Terrorist attack raises the issue to a new level

May 23, 2017 | 11:00 AM

KAMLOOPS — The bombing at the Manchester Arena last night is a new level of terrorist escalation in my view. At this writing, the Islamic State group has claimed responsibility for the attack, but there has been no evidence presented yet. That may change.

In any event, this is a different kind of terrorist attack. This attack is not just a random device planted on a road somewhere in the Middle East, or an attack on a market place, or the Boston Marathon, or some federal building in Oklahoma. While those attacks are horribly tragic — and they are, make no mistake about that — this attack hit hard at the heartstrings of people everywhere: women and children. The attackers would have certainly known that those attending the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester were largely teenagers, children and their parents, most often their moms. It was targeted for a big effect, near the merchandise area where crowds often flock at the end of a show to pick up a souvenir if they’ve enjoyed the performance. Young kids begging their mom for a shirt, or the kitten ears Grande is famous for.

The youngest victim identified so far is 8, but young or old, the 22 victims and scores injured are victims of a hate crime perpetrated by a group bent on creating fear. And that they have done. And not just in places like Manchester, where security was apparently pretty tight. British security forces have been operating on a high alert level for some time, expecting some sort of attack. But even then, this bomber, or bombers as the case may be, slipped through the net and created havoc.

And the question now is, how does a world already worried about security, react? Do we hide away and not go anywhere? Do we keep our kids from going to any shows? Because of the targeted nature of this attack, it would make any sane parent think twice.

And if it can happen in Manchester, it can happen anywhere. It could happen here just as easily. In fact, if someone were to target a city in the Interior, I dare say security would probably not be as tight as it was in Manchester, and so it’s quite possible you could have a death toll equally as great as Manchester.

But is that the way we are going to live our lives? Do we let those acts dictate how our lives are lived going forward? That’s what the terrorists are hoping. No question that’s the fear they are trying to create. While I’m all for security, and you won’t hear me grumble about getting my backpack checked or going through airport security searches, there comes a point where you have to decide whether to succumb to the fear, thinking that you’re protecting your children, or defy the urge to live your life in a cave. Tell the Islamic State group they’ve won, or live your life as normally as you can in a world that has moved in a drastically different direction for all of us.

These terrorists have shown us that if they really want to do damage, they are tough to stop. How are we going to live our lives with those threats facing us? That’s the decision we are all faced with as we try to come to grips with another senseless tragedy.