When it comes to acts of Islamic terror, the word senseless is both banal and dangerous
F
ew words succeed in being both vapid and dangerous at the same time. As a response to tragedy, the perfunctory Thoughts and Prayers message favored by a certain type of politician is merely vapid; grating in a trendy, right-on way.
“Shocking, absolutely tragic — thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers,” the big political beasts pronounce over the latest tragedy, before roaming on surefootedly across the moral high ground.
But when it comes to acts of Islamic terror, the word senseless is both banal and dangerous. It distorts and trivializes deliberate acts of religious violence as inexplicable eruptions of randomness.
Look no further than the response to the terror attack on Manchester’s Heaton Park shul on Yom Kippur where the word became a mantra.
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