On Monday, May 22, there was an attack during a concert in Manchester. In all, 22 people died and 59 others were wounded when Salman Abedi, a 22-year-old Briton of Libyan descent, detonated a homemade bomb outside Manchester Arena on Monday night, at the end of a concert by the American pop singer Ariana Grande.
While Britain has experienced terrorism over several decades, the attack in Manchester was met with particular revulsion because it targeted young people. The Islamic State has said it was responsible.
Those killed in the attack include Saffie Rose Roussos, 8; Georgina Bethany Callander, 18, a health and social care student; John Atkinson, who was in his late 20s; and Kelly Brewster, 32, who had been trying to shield her sister and niece from the blast. A police officer has not been identified. As more victims are identified, parents of the young concertgoers emerged as particularly hard hit.
For more information about the attack, follow the link: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/24/world/europe/uk-manchester-bombing-victims.html?_r=0
We have been discussing the end of capitalism for the past quarter, and yesterday we debated whether or not it would be a violent ending or a peaceful one. Radical terrorist from the middle east and other parts of the world have stated their desire to put an end to western culture. Do you think attacks like these have anything to do with the end of capitalism?
Furthermore, have the terrorists been successful over the last decade at eroding confidence in our governments and their ability of to protect us? Does this have an effect on our economy?
I think such attacks have to do with people fighting back the influence and power western countries seek to gain in other nations through corrupt governments...who are probably making deals they think will make them more money (long history of that in the middle east - ex. relationship between US and Israel/Saudi Arabia). Western countries think they are still in need of having military advantage which is why they seek this stronghold in various parts of the world.
ReplyDeleteIn my opinion such acts have definitely eroded citizens' confidence in their government, and this can be seen by support of policies to increase military funding as a way to "defend the nation." It affects the economy in several ways. The one I see as increasingly relevant is: people are usually a single-issue voters and if their single-interest is protection of the nation, they will put in power politicians whose agenda entails many other terrible policies.
I think that these terrorism attacks have been successful in breaking down the confidence that people have in the government. My sister attends a lot of big concerts, and after this attack I am nervous about all of her attendance.
ReplyDeleteI'm struggling to articulate a response. What happened in Manchester was horrifying. I would like to point out that there have recently been many acts of terrorism in the U.S. by people that were not at all from the Middle East. That is to say that I think the "violent ending" to capitalism mentioned in the book would more likely come from the majority within the country banding together as opposed to terrorism.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Kriti and Adam in regards to the attacks lessening the confidence we have in our governments. I also agree with Chido that terrorist attacks are carried out by people who are not form the Middle East as well and that is a very important note to understand.
ReplyDeleteI don't necessarily think that these acts of terrorism and violence against western culture are against capitalism as much as they are against western culture. I'm also not sure whether these attacks will have much of an effect on the capitalist system, even in the long run.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Shanice in that I don't expect attacks such as this one to have much of an effect on the economy. Although terror attacks are devastating and create a lot of news, they are not occurring in Western countries to the extent that the news would want us to believe. The more money we put towards "security" is money we are potentially taking away from things that truly affect the well being of the people.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Chido and Shanice here. I think the motivations are different and have little to do capitalism. That being said, these actions do impact everyone and could impact the system in the long run so countries will need to continuously combat these acts.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my classmates. I believe that the aims are different.
ReplyDeleteI agree with my classmates. I believe that the aims are different.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Adam almost word for word. My sister attends quite a few concerts & I would be lying if I said this didn't make me nervous. It really sucks that this is the world we live in.
ReplyDeleteI also agree with you and Adam. My younger brother also goes to concerts frequently and is at one right now.
DeleteJust as a side note before my blog thoughts, After the events that occurred in Manchester, Manchester United, one of the big two soccer teams in the area had a Final Game against a Spanish team, and the spirit in the stadium was quite unbelievable for Manchester. Its interesting to see the direct and indirect effects of terrorist attacks, and I feel like there are many varying reasons. Some people are very much against capitalism and it's propensity to make people greedy, but there are also those who despise western culture. If anything I worry that attacks like this can hurt capitalism by forcing those of us who are in fear to depend on those in power to protect us, and therefore we are willing to allow for those in power to continue To be greedy for the sake of our safety
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