ACTC News

Wish I am in Paris

Je suis Français, je n’ai pas peur — I am French and I am not afraid.

It is maddening to read people cancelling their trips to Paris because of fear of more terrorist attacks. Terrorists try to sow fears with their random attacks. If we are cowing to these threats, they will have won.

Love is stronger than hate — the majority of us are not afraid and in fact are more resolved to stand-up and be strong. The day after the attack, a musician, Davide Martello, drove from Berlin, pulled his portable piano by bicycle to the crime scene, and then played John Lennon’s Imagine. Davide is not afraid.

Rick Steves of PBS wrote:
“As for how to respond to terrorism, I believe we owe it to the victims of this act not to let the terrorists succeed in terrorizing us. Sure, it’s natural for our emotions to get the best of us, especially given the drumbeat of sensational media coverage. But to me, responding appropriately to terrorism means responding intelligently and rationally.

Remember: There’s an important difference between fear and risk. We must not let our fear cloud our ability to assess risk. I’m sure that many Americans will cancel their trips to Paris (a city of 2 million people) or the rest of Europe (a continent of 500 million people), because of an event that killed about 130. The terrorists are happy when we ignore the math (and the tiny odds of actual danger), and let our decisions be driven by fear. Well, I’m not in a mood to make them happy… It remains my firmly held belief that one of the best ways for Americans to fight terrorism is to keep on traveling.”

Wish I am in Paris,
Tony Le, ACTC President

Colophon

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