Who's To Blame?

Yesterday was Bastille Day. Ordinarily it would be a day of great joy in France, however there was an attack on revelers then – a fatal attack. At least eighty-four were killed, although there were many injured and the number is likely to rise. The perpetrator drove a truck into those celebrating the holiday, and started shooting them after he left the truck. At the moment the most likely cause, in the view of authorities, is that it is related to a previous episode of “road rage.” That is what is assumed to be the reason for the massacre by a Tunisian citizen. According to official reports, there is no evidence that the killer had any terrorist connections or that this was a terrorist attack.

Last month, in Orlando, Florida, a man attacked the patrons of a night club, killing forty-nine and injuring many others. The man was the son of Afghan immigrants, and he pledged allegiance to ISIS during the spree. The night club was a gay establishment – one which he had attended several times before, yet there are many who view this as an act of homophobia. And there are others who emphasize the point that a Latin American celebration was taking place. They see it is as an attack on the Latin community. An action against “minority” members is a more politically palatable explanation than anything implying that Islamic culture and religion were in any way involved.

There have been several other such incidents which have caused deaths in this, and other countries, and which we have attributed to a wide variety of causes, although we usually obscure the origins and activities of the offenders, trying hard not to mention that the vast majority of them are Muslims. To say so would be evidence that we are Islamophobic for that would be a blemish on us, rather than on the culprits, so we come up with other causes for their actions that distract us from any consideration of the facts. Or we intentionally distort the facts we have; hence there are many who still believe that the events of September 11, 2001 were caused by the United States or Israel.

It's not a surprise that many groups would like to distract us from the actual situation – many in order to get our sympathy for their cause, while others would like us to blame them for the violence. The blame not only gives credence to their movement but also serves as a call to arms and as a recruiting tool. Both distractions present dangers to our society.

Certainly we are threatened by groups that have the goal of disrupting our lives and, ultimately, of defeating our nations. It is a challenge, however, that we are loath to face because to do so would be viewed as evidence of prejudice, and we Americans are not biased people. So it is governmental policy to play down any suggestion of a predisposition of any religious group toward violence, since that would be evidence of our partiality.

Equally deleterious – or, perhaps more so – is the attribution of a problem to a cause other than the one we know to be responsible. We cannot hope to solve a problem whose existence we refuse to recognize or admit. When we claim a problem to be other than it really is, we look for a solution that is not likely to provide any help. And we convince others that another problem exists, or is more severe than we have recognized, and they should turn their attention to that. In addition we give credibility to those who have been making such a claim even if their arguments have been fallacious.

Admit it or not, however, a problem exists. There seems to be a predisposition of Muslims to violence, whether as part of a specific campaign or as a general solution to any perceived injustices. Perhaps it is cultural, perhaps it is provoked, but it is real. As long as we deny the problem we will not solve it. And if we ignore the problem, we are to blame for it.