Moved to tears, Paris Atrocity

[Horus]

It is not often that I am moved to tears, but today was an exception.
I was working away in my garage with the radio on as usual, a news item regarding the recent Paris terrorist attack came on. At one point they played a speech from the husband of one of the people murdered by these sub-humans, it was the spoken word which I cannot copy here, only the text, but listening to him speaking these words the tears filled my eyes for him and his little boy. Please take a minute to read what he said as he addressed the terrorists:

"Friday night, you took an exceptional life – the love of my life, the mother of my son – but you will not have my hatred. I don't know who you are and I don't want to know, you are dead souls. If this God, for whom you kill blindly, made us in his image, every bullet in the body of my wife would have been one more wound in his heart.

So, no, I will not grant you the gift of my hatred. You're asking for it, but responding to hatred with anger is falling victim to the same ignorance that has made you what you are. You want me to be scared, to view my countrymen with mistrust, to sacrifice my liberty for my security. You lost.

I saw her this morning. Finally, after nights and days of waiting. She was just as beautiful as when she left on Friday night, just as beautiful as when I fell hopelessly in love over 12 years ago. Of course I am devastated by this pain, I give you this little victory, but the pain will be short-lived. I know that she will be with us every day and that we will find ourselves again in this paradise of free love to which you have no access.

We are just two, my son and me, but we are stronger than all the armies in the world. I don't have any more time to devote to you. I have to join Melvil who is waking up from his nap. He is barely 17-months-old. He will eat his meals as usual, and then we are going to play as usual, and for his whole life this little boy will threaten you by being happy and free. Because no, you will not have his hatred either".

[LovelyLadyLux]

Very poignant and touching words. That man is very strong and in that he is unique. I doubt I would be.

[Grandad]

Very poignant and touching words. That man is very strong and in that he is unique. .

I agree entirely.........

There were also some very moving scenes at Wembley last evening for the France v England match. Many British fans did a gallant effort to sing La Marseillaise along with the French fans and Wembley was bedecked with tricolors.

[Horus]

To listen to him was a lesson in staying strong, he was not cowed by their actions, his grief was apparent, but he was not prepared to let their actions destroy his life any further and his utter contempt for what they had done in the name of their God shone through in his words.

[Jayway]

I think these celebrations of death started with Diana. By now I find them totally boring, its certainly more of a european thing. I suppose the western lot have more money for lights and flags and flowers - - -

[Horus]

I find your comments regarding this man very strange Jay, here was a man who had lost his wife and who would be left to bring up his 17 month old baby on his own and without its mother. What he was saying was that he would not be beaten by their act of barbarity, that they had not won, they had not beaten him, he was not going to cringe and hide from them, he would continue to live his life despite their attempts to instil fear into everyone and that their twisted beliefs were not those of the god they purported to believe in. I will say no more on this particular subject.

[LovelyLadyLux]

When you drive into Seattle you do, from the Interstate, get a very beautiful panoramic view of the city skyline complete with Space Needle, Inner Harbor etc. It was more than beautiful with all the various office buildings and Stadiums lit up in the French Tri-Colours.

Another thought - I have quite a thought that IF ISIS took one of mine I would not be cowed but I do believe I would be consumed with an angry hate that would cause me to go after them. It would be within me to want to get them back and retaliate. I quite admire this mans strength to say what he said.

[Horus]

LLL, this man realises that he is powerless to exact revenge himself, he is not forgiving them, rather he is telling them that he will not let them have their way and cause him to live all of his life in hating them and in doing so destroy himself and possibly his child. He is making it clear that their perverted beliefs will not get them into their so called paradise because whoever their god is, he will not welcome them for what they have done, whereas he on the other hand knows and believes that his love for his wife lives on and they will meet again in whatever passes for an afterlife, Rather than forgiving them he is mocking their futility in achieving their aim of making him hate, as was their intention.

[LovelyLadyLux]

He is a much stronger person than me.

[Kiya]

Very moving, like you it drove me to tears too !

[Grandad]

I think these celebrations of death started with Diana. By now I find them totally boring, its certainly more of a european thing. I suppose the western lot have more money for lights and flags and flowers - - -

Does it not occur to you Jay that there may just be some compassion and sympathy in these acts. Most capitals around the world used their national monuments and buildings to be illuminated in the blue white and red of the tricolor to show support for the people of France. And most people on FB overlayed their profile picture with the tricolor.
Like the man who lost his beautiful wife to the extremist savages, he and we can do little as individuals to combat this scourge but we can show support, sympathy and condolence for those affected.

[LovelyLadyLux]

I think Jayway was referring not to the man himself but to the different sites where people go with flowers, candles, messages of support in the wake of a tragedy.

I think these happen as an event can be extremely tragic and people just NEED to show their support, to display their compassion, to be with other people doing the same. It is a form of venting I guess - not venting anger but a way of doing something tangible as a way of trying to express their grief for a senseless act that goes against humanity. It is a way of them showing their solidarity against an often unknown foe and being with other people doing the same offers some level of consolation.

[Horus]

My opening post made no comment on people leaving flowers, it was a direct reference to this man standing up to the terrorists intimidation and saying they would not win or force him to react to their atrocities. I agree that some of these outpourings of grief go a bit overboard, especially where celebrities are involved, but showing common cause with the victims of these attacks is only expressing ones humanity which at times is sadly lacking in today’s society.

[Jayway]

Thankyou Horus, so you say it is a bit overboard. That was my point. I have seen many friends die, and the way people carry on after, amazing. They never cared when the friends were alive. Very little could move me to tears, certainly not people. As for putting a french flag on my pages, very strange, another sheeple thing I think. All the problems the french have caused with the tunnel, trucks stopped for days, drivers attacked. Go back a few years, they really did well in the war didnt they.

[Horus]

No Jay, I agreed that the practice of leaving flowers and candles ‘could’ go overboard as in the case of celebrities, I did not say that I agreed that the speech made by this man was overboard, there is a difference.

[Jayway]

Not the man, Horus . . . the general attitude.

[Grandad]

All the problems the french have caused with the tunnel, trucks stopped for days, drivers attacked. Go back a few years, they really did well in the war didnt they.

What on earth has that got to do with 129 people being mowed down by these sadistic killers? I don't care what nationality they were but is it really boring to express sympathy? I thought we were humans with feelings?

And what has using your golliwog as a football got to do with the theme of this thread?

[Horus]

Mmm, I do think that this thread has maybe strayed a bit far off topic from what I had originally intended. We do seem to be in two camps over this with some expressing sympathy and others being indifferent to the event, so I reckon it is better to put and end to it here before it gets personal. I will not lock the thread as that would be imposing my personal position on the subject and look to be stopping further comment, which I am not.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Well - my final thought is that Father is/was an incredibly strong man with an incredible outlook on life and death given his attitude. He is something I could only aspire to as I don't know I could be that strong in the face of the terrible tragedy he personally experienced and given his life situation of now raising a baby solo. This is a man who spoke some very profound words as he shared his own grief and loss.

Thank you for sharing these words with us Horus.