Terrorism: the media scandal

If there's one big mistake the media are making these days, it's the mania for reporting at length on the background and identity of terrorists. Indeed, on the very day an attack is committed, investigative journalists are quick to pick out the name of the culprit, as well as his or her general details (where he or she lives, where he or she comes from, criminal record, etc.). Perhaps I'm going to surprise some of you, but who cares about his or her surname?

A first name would suffice, it would put a label on the terrorist so that we could then talk about him or her. A surname has the effect of linking the individual to his parents, brothers, etc. So why include it at all? So why include it at all, if not to further bruise the entourage of this scoundrel, who is often radicalized under the influence of the Internet rather than his loved ones?

Even worse are the programs we are offered a few days later, which retrace the life of the terrorist in question almost month by month. What good does it do to know that the poor man didn't get good grades at school and that, to top it all off (was he?), he was attracted to both men and women?

All this «journalism» seeking to sketch a robot portrait of the would-be terrorist is a real scandal, because it leaves out the most important thing: anyone - your neighbor, your colleague, your son serving mass - can the next day slit a little girl's throat in the name of Allah. That's the only thing we should remember about the identity of terrorists.

Write to the author: jonas.follonier@leregardlibre.com