My heart goes out to the people of France and Lumad. This is something that no one should go through, and it's a terrible pity that people feel the need to be this extreme.

It's up to France to choose how to go about this, and hopefully they can come up with a plan that keeps more people safe.

Terror manifests itself in many forms. This is but one more example. I pray for a day when our children will not have to endure such madness on this earth.

I'm a Belgian. I live in the french-speaking part of Belgium, more precisely at a few kilometers from the french border.
Even if our culture is different, we feel very close from french peoples and what happened had been a shock when I discovered this morning how big and bad it was. Especially because I have friends in Paris, some who, as of now, I still don't know if they are alright or not.
Right now, it's still very confused her and the only sure thing is that daech is behind that butchery

From what I can see an read on the news site and on the forum where I have my friends, Europeans are both shocked and angry ... very angry !

I don't know what is going on here on furaff' (I'm quite the solitary type ) but Tonya is right ... As humans and if we want to keep our humanity, our first duty is to honor the lost ones. Celebrating the dead is one of the things that made the human species different from the other ones.

As furs and artists, what we need to do, to fight these monsters and prove them that they can't silence us, is to continue to exist and more importantly to create the same thing we did before. You were drawing simple anthropomorphic creature ? Sexual picture ? Porno even ? Well, continue !! For them we are the devil. They want us to stop and be dead. They don't want art because it's not in THEIR vision of religion. By continuing to create and refusing censure and self-censure, we will do our part of the war they want between they and us. By simply existing, the furry world is already a big pain in their ass

For our states ? Well ... I'm afraid war and the destruction of daech is the only real solution. I know very well that previous wars is what had lead to the present situation. But we don't have simple Muslims or a common dictator in face of us. From what I have been able to understand in our media in the previous month, daech is a millenarian sect and ABSOLUTELY NOT representative from Islam. It seems that Islam too have an apocalyptic prophecy of it's own. And they are sure that it's coming and that it needs a war between them and Occident to see the return of Allah on earth. That's why they do all these horrible things. So that we are going to attack and they will be save by Allah in person. They won't negotiate ! Never ! They will fight until they are all dead and I'm pretty sure they will do other attack against Paris, New York or Washington until we reply. Why those cities ? Paris, for almost 3 centuries and at least since 1789, is the symbol of freedom. Freedom of creation, free thought, freedom of manners,... It's the capital of a secular state since the middle of the 19th century. It's all they hate. New York is similar plus it's the heart of the economic world and have been already attacked. Washington ? Well it's the capital of the US. It's enough.
All this is why I fear a war can't be avoided. Alas ...

I've finished ...
Tonya, if you feel that you need to delete that entry, do it, no problem for me

I hope I've been able to explain a little what's going on in the minds here in Europe. If you think that this entry can help other to understand, redirect them here or copy my entry.

Be well, create a lot, and live long and prosper.

Octopus

Well, well spoken words, Tonya. Your journal is one I will never delete outright.

France is getting all the attention, but this was a one-two attack as they hit Lebanon the day before. Keep all the victims of these terrorist attacks in your thoughts and prayers.

well spoken on this.

i am always annoyed when anyone is killed, but i am as much concerned by questions i don't hear being asked.

such as which voices are most likely to be silenced in the wake of such an event. (such as those calling for calm and good sense)
which are most likely to be amplified by it. (such as those that would benefit from people not thinking because of being angry)

i know there are people in this world who don't want humanity to achieve a lasting and sustainable peace.
i know that many, possibly most of them, are not religious fanatics either.

i also wonder; why in particular paris. not as in poor innocent paris,
but as in; of all the cities in the world that could have been randomly chosen, was there any particular or specific reason why it was?

the only thing in particular about paris that comes to mind are the up coming united nations climate talks.
i'm not seeing any obvious connection. i'm just not seeing anything else that stands out.

i also agree that what most of us, who are on the outside with only television coverage to give us (a typically rather far from useful nor accurate, beyond the bare facts) idea of what is going on, the best thing we can do, is to stay out of the way of those, such as the french authorities, the french people and interpol, who do.

Just say this.. all we need is peace and love, no more......