Note: This essay was written soon after the attacks in Paris in November, 2015.
I.
Essay: from the French essayer, “to try.”i
II.
Language seems to me the only place to start.
III.
According to Google Translate: I am not Paris = Je ne sui pas á Paris.
And yet: Je ne sui pas á Paris = I am not in Paris.
IV.
They say this was “an attack on all humanity,” and I find myself wondering what they mean, or rather, who they mean.
V.
A white man in Michigan says he is Paris while a Muslim mother in Paris wonders if she should send her kids to school.
#JeSuiParis ≠ Je sui a Paris.
Je sui a Paris ≠ Je sui Paris.
VI.
Bernie Sanders: “Well, John, let me concur with you and with all Americans who are shocked and disgusted by what we saw in Paris yesterday. Together, leading the world this country will rid our planet of this barbarous organization called ISIS.”ii
Hillary Clinton: “Well, our prayers are with the people of France tonight. But that is not enough. We need to have a resolve that will bring the world together to root out the kind of radical jihadist ideology that motivates organizations like ISIS, the barbaric, ruthless, violence jihadist, terrorist group.”iii
Martin O’Malley: “We must anticipate these threats before they happen. This is the new sort of challenge, the new sort of threat that does, in fact, require new thinking, fresh approaches and new leadership. As a former mayor and a former governor, there was never a single day, John, when I went to bed or woke up without realizing that this could happen in our own country.”iv
VII.
“The people who died tonight were out living, drinking, singing. They didn’t know they had declared war.”v
VIII.
Link: “ISIS Announces 6-Month Terror Campaign, Names 5 Targets – CA, VA, MD, IL, MI”
Status: “Idk if this is bullshit but my AR15 is locked and loaded if I need to protect what’s mine I will with no hesitation”
Comment: “This article is from May tho”
IX.
Clinton: “So, yes, [ISIS] has developed. I think that there are many other reasons why it has in addition– to what’s happened in the region. But I don’t think that the United States– has the bulk of the responsibility. I really put that on Assad and on the Iraqis and on the region itself.”vi
Meanwhile on CNN:
“‘Sir, the Muslim community has nothing to do with these guys,’ [Yaser] Louati [of the Collective Against Islamophobia in France] insisted. ‘Nothing. We cannot justify ourselves for the actions of someone who claims to be Muslim.’
“‘Why not?’ [CNN anchor John] Vause interrupted. ‘What is the responsibility within the Muslim community to identify people within their own ranks when it comes to people who are obviously training and preparing to carry out mass murder.’
“‘Sir, they were not from our ranks!’ Louati exclaimed. ‘We cannot accept the idea that these people are from us, they are not. They are just byproducts of our societies exporting their wars abroad and expecting no repercussions back home.’
“Co-host Isha Sesay insisted that Louati had to ‘accept that responsibility to prevent the bigger backlash’ because the ‘finger of blame is pointing at the Muslim community.’
“‘This is a very complicated issue,’ Vause said, concluding the segment. ‘I have yet to hear the condemnation from the Muslim community on this.’
“‘The point he is making is, “It’s not our fault,”’ Sesay noted. ‘But the fact of the matter is when these things happen, the finger of blame is pointed at the Muslim community and so you have to be preemptive. It’s coming from the community. You’ve got to take a stand.’
“‘The word responsibility comes to mind,’ Vause opined.
“‘It just comes to mind,’ Sesay agreed. ‘You can’t shirk that.’”vii
X.
The guy whose picture of him and his girlfriend is now sporting the tricolor makeover says it’s “tactless” to “politicize” this.
XI.
“In the course of modern times dying has been pushed further and further out of the perceptual world of the living.”viii
XII.
“Story of April Attack in Garissa, [Kenya,] Which Killed 148, Resurfaces Following Paris Attacks.”ix Resurfaces. Was obscured. Was drowning. Comes up for air. Still can’t swim.
Paris: Fluctuat Nec Mergitur—it is beaten by the waves but does not sink.
XIII.
“#JeSuisChien: Hashtag Surfaces in Honor of Police Dog Killed in Raid After Paris Attacks.”x
XIV.
“I also want to speak tonight directly to Muslims throughout the world. We respect your faith. It’s practiced freely by many millions of Americans, and by millions more in countries that America counts as friends. Its teachings are good and peaceful, and those who commit evil in the name of Allah blaspheme the name of Allah. The terrorists are traitors to their own faith, trying, in effect, to hijack Islam itself. The enemy of America is not our many Muslim friends; it is not our many Arab friends. Our enemy is a radical network of terrorists, and every government that supports them.”xi
i Graham, Paul. “The Age of the Essay.” PaulGraham.Com. September 2004. http://paulgraham.com/essay.html.
ii CBS. “Democratic Debate Transcript: Clinton, Sanders, O’Malley in Iowa.” CBS News. November 16, 2015. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/democratic-debate-transcript-clinton-sanders-omalley-in-iowa/.
iii Ibid.
iv Ibid.
v McKernan, Bethan. “Here’s What a Charlie Hebdo Cartoonist Drew after the Second Paris Terror Attack in a Year.” I100. November 2015. http://i100.independent.co.uk/article/heres-what-a-charlie-hebdo-cartoonist-drew-after-the-second-paris-terror-attack-in-a-year–Z1ZZbO3VYx.
vi CBS.
vii Edwards, David. “WATCH: CNN Anchors Berate Innocent Paris Muslim Because He Won’t ‘accept Responsibility’ for Attack.” Raw Story. November 16, 2015. http://www.rawstory.com/2015/11/watch-cnn-anchors-berate-innocent-paris-muslim-because-he-wont-accept-responsibility-for-attack/.
viii Benjamin, Walter. Illuminations: Essays and Reflections. Edited by Hannah Arendt. New York: Schocken Books, 2007.
ix Facebook Trend Headline
x Facebook Trend Headline
xi Bush, George W. “Text: President Bush Addresses the Nation.” The Washington Post. September 20, 2001. http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/specials/attacked/transcripts/bushaddress_092001.html.
This essay was originally published in The Cauldron, Kalamazoo College’s literary and visual arts journal.
Certain of Eventual Failure 