On Monday, May 22nd at 10:33pm local UK time, police and emergency services responded to calls reporting victims of an explosion in the town of Manchester, England. This happened right after a concert of pop artist Ariana Grande. According to the Manchester Evening News, 22 people were killed and 120 injured after a bomb exploded in the foyer of the venue, between the arena and Victoria Station.
Ariana Grande performs pop music. You don’t have to be fan of hers or of pop music in general to see what this means. A concert of hers, attended by young fans expecting an evening of fun should be one of the furthest things from any political stance, from any religious extremisms, from any demonstration of hate. And yet, they were targeted because they were vulnerable. After the rage and the sadness and the grief, there’s a dangerous question we’re asking ourselves now. What do we do now? What can we do?
I know politics have to necessarily be involved in the solution in the long run. There’s a balance of both security and diplomacy here. I lean on the side of a cautious balance where racism and religious intolerance are NOT fought with racism and religious intolerance. I’m not for carefree open borders either. Law and order are necessary in the world we live today. In the short run, vigilance is essential. In the long run, I just hope diplomacy wins. It’s a complicated world to navigate.
Ariana Grande has the right idea. She’s gone ahead and visit the surviving victims of the Manchester attacks and she’s one of the artists participating in a charity concert today (June 4, 2017). Joining her on stage will be Miley Cyrus, Justin Bieber, Katy Perry, Coldplay, Usher, Pharrell, Little Mix, Robbie Williams, Black Eyed Peas, Niall Horan and Take That. The benefits of the concert will go to the victims.
Additional security will be in place. The price of freedom might just be eternal vigilance, at least for now.
Stay safe.
The Swift Agency 