I came home tonight to news of another horrific terrorist attack today, this time at the airport and train terminal in Brussels. As with other terrorist attacks, the responsibility for this atrocity was claimed by ISIS. And as I watched the news to catch up on what had happened, I saw stories about how other countries in Europe were “showing solidarity” with Belgium, because the Eiffel Tower and the Trevi Fountain and, probably, other European landmarks were illuminated with the colors of the Belgium flag.
Am I the only person who has had it with this kind of empty symbolism? I guess we’re all supposed to be deeply moved by the projection of the Belgian flag. Hey, while we’re at it, let’s have a Facebook app that allows us to change our profile pictures to use the Belgian colors! And maybe we can come up with a few good Twitter hashtags, too, like when the primary response to the African terrorists who were kidnapping young girls and selling them into slavery was a “freeourgirls” hashtag? Boy, a really good hashtag will teach those ISIS guys not to mess with us!
I understand the desire to show solidarity with innocent people who have been attacked. But at some point projected flag colors and hashtags and statements of Facebook support are pointless. ISIS doesn’t give a flying fig what the trending hashtags are or whether the Trevi Fountain is bathed in the Belgian colors.
Are we going to try to defeat these guys, or are we just hoping we can out-symbolize them?
Webner House 