Updates
Sunday morning has seen two attacks, one in Marseille, France, and one in Edmonton, Canada.
In France, per Reuters:
"Two women were stabbed to death and their assailant shot dead by soldiers in the southern French port city of Marseille on Sunday in what police sources described as a “likely terrorist act”.
Three police sources said the suspect had shouted “Allahu Akbar” (God is greatest) as he carried out his attack at Marseille’s main railway station."
And in Edmonton, per CNN:
"Canadian authorities say two incidents in Edmonton are being investigated as acts of terrorism after a man struck a police officer with a car before stabbing him and later plowed a truck into pedestrians on a busy street, injuring at least four people."
An ISIS flag was found in the car used to ram the crowd.
At this stage, the attacks do not seem to be related.
Social Media Conversation
Currently, the conversation is more focused on Marseille than on Edmonton, despite the fact that Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau has called this an act of terrorism. The conversation about France is largely being led by Islamophobes, who are linking the violence to religion because the attacker shouted "Allahu Akbar," though the assailant has not yet been identified. Secondary tweets are describing police at the scene.
President Trump's tweets are currently focused on North Korea and Puerto Rico, but it is possible that he will weigh in to claim this as another reason for an expansion of a Muslim ban.
Talking Points
- In Canada, Prime Minister Trudeau has called this a "terrorist attack," but has asserted the strength of his country's diversity. In his statement, Trudeau has said, " "We cannot — and will not — let violent extremism take root in our communities. We know that Canada's strength comes from our diversity, and we will not be cowed by those who seek to divide us or promote fear." These are the words of strong leadership, which continues to stay firm with the courage of our convictions.
- President Trump will claim that this is yet another reason to expand his discriminatory Muslim ban, but we will not be manipulated into being divided by fear. Strong leadership maintains conviction in our values in the face of fear, and knows that our strength lies in our ability to come together. Leadership that gives into fear and cowardice seeks to divide us by implementing irrational "solutions" that are not only discriminatory in nature, but also do not make us safer.
- While those who carry out attacks of mass violence are few, we are many – when we as a community of rational, thoughtful humans condemn violence in all its forms in the strongest way possible, when we see the patterns that undercut all acts of mass violence from Charlottesville and London to France and Canada, we can create common sense solutions with lasting impact.
- Violence isn’t owned by any one faith or political ideology – it is a tool that the weak use to make themselves appear strong, and to assert power over a world in which they feel powerless. To justify bigoted policies against an entire faith group in the wake of such an attack is manipulative, and we will not give in to this kind of reckless leadership. We will stand together with our neighbors of all faiths and all colors, we will protect each other from violence, and we will show irresponsible leaders what true leadership looks like.
- We will not use these attacks to block much-needed aid and support to refugee communities. True resilience is continuing to treat each other with dignity, fairness, and respect, pushing past the ugliness of our fear to have real impact against what often paralyzes us.
- As we reinforce our national security here in the United States, we must do so strategically and thoughtfully. We must base national security investigations on evidence and by looking at the personality patterns that exist in all those who commit acts of mass violence, rather than single out an entire group of people because of their faith, the color of their skin, or their nation of origin.
- We need to start pushing past our fear and be smart about how we tackle an epidemic of mass violence. Any national security investigations must be based on evidence, and when we look at mass violence as a whole instead of parsed out by perpetrator’s religion or ideology, we can see the patterns that will help us find common sense solutions. We will not single out an entire group of people because of their faith, the color of their skin, or their nation of origin.
