Ana içeriğe atla

Las Vegas massacre not the first, not the last

A disturbed man pulled the trigger in Las Vegas last Sunday night. He rained bullets down from a hotel room window on the 32nd floor of a nearby hotel into a country music concert killing at least 59 people and injuring 527 others.
His name was Stephen Paddock, a 64-year-old man from Mesquite, Nevada. He opened fire on masses of people with no apparent reason. According to his brother Eric Paddock, he was an ordinary guy living in a quiet retirement community with no religious or political affiliations. However, he fired rounds of ammunition into the crowd and killed himself when the police located him.

The videos circulating on social media show the nightmare the people were experiencing. The panic in the concert area, the sound of automatic gunfire and the cold blooded attack reminded us again that nowhere is safe anymore. These are scenes that one would prefer to close their eyes to while watching a blockbuster movie. Knowing that it is the reality and that could happen to anyone of us at a concert, football game, nightclub, restaurant, wedding party or just walking by the beach is a harsh reminder of the power of terror and how it disturbs our lives forever.
Paddock did not blink an eye while repeatedly pulling the trigger. The bullets raining from the sky ended lives and destroyed families in every sense. It seems that there is no political or ideological motive or objective for this assault. It was an act of pure evil, as U.S. President Donald Trump has called it. It is an act of terrorism. It uses violence that is intended to cause bodily harm or death to the public. This is how Nevada state law defines terrorism. And the Oct. 1 Las Vegas shooting was the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history. It is the worst attack in the U.S. since Sept. 11, 2001. This is how last night's attack is described in the United States.
After similar horrific terrorist attacks, people gather at the scene of the attack to remember the victims and leave flowers and candles in their memory. People share their thoughts on social media as soon as the first shock is passed. We have unfortunately seen many #PrayFor hashtags in recent years with different city names. As for the states, they lower their flags in respect of the victims, offer a moment of silence and a day of mourning. The discussions on the reasons of the attacks and how it could be prevented stay under the shadow of the sadness and pain that surrender us. Then, we all return to our daily lives until the next big attack.
It is sad to say, but people were ready to accept that the killer was affiliated with a terrorist organization, was an immigrant or a Muslim. It could have been easier to blame a faith, a culture or society. Now, Americans have to turn into themselves to find the motives of the killer and the root causes of the attack.
The truth is simple. He was an overly armed, dangerous, probably mentally unstable and perhaps premeditated man.
As millions pray for the victims, discussions about gun control laws resurface. The U.S. has the highest rate of gun homicides of any developed nation. Nongovernmental organizations raise their voices against the existing laws that permit even an 18-year-old to possess guns when they cannot drink alcohol until the age of 21 – age 18 – although possessing a firearm necessitate greater ability to act responsibly.
Another issue is tighter security at public events. This is a reality that security conscious societies like Turkey experience everyday. There are security controls in malls and public gatherings. In Las Vegas, however, everything is open and freely accessible – malls, casinos, museums, hotels. In the age of terrorism, this ease of getting around makes the city an easy target, especially when there is such easy access to guns.
Mourning the victims of the horrific attack, America must confront its own problems and stop postponing the inevitable discussions and decisions to solve the gun violence that paralyzes the country. Radical and brave steps are necessary for the sake of its citizens in order to prevent another similar attack.
Etiketler:

Yorumlar

Yorum Gönder

Bu blogdaki popüler yayınlar

Unutmayacağız

Unutmayacağız... Bu sözü ne kadar da çok tekrarlıyoruz. Oysa çok değil birkaç yıl sonra her şey gibi o unutulmaz denen şey de unutuluyor. Zamanın akışına bırakılıyor. Bir tek anne-babalar, eşler, çocuklar hatırlıyor, acısını en derinde hissediyor. Bir tek onlar için o yangın devam ediyor. Ateş bir tek düştüğü yeri yakıyor. Bu söz bir kere de hatalı çıksın istiyorum, olmuyor, çıkmıyor. Bu sene 15 Kasım’da bir yazı aradı gözlerim. Ama kuru kuru bir haber değildi istediğim, bulamadım. Fark ettim ki  bu konuyla ilgili sosyal medyada paylaşabileceğim yazılar ya daha önce kendi yazdıklarım, ya Şalom Gazetesi’nde çıkanlar, ya da geçen sene ben dahil dört kişiyle röportaj yapan Agos’un söyleşisiydi. Bu kadar. Aradan geçen 13 sene, 15 ve 20 Kasım saldırılarının vahşetini, korkunçluğunu, kayıplarını unutturmuş olmalı.  Çok daha önemli görülen konular olmalı ki, El Kaide terör örgütünün İstanbul’un göbeğine gerçekleştirdiği bu saldırılar konuşulmadan, kurbanları anılmadan geçilebiliyor. Ya
Yorum Gönder
Devamı

Survivor Hayim’in gerçek dünyası - Söyleşi

Hayim, çok sevdiğim bir arkadaşımın kuzeni. Aklı başında, ne istediğini bilen biri. Askerlik dönüşünde ani bir kararla Survivor yarışmasına katıldığını duyduğumda çok şaşırmıştım. Pek spor yapmayan, atletik olmayan biri neden zor koşullarda, dayanıklılık, irade ve güç isteyen bir televizyon programına katılır? Bunları konuşurken, sayesinde takip etmeye başladığım Survivor ile ilgili tüm merak ettiklerimi de sordum; kameralara yansımayan gizli bir tuvalet var mıydı, ya da yayın bitince gidilen lüks bir otel? Begüm’le arasında bir yakınlaşma oldu mu, Merve neden pişman oldu yarışmaya katıldığına? İşte Sabah Gazetesinden Yüksel Aytuğ’un teşekkür ettiği, seyircilerin filozof olarak tanımladığı Hayim ve Survivor yarışmasının bilinmeyenleri… Survivor maceran nasıl başladı? Katılmak nereden aklına geldi? Arkadaşlarımla uzun süredir Survivor’u takip ediyorduk. Hep katılmak istiyordum ama televizyona çıkmak beni korkutuyordu. Geçen sene iki yakın arkadaşım Dominik’e gittiler. Yarışmacıları
Yorum Gönder
Devamı

“We are Beyond What I Had Dreamed of When I Moved to Dubai”

Cem Habib  We talked about how the peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates affected the Jewish life in the Emirates, with the investment manager Cem Habib, who has been living in Dubai since 2016, and who is one of the founding members of the Jewish Council of Emirates (JCE), the first officially recognized Jewish community of the UAE. How long have you been living in Dubai? What influenced you in deciding to live here? I moved to Dubai in 2016, before I had been living in London. My customer base at that time was in Kazakhstan and it had gotten harder commuting there from London every month after 6 years. There were three direct flights between Dubai and Kazakhstan, every day, with a flight time of less than 4 hours. To improve our quality of life and to spend more time with the kids, we moved to Dubai. When moving, how could you overcome the thought “As a Jew, will I be comfortable living in an Arab country with my family?” I talked to my friends from different countri
Yorum Gönder
Devamı