(This blog is in response to two class discussions I had this week, and will be addressing terrorism along with the media’s selective illustration of it.)
Terrorism in the 21st century is rampant. It is said that the so-called “ War on Terror” began with what I would consider to be the worst day in American History, 9/11. 9/11 is the genesis of a decade of heinous act after heinous act.
There are a plethora of saddening stories of how bigotry has taken lives in this past decade. I, however, will only focus on the two most recent acts terrorism. Last Wednesday, January 7th, the satirical magazine Charlie Hedbo was ambushed by Al-Qaeda like operatives. The assault, which took place in Paris, ended 12 lives. This tragedy underscores the new breed of terrorism.
In comparison to the massive amounts of hysteria caused by the devastation of 9/11, the recent attacks in Paris can be considered to be relatively dormant.The mere disappearance of the Twin Towers – without taking into consideration all the other catastrophes of the day – validates the sheer magnitude of this act of terrorism. Conversely, the tragedy on January 7th did not rupture any of Paris’s renowned infrastructures. This new form of terrorism, albeit less destructive, is still as evil and some even argue more lethal, as it is harder to detect and thus prevent.
Call me a cynic, but I don’t think it was a coincidence that another form of this small-scale terrorism happened four days before the events in Paris. One can draw parallels with the attack in Paris to the recent massacre in Northern Nigeria. Boko Haram, a fundamentalist Islamist organization, similar to Al – Queda kills in the name of Allah. On January 3 2015, Boko Haram essentially wiped out two villages in Northern Nigeria, killing roughly 2000 people. The sheer numbers of this massacre, one would think, would cause it to be handled as if it was a large-scale terrorism attack. Yet the media’s coverage of this tragedy was not nearly as extensive as the recent events in Paris, even though there was a considerable difference in death toll. I question the reasons why.
The world we live in is structured by imperialism. This is reflected most in the media. Considering the media is strictly concerned with suiting the western perspective, it should not come to a surprise that the inordinate number of deaths in Northern Nigeria were pushed aside by the tragedy in Paris. As the French would say, c’est la vie.
Works Cited
“Charlie Hebdo and Its Satirical Role.” BBC News. Web. 16 Jan. 2015. <http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-15551998>.
“Paris Attack: The New Terror – CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 16 Jan. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/08/politics/paris-new-terror/index.html>.
“Satellite Images Show Devastation of Boko Haram Attacks, Rights Groups Say – CNN.com.” CNN. Cable News Network. Web. 16 Jan. 2015. <http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/15/africa/nigeria-boko-haram-images/index.html>.