The World is Going Mad

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I awoke to hear of the awful news of the events  in Peshawar yesterday. Seven Taliban attackers wearing bomb vests cut through a wire fence to gain entry to a Peshawar’s Army Public School, which has a mixed cohort of boys and girls from civilian and military backgrounds, before launching an attack on an auditorium where children were taking an exam.

Gunmen then moved from room to room at the military-run school, shooting pupils and teachers at random where they found them in a siege that lasted eight hours. Eventually, all seven of the attackers were killed, and hundreds of people were evacuated. In total, at the time of writing, at least 132 children and 9 staff were killed.

This follows the siege in Sydney earlier in the week, where two civilians were killed after being held hostage, along with seventeen others, at a Lindt cafe in the city.

The world is going mad.

Tonight, my thoughts are with those who have lost their lives and those who have been affected by the tragedies…

11 thoughts on “The World is Going Mad”

  1. It is utterly horrifying that we have become so used to seeing such things happen! The fact that this is still shocking (to some of us) is perhaps a good sign, perhaps we are still redeemable as a race. But until tolerance enters our heart, you are right the world is going mad.

    I also extend my condolences to the families affected.

  7. These events are terrible. I was in Sydney that day. But they are not new and not a sign of worse times. There were always bad people doing bad things hurting innocents. And there always will be unfortunately. Just like there will always be liars and cheats and adulterers and murderers and thieves.

    But there will always be good people too. People who give their lives to try to protect others like the manager of the Lindt Cafe, Tori Johnson. People who don’t judge a person by their religion or colour or where they came from (even if some individual of that characteristic does a terrible thing). That’s the thing I want to remember about these tragedies (and the racial conflict in the US).

    Racism won’t end until white stand up against it. Sexism won’t end until men stand up against it. Religious bigotry won’t end until we all stand up against it. The best thing we can do is stand up and be kind. I love the fact the #illridewithyou hashtag came out of it.

  8. I have had it with extremist nutters who claim that their atrocities are carried out in the name of their faith. They are acting as individuals, and very sick ones at that. What God would demand bloodshed and the cowardly assassination of children? They are acting as individuals, and very sick ones at that. They don’t represent muslims.

  9. Thanks for you kind and thoughtful comments. People here in Sydney are numbed – looking for explanations. There are wonderful tributes. Analysis and media dissection (ohmygod).
    For the people of Pakistan, whatever must they be feeling! Not for the first time children are targeted.

  11. This makes me think of the song, “Mad World,” though I don’t remember who wrote it or performed it.

    “I find it hard to tell you
    I find it hard to take
    The people run in circles
    It’s a very, very
    Mad World.”

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