Do you by any chance know how many people die due to road accidents in India? I did’nt, until I found it on BBC. And it is 90000 road deaths per year. It comes out to around 250 people a day. What do you think of ‘250’ ..is it large, small. Are you sad about those many deaths?
Now how many people die of bomb explosions in India per year. I could not find any data about that, but I can bet that number is far far smaller than 90000 per year.
Do you see where I am going with my comparison?
Now what does a terrorist intend to accomplish with a successful explosion? Is the number of deaths their main priority? Or is the terror people feel more lovely to them? How many deaths in the last Delhi blasts? 40-50? If you feel I am trying to make these deaths seem less important, you are wrong. These people in a way are comparable to our soldiers who die on the fronts. But I objectively and actively discourage the terror people feel when these blasts happen.
When I heard about today’s blasts at Mehrauli, the first thing I and Samrat did was go to PVR complex. We were discussing the same thing, and this was the conclusion we reached. If as a citizen there is something I can do against terrorism, it is this: stop feeling terrorized. When we reached the complex, we saw it was packed with police and they were shutting everything. The shop keepers were obviously not happy, not with the police, with the situation. They would loose business on a saturday. So in fact the terrorists got the benefit of another blast without doing anything. But I could see people ambling about, I guess people like me.
I say show the middle finger to the terrorists. Whenever a blast happens anywhere, go there once everything opens. Unlike the usual behavior, say avoiding gaffar market. What do you think? Are their more ways we can do our bit? I would love to hear.
Finally, if you feel terrorized the terrorists succeed, remember that.
I am so with you, man. Here’s my (American) equivalent to your post: http://thepete.com/10-points/
To me it’s not even about flipping the bird to terrorists, it’s about flipping the bird to fear. Odds are most of us will live to ripe old ages. The odds are overwhelmingly against any of us being blown up in a terrorist bombing.
I’d rather we stop cancer or AIDS, or develop a safer way to get around. Should we stop trying to stop terrorists? Of course, not–but we shouldn’t live in fear, either.
Good post, man! Well done.