I woke up this morning thinking about someone I hadn't thought of for a while. Probably close to a year since I last devoted thinking time to this person. This person was a friend I hadn't known very long - about ten weeks in fact.
Then he went on a week's holiday to the tourist hotspot that is Bali. He was there for maybe four days before he died. He was enjoying himself with friends, having a good time and celebrating his football team's grand final win. Then he was dead. Just one of over two hundred people slaughtered in the name of someone's twisted belief.
Someone who claimed to be happy to be executed so he could be at one with his God. And who now is launching last minute appeals against his sentence of death by firing squad. What a true martyr to the cause you turned out to be. Coward.
My friend was twenty two years old. He was only just beginning his life when he was cut down so brutally and callously. He died for absolutely nothing.
The world has changed since the current era of terrorism began. We are now so much more on edge, so much more aware of who is around us and what they're doing. It's not really like we've got a choice about it either. Governments are pushing us to be vigilant. They're slowly removing individual liberties in an effort to single out those willing to strike at them.
Or do these people really care who they're striking at? If you look at the last five years, how many high security events have been named as possible targets of terrorism? Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, large sporting events, public gatherings. None of these have been hit by anything other than the occasional loon looking to get his face on the TV.
No, these murderers look to the everyday locations that we take for granted. Office buildings (New York), nightclubs (Bali), trains (Madrid & London) are their targets. Why kill those you're actually after when you can kill innocent people going about their everyday lives, and create maximum exposure and impact?Why take the lives of those who could potentially put up a fight and resist, when you can kill and maim those who have no idea the attack is coming?
Lives are ripped apart. Not only the lives of those with immediate ties to the dead, but the lives of those around them. At the memorial service for my friend, over one thousand people attended. The church was full and there were crowds of people outside, listening as the service was played through the PA system. Over one thousand lives were affected. All for what?
Josh, wherever you are, I hope you're safe and warm. Becaust this world wasn't good enough to keep you among us. This world failed you, and I am sorry. We are all left to remember you, and perhaps wonder what might've been.
Then he went on a week's holiday to the tourist hotspot that is Bali. He was there for maybe four days before he died. He was enjoying himself with friends, having a good time and celebrating his football team's grand final win. Then he was dead. Just one of over two hundred people slaughtered in the name of someone's twisted belief.
Someone who claimed to be happy to be executed so he could be at one with his God. And who now is launching last minute appeals against his sentence of death by firing squad. What a true martyr to the cause you turned out to be. Coward.
My friend was twenty two years old. He was only just beginning his life when he was cut down so brutally and callously. He died for absolutely nothing.
The world has changed since the current era of terrorism began. We are now so much more on edge, so much more aware of who is around us and what they're doing. It's not really like we've got a choice about it either. Governments are pushing us to be vigilant. They're slowly removing individual liberties in an effort to single out those willing to strike at them.
Or do these people really care who they're striking at? If you look at the last five years, how many high security events have been named as possible targets of terrorism? Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, large sporting events, public gatherings. None of these have been hit by anything other than the occasional loon looking to get his face on the TV.
No, these murderers look to the everyday locations that we take for granted. Office buildings (New York), nightclubs (Bali), trains (Madrid & London) are their targets. Why kill those you're actually after when you can kill innocent people going about their everyday lives, and create maximum exposure and impact?Why take the lives of those who could potentially put up a fight and resist, when you can kill and maim those who have no idea the attack is coming?
Lives are ripped apart. Not only the lives of those with immediate ties to the dead, but the lives of those around them. At the memorial service for my friend, over one thousand people attended. The church was full and there were crowds of people outside, listening as the service was played through the PA system. Over one thousand lives were affected. All for what?
Josh, wherever you are, I hope you're safe and warm. Becaust this world wasn't good enough to keep you among us. This world failed you, and I am sorry. We are all left to remember you, and perhaps wonder what might've been.
2 comments:
*hugs*
I'm sorry, man....
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