People in the United States woke up this morning to news of a series of bombings in Brussels, Belgium that have been linked to the same group of militants who carried out the attacks in Paris. Over thirty people are dead, and over eighty are injured.
This isn’t the first time we have had to respond to news of a terror attack in Europe, and it almost certainly won’t be the last. But as grim as this is to say, for all of the practice we have responding to terror attacks, we are still remarkably bad at it.
With that in mind, here is a quick guide to what to do today, and what to avoid.
This is a non-exhaustive list of no-brainers, and may be updated throughout the day as people find new ways to say and do stupid things in response to these attacks:
If you are an individual:
Red Cross, via Wikimedia Commons
Do: If you are so inclined, feel free to offer thoughts, prayers and good vibes for the victims of their attacks, their families and/or whoever else might be affected.
Do also: If you are serious about helping the victims, their families and/or whoever else might be affected, you’d better bring more to the table than your thoughts, prayers and good vibes. Here is the donation page for the Red Cross.
Do: Go about your daily routine as normal. Terror attacks are, by definition, terrifying, but statistically speaking you are not in danger.
Don’t: Scream internally if you see someone wearing a head covering.
Do: Make time to read this deep dive into who and what the Islamic State is, what it wants and how to stop them.
Don’t: Take any of these arguments seriously:
Cruz: "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized." pic.twitter.com/7iZa49l4gq
— southpaw (@nycsouthpaw) March 22, 2016
If you are a news organization:
Do: Report what you know, when you know it.
Don’t: Psychoanalyze, speculate or explain why these attacks vindicate your pet political opinion:
"Political correctness is killing us." @VanHipp #Brusselshttps://t.co/dsFeGajQEJ
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) March 22, 2016
Do: Solicit the opinions of experts — namely, counterterrorism professionals, those with experience in law enforcement, academics (preferably university professors, not think tankers) who study terrorism for a living, etc.
Don’t: Solicit the opinion of Donald Trump:
If you are an elected official or candidate for elected office:
Do: Repeat any of the items from the above list of things to do. People are looking to you for leadership. Act like a leader. Give your followers good advice.
Don’t: Give people a reason to scream internally when they see people wearing head coverings:
.@tedcruz responds to #Brussels attacks: pic.twitter.com/ADKxS3PzI2
— FOX & Friends (@foxandfriends) March 22, 2016
Do: If there are policy changes we could make that would make attacks like these less likely, say so. Preferably, say so while explaining the tradeoffs we would be forced to make with said policy changes.
Don’t: Use attacks that were likely carried out by citizens of the country in question to call for immigration restrictions:
Attack in Brussels is the fruit of bad immigration policy, Cruz says
— Tim Mak (@timkmak) March 22, 2016
Follow these very, very simple instructions, and we should get through this without spurring violence against our neighbors or launching another ill-advised ground war in the Middle East. Sound good?
