the centers of some of the squares have flowers and candles, but people are still going out to cafés and drinking with friends. The few French friends I have on facebook all posted something along the lines of "Keep living free and carefree, because that's what their jealous of and want to destroy." They have the feeling that if this turns them into hermits who are afraid of everyone, then Daesh has won.
As for the Muslim population, I haven't seen much hate. I've read articles of Muslims allegedly fearing for their lives now but at least in Besançon that doesn't seem to be true. Muslims are a huge part of France. I would go as far as to say that they are almost not a minority. There are kebab stores on every block owned by Muslims. There is one corner near me that has three right on that corner. Outer city limits where apartments are cheaper are mostly Muslim. What I'm getting at is everyone personally knows Muslims here so I think it's easier for them to understand that comparing Daesh "Muslims" to normal Muslims is like comparing the KKK and Christians. There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world. There are 30,000 - 50,000 Daesh members. That means 0.00003% of Muslims are a part of ISIS. In reality it's even less because a Daesh campaign is to convert vulnerable or angry people from outside of Syria, outside of the Muslim religion, and convince them to join their cause.
In fact, not a single one of the terrorists from Friday so far have been Syrian. They were all European nationals. One Syrian passport was found but proven to be fake and one Egyptian passport was found but proven to be of an injured tourist. All the terrorists identified so far were European nationals, mostly French and Belgian, who joined Daesh. Remember I said that was one of their campaigns? It has also been theorized that the Syrian passport was planted on purpose to cause fear towards refugees.
And why do I keep referring to them as Daesh instead of ISIS, ISIL, or IS? Well for one it's because that's what the French call them - although it's Daech due to differences in translation. It's an acronym for the group's full Arabic name, al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham. The second reason is that it's what many political leaders are urging people to do. Calling them ISIS (Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham), ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant), or IS (Islamic State) not only makes them sound larger by calling them a "state", but it blurs the lines between this group, Islam, Muslims, and Islamists. Daesh wants to be a caliphate (a form of Islamic government led by a ruler called a caliph) but has been denounced. Calling themselves a state makes them feel like a caliphate and gives them legitimacy. Why are we giving them what they want? The third reason is the best. It's because they hate being called Daesh. Depending on it's conjugated in Arabic, Daesh can mean "to trample and crush" but it can also mean "a bigot who imposes his view on others". It's for this reason they hate it and have declared they will cut out the tongues of anyone they hear calling them that.
I am also deeply saddened at America's response, the response of wanting to now turn away all Syrian refugees. Like I said before, none of the terrorists were Syrian refugees. These people are just trying to flee the same group we fear and fight against. In fact, not a single Syrian refugee has ever been arrested in the US for plotting or performing terrorist attacks. In the past 18 months, nearly 70 people have been arrested in the US for plotting terrorist attacks. 6 were Bosnian refugees, 1 was a Somalian refugee, and 1 was Cuban. The other 60 were Americans. People you would never expect like a nurse or a pizza shop owner. In fact, just as many veterans were arrested as refugees. Do you fear all our veterans now that you know this? Should they all be turned away or arrested when they come home after risking their lives for our country because 0.0000007% turned into terrorists? After all, it's a greater percent than the number of Syrian refugees who turned out to be terrorists, which is 0%.
I'm glad Francois Hollande, the president of France, has not ceased effort in aiding Syrian refugees. Processing has become more strict, which I understand. Even though there has been no Syrian refugee terrorist yet doesn't mean there never will be. Caution is warranted, even fear is warranted, it's the factless and irrational fear like banning an entire population that should be in check.
Everyone is entitled to an opinion, and this is mine. If you personally don't want Syrian refugees in your country, that's fine too. But don't call them terrorists or sleeper agents because the facts just aren't there. Just keep in mind that Albert Einstein, Max Born, Claude Lévi-Strauss, Michael Marks, Current Dalai Lama Tenzin Gyatso, Jackie Chan, and even Jesus are/were refugees.