Terrorized By Difference

How long has terrorism existed in our world? To some it seems, terrorism is a new thing; an awful trend, invented by horrible people over the last ten years. But in fact, terrorism and the terrorists responsible for it have inhabited this planet for far longer than anyone alive has, it’s just that the more recent offenders are the ones we love to hate. The non-white kind. Until five years ago the only information we had about terrorism was that found in a Die Hard movie. Since September 11, 2001 however, people have donned themselves experts in terrorism and have instilled fear into people who are now petrified of attacks on their cities and in their countries. But has the threat of an attack really gone up? The answer is simple. No. People are just afraid of what they cannot explain.

Terrorism is the use of force or violence against people or property, in violation of the law, for the purpose of intimidation, coercion, or ransom. The word ‘terrorism’ has been thrown around quite freely lately and the increase in its use has brought about an increase in racial profiling, discrimination and stereotyping. Muslims and Arabs are now feared in the community simply because they may slightly resemble a face, or dress similarly to one we’ve been told is evil. Fear of the unknown is one of the greatest human fears. People have no time for those they believe to be different, particularly when these differences make them feel uncomfortable.

Think about it. Who was it that was responsible for the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing, claiming 168 lives? A white man. Timothy McVeigh. The name may ring a bell, but I highly doubt anyone walks down the street fearing a run in with a Caucasian male.

Throughout recent history we have been subject to news of terrorist action. From the 1960s, with the Weather Underground organisation responsible for 19 bombings, including the US Capitol Building and the Pentagon, to 1994 when The Unabomber began his attacks on Italy, terrorists have been about and active as much as they are today. The media, however, have given such hype to the mayhem recently, we are all afraid. The government has apparently taken anti-terrorist action to prevent these horrible events from happening, but how can you prevent something you don’t understand? The term ‘terrorism’ is used to assert that the enemy's political violence is immoral, wanton, and unjustified. And if this is the case, no amount of preparation can prevent an attack.

The September 11 attacks were the worst in history. Since then however, has anything followed? Have al-Qaeda given any reason to inspire fear in the Australian population? Only the Bali bombings have occurred since, all of which were denied by all Indonesian links to al-Qaeda. We have unnecessarily created an irrational fear within ourselves, a mountain out of a mole hill. There is no threat to Australia from any other nation. The only danger we put ourselves in is being seen as the lap dog of our ‘big brother’ the USA.

For decades our television screens have shown us the carnage that is the aftermath of a terrorist attack but we have never taken as much notice as we do now. Why is that? There is no plausible reason for us in Australia to be concerned. We’ve been given no reason to fret. The fear we have is justified only by the fact our racism and bigotry towards people we don’t understand might land us in a tight spot sooner or later. Terrorists come in all colors and inhabit all lands; they are not all the same.