At least 84 people, including 2 Americans, were killed in a suspected terror attack on France as the country celebrated Bastille Day. A lorry loaded with weapons and hand grenades drove on to a pavement in Nice more than a mile before police shot dead the driver. The killer was a 31-year-old French citizen born in Tunisia. He was said to be known to police but not on a terror watch list. This is just another attack in what has been a shocking month of attacks, terrorism, shootings, awfulness,

Yesterday, I took part in a satire interview pinning Muslims against the LGBTQ community, and one of the questions asked of me is "What can we do to stop this madness?"

I gave my canned response of partnership and getting to know one another, but a part me can’t help thinking – I really don’t know!

There are so many factors that keep piling on one after another. So many fingers to points, so many people to blame.

The driver was Tunisian. Does his attack have anything to do with France's colonial rule in Tunisia from 1881 to 1956? One cannot compare the situation in America to Europe, where decades of colonization have left its toll on the society and community.

Sadly America has it’s own issues of racism, hate and oppression to deal with. In one startling week we saw three devastating attacks in Dallas, Minnesota and Baton Rouge.

All these are awful. All of these are wrong. All of these are vicious and should be condemned; however, when can we move past the blanket statements of condemnation to have a real conversation about what is going on.

How do we have the real conversation that years upon years upon years of power hungry maneuvers have left us in a state of chaos. How long can we sweep under the rug the irrational fears bred by those struggling to maintain power, and how eventually things are going to catch up. Can we have these honest conversations without being labeled traitors, terrorists, unpatriotic?  

As a child of the 80s, I grew up watching "The Cosby Show," and there was this one episode that keeps playing over and over in my mind. It was about a story that youngest daughter Rudy wrote. In her story there were two worlds of people, where one decided to attack the other. Causing sadness and devastation, the little girl in the  story steps up and screams out "STOP!"

Everything and everyone froze. And that was the end of the story. When asked by her parents about the ending – she said that was it. The little girl stopped and everything stopped. I only wish we could see that happen in the real world. 

Reflection by Marium F. Mohiuddin, ICUJP Board Member