Terrorism 101 - Why it's Time for Women to Stop Skipping Over This Topic

Ever find yourself glancing over a headline or article in a newspaper or magazine and then immediately turning the page? Something inside your brain screams "SKIP!"

I know I do it when I think a topic isn't relevant to my life or is too complex for me to comprehend without earning a Ph.D. in the field. I'll also "SKIP!" if it's a subject I can't imagine myself discussing with other mothers at my daughter's school, with friends over dinner, or at a cocktail party.

Let's be frank. Most of us upon seeing the subject 'terrorism' would mentally go "SKIP!" But what makes us feel safe and complacent is also what keeps us in the dark.

If I put two pieces of information in front of you that helped you to

• picture yourself in a commonplace situation in which an act of terrorism could occur, and
• easily comprehend the roots of terrorism with clear explanations and concrete examples

would you ignore the impulse to "SKIP!" and instead read them both?

One is a blog post and the other is an article written by my colleague and friend, Amy Zalman.

The first tells of the 10th anniversary of the bombing of Omagh, a picturesque small town in Northern Ireland. The blast claimed 29 lives, 14 of them women - one pregnant with twins. Over 300 people were injured, including a young girl who was blinded. Amy links to an article in the Guardian which revisits that day through the eyes of a man who drove to Omagh with his wife and daughters so that one of the girls could buy brown shoes for school. We learn from the father, Kevin Skelton, that one family member was unhurt, one had half her face blown away, and one died instantly - all because of a simple shoe shopping expedition.

The second explains, quite simply, the two causes of terrorism - and as Amy says, "This explanation...may be difficult to swallow. It sounds too simple..." yet it made perfect sense to me. She also points out that asking what causes terrorism is a question we'll never be able to answer, and that a better question is, "What are the conditions in which terrorism is most likely to take place?"

We'll never know if Kevin Skelton, the father and husband who experienced extraordinary loss the day of the bombing of Omagh, had the heart to examine the conditions that led to this terrorist act. Amy, on the other hand, considers this subject every day of her life:

[A]s I ask questions about terrorism...thinking in terms of 'conditions' helps me remember that people have a choice about whether to use violence.

There is nothing inside any person nor in their circumstances that sends them—like a monopoly piece headed directly to "Go"—directly to terrorism. Instead, there are certain conditions, some of which make violence against civilians seem like a reasonable, and even necessary option.

You will never find a more specific, compelling, and understandable explanation/example of terrorism than these two items (which I've linked to below.) If you've ever wanted to convert that "SKIP!" impulse inside your head to "READ!" now's the time to do it.

Related articles:

• Tenth Anniversary of the Omagh Bombing in Ireland
• The Two Causes of Terrorism