Terrorism has over the last fifteen years or so become a horrible daily reality. It haunts news coverage throughout the world and last week’s attack on French satirical cartoon magazine, Charlie Hebdo, only reiterated the sheer tragic swathe that it has cut in modern society. However, what it also shows is the absolute futility of it.
The magazine continues to operate and will release its “survivors” edition this week, it has acquired an increase in devoted followers as a result of the attack and it has united the vast majority of France and other nations around the world behind the beautiful concepts of freedom, equality and human unity. With the opposite affect to that intended by the group behind the attack being the end result, apart from the terrible loss of human life, what did they hope to achieve when they set out?
The reality is that a big part of the agenda was simply revenge, but the more hopeless truth is that they might have also seen martyrdom and paradise at the end of their gun toting march into the offices of Charlie Hebdo. While revenge has definitely been exacted, more’s to the pity for all of the dead, their relatives and friends, and martyrdom left to your own religious outlook, what they’ve also done is awaken more resolve to combat terrorism and its origins.
In no way have they furthered the agenda of ISIS, to whom they have been affiliated. Instead they have more than likely solidified support in France for increased military efforts in the Middle East and improved defenses within France to combat similar attacks.
It’s a pattern that has been repeated time and time again in recent history, as attack and counter measure circle each other without any winners. Terrorist atrocities have been met with firmer resolve that in itself has felt questionable at times, but either way you look at it, the reality is clear that attacks will have consequences and the results of this are beneficial to no one.
It’s like Aesop’s fable of the cold North Wind and the Sun, and the genius thought that persuasion is more powerful than force has been completely missed by the people involved in terror attacks. The pen is mightier than the sword and if any group is to be taken seriously outside of the mobilisation of troops to act against them, then this will need to become the defining factor in their approach.
In Charlie Hebdo’s case, the squat pencil is mightier than the gun and it looks like they will continue to cede nothing in their comedy satire subject matter. Three million copies of their post-attack edition have been published and they will sell, giving them a much bigger voice than their usual 60,000 weekly readership.
