On October 17, 2014 Canada agreed to a combat mission against ISIS (War).
Within 5 days, there were two separate terrorist-inspired attacks on Canadian soil, committed by Canadian citizens, one of whom was allegedly "mentally-unstable" and had begged a B.C. judge to imprison him to get off of drugs (citation HERE).
Regardless of the man's issues, such violence by nationals against nationals has been ripping at Canada's heart, partly because of our national love for our Troops, and partly because the second attack was committed against the very heart of Canadian Parliament. War has hit back and war has hit home.
Once the dust has settled, there is also an additional war being identified: mental health and mental health treatment in Canada. I will save this topic for an additional post, because there is much to be said about it.
On October 22, 2014, Cpl. Nathan Cirillo was "standing guard for thee". For that action of honour he was shot dead in cold blood and in the back. In that very moment of violence, terror, and death, #CplNathanCirillo was immortalized as Canada's face representing the war against terrorism and violence inspired by radicalism, whether it is precipitated by mental health issues or not.
Cpl. Cirillo was the second murder on Canadian soil. Two days prior, Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent was run down in Quebec simply for walking while in uniform. A self-proclaimed terrorist waited 2 hours to spot a soldier so that he (the terrorist) could murder a Canadian soldier in cold blood.
Two crimes of terror, in random succession, from two entirely different murderers. All of it, however, was done in the inspiration derived from radicalist Islam.
Rest in peace Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent. We salute you; we honour you; you are forever in the hearts and memories of Canada.
Two crimes of terror, in random succession, from two entirely different murderers. All of it, however, was done in the inspiration derived from radicalist Islam.
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| Photo credit: HERE |
Rest in peace Cpl. Nathan Cirillo and Warrant Officer Patrice Vincent. We salute you; we honour you; you are forever in the hearts and memories of Canada.
Moral Outrage
Canadians were pissed off, angry, mad, and enraged. Days after the attacks, people are still expressing outrage, while also maintaining support for our troops and nation.
As @Stats_Canada (the name of a satirical tweeter) wrote, “Canadians are 100% united, and 100% pissed off”. That quote has been retweeted ~8,400 times and favourited ~6,200 times. Clearly, the tweet hit home!
CBC Radio 2 @cbcr2shift, posted a question to Canadians asking, “Has Canada been changed forever?” The obvious answer is "of course"! Our blood has been spilled; that is a game changer!
In addition, a new theme of moral outrage has arisen: outrage against the lack of support for serious mental health issues in Canada. If it is true that Cpl. Cirillo's murder was the result of a neglected mental health issue, versus a terror issue, how will Canadians respond?
As more information arises about the second murderer amongst these terrorist-inspired acts, Canadian's grief and rage is being transferred onto the topic of mental health. For example, a question on the radio today was, "can it be called terrorism if the person is suffering from a diagnosed mental illness?".
If you have more questions about the topic of terrorism and mental health, consider reading this Globe and Mail article: "When troubled young men turn to terror...".
Canadians are already making noise about the lack of funding for mental health program. For example, check out www.ThisVideo.ca.
What is a typical, Canadian response to terrorism (regardless of extenuating mental health)?
CBC Radio 2 @cbcr2shift, posted a question to Canadians asking, “Has Canada been changed forever?” The obvious answer is "of course"! Our blood has been spilled; that is a game changer!
In addition, a new theme of moral outrage has arisen: outrage against the lack of support for serious mental health issues in Canada. If it is true that Cpl. Cirillo's murder was the result of a neglected mental health issue, versus a terror issue, how will Canadians respond?
As more information arises about the second murderer amongst these terrorist-inspired acts, Canadian's grief and rage is being transferred onto the topic of mental health. For example, a question on the radio today was, "can it be called terrorism if the person is suffering from a diagnosed mental illness?".
If you have more questions about the topic of terrorism and mental health, consider reading this Globe and Mail article: "When troubled young men turn to terror...".
Canadians are already making noise about the lack of funding for mental health program. For example, check out www.ThisVideo.ca.
What is a typical, Canadian response to terrorism (regardless of extenuating mental health)?
Good question. There doesn't appear to be a "typical" Canadian response. Instead, what I saw was a variance of calmness, verbal outrage, grief-based humour, apathy, shock, and an overall sense of nationalism.
The verbal war began as people polarized between outrage, blame, shock, and rationality. When one person said something racist, there were plenty of immediate reactions in reply. The see-saw of public opinion was hard at work.
Canadian styled, grief-based humour was also hard at work. Canadian humour has a long-standing tradition of helping us cope with overwhelming political and world events. Here is an example of a Canadian who responded with grief-based humour to express his process of hearing of the attack(s) in Ottawa, responding to the grief, and then reacting after the grief has set in:
The verbal war began as people polarized between outrage, blame, shock, and rationality. When one person said something racist, there were plenty of immediate reactions in reply. The see-saw of public opinion was hard at work.
Canadian styled, grief-based humour was also hard at work. Canadian humour has a long-standing tradition of helping us cope with overwhelming political and world events. Here is an example of a Canadian who responded with grief-based humour to express his process of hearing of the attack(s) in Ottawa, responding to the grief, and then reacting after the grief has set in:
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| I wish I know who this Canadian is because his creative expression of the stages of grief to National anger is quite noteworthy. If you know who this is, please send me the link so that I can give him credit. |
Yet, the rage, in whatever form it took, was primarily verbal. I am quite pleased that there was little physical violence in response to the murders. Why? Because terrorism wants to force people into uncivilized and barbaric reactions. A terrorist "wins" when he/she can force another to react in violence or terror. A terrorist is minimized when a nation reacts in strength, civility, law, and order.
What are people saying about these terrorist events?
I have struck up conversations with several people at two different coffee shops and in internationally based social media. I asked them what they thought of Canada’s terrorism events. Here’s what people told me:
- A man from Scotland wrote, “Thoughts are with all Canadians tonight. Hope you and yours are all ok. When something like this happens people react in really strange ways.”
- A twitterer wrote to me, “This ain’t no fairytale. Swift decisions have to be made at the top.” @mymelocello
- A man from South Africa wrote, “It’s too bad. You’ll survive. The world is like that now.”
- A local teenager replied in disconnect, “I don’t know what happened, I am not connected. Can you tell me?”
- An apathetic teenager responded with: “I dunno, it’s kind of over, that’s sort of sad”. She shrugged her shoulders and moved on.
- A local twitterer said, “I think I’m just going to cry now. #Canada” @kevole
- A local military wife said, “If I may... please note that i am Angry about today's happenings. I have been angry for a long time watching the trends in our North American melting pot. Attending Memorial reunions for fallen brothers of my Veteran husband. Seeing the news feeds of those who still fight for us. Fear is realistic and there is nothing wrong with making informative decisions because we fear for or lives, country, etc. I'm sorry but at this point in the game, we are ignorant if we do not accept that the war is here and we have allowed it.” Jennifer G.
Personally, I did not witness many racist or xenophobic reactions close up, but here is what some people reported to me:
- “The racism/discrimination I’m witnessing within familiar circles is as big a threat to what Canada stands for as any act of terrorism.” Ryan Jespersen (TV personality)
- “Sadly, despite the fact that we know very little at this time, I'm seeing far too many people demand the automatic detainment and deportation of Canadian Muslims. I'm seeing far too many people demand that we shoot first and ask questions later. I'm seeing far too many people act as judge, jury, and executioner - people who are sitting comfortably behind their monitors or their phones, somehow, for some reason, believing that creating this generation's version of an Internment Camp is not only defensible, but necessary.” Lindsay T
NOW WHAT?
Canada is at war. Canada has also had two isolated terrorist attacks in two days. The war is not just overseas, it is happening here too.
Are Canadians awake to the impact of these realities? Do Canadians understand that more change is coming? Are Canadians willing to have difficult conversations about extremism, immigration, multi-culturalism’s impacts and the future of our national character?
It is time Canada. To stay “strong and free”, we must understand vigilance, preparedness, and most of all, strength within our identity and national character.
