The elephant in the room: Charlie Hebdo

Since Paris is not that far from Antwerp, and since the attack this wednesday was not just an attack on innocent people, but also and foremost an attack on the freedom of speech, I'll do my 'job' and state my support for the victims, family and the protests going on right now.

I won't bother you with details of what happened. I think every one who stumbles upon this blog knows pretty darn good what happened, and else: google is your best friend (just don't automatically believe what some sources say...). It's hard to express what I felt when I heard of what happened. I wasn't shocked, it felt more like the threath we all felt the last years in Europe, was finally unravelling in full force and it was awful yet also oddly familiar, as if we all knew it was coming, we just expected it to be a bombing or some other 'common' method of terrorism. Unlike my reaction to other attacks, such as those in London, I felt really uneasy about it. Not only is it an act of terrorism, it's also aimed at one of the 'rights' we have which I cherish most.

Antwerp is not only pretty close to Paris, we also have a big population of muslims, wether we like it or not. Reaction happened pretty quickly over here. The same night, a spontanious procession took place in Brussels. I also like this Antwerp graffitti:

  

I don't believe muslims were involved in the attack. Extremists did it, not muslims. But that's not what I want to write about now. Since I'm 100% sure we haven't seen the last of this yet, I'll get back to the events and the suspects in another post.

I've read a lot about the militarisation of the police and how the world is ruled by those who we can never see or hurt. But it's one of the first times I can give comments on an event that is met with disgust globaly. I really don't feel happy about it, but I'm really curious to see what rights will be taken away from which people as a response to what took place. Also, this will be discussed by yours truly, later.

What shocked me the most is how close it's all becoming and especially, who got killed at Charlie Hebdo. 2 of the killed cartoonists were old men.
I'm still looking for the right feeling to express what I was thinking when I saw the news, but I can't quite put a finger on it. It felt like recognition, like it was ment to be, we all knew it would come but we never wanted to see it coming.

The year 2015 has not started out good. Am I scared? No, but I'm certainly not at ease. Not only did we loose 12 people on wednesday, the whole event spanned roughly 2 days, in which more people died and chaos ruled France and Europe. We have not yet seen the end of this. More attacks will follow, I am so sure of that. But that's not the only thing that unsettles me. Already have I seen some measures and tactics being used the last days which gave me goosebumps. I'll also get back on that later.

All I want to say for now is this: I condemn these actions and I feel deeply for the deads, pain and suffering they gave us. But let's not forget we are being ruled by an elite who has everything just under control. I want to know the truth about what happened almost in my backyard. I'm not buying this IS/Al-Qaida crap. And I do NOT like what is happening in Europe neither the voices I hear in the streets.

That's all for now folks, as I said 3 times before, I will get back on this.

Sabetha
pissedofpenguin@gmail.com