We are becoming more and more scared. Images of terror attacks influence our daily decisions. A friend of mine gets nervous when he has to travel past an airport by train, and another friend surprised me by telling me that this year he stayed home during gay pride. Several people have told me of times when they crossed the street to avoid a nervous looking man with a Middle-Eastern appearance carrying a backpack. According to recent research by Statistics Netherlands (CBS), more than 25% percent of Dutch citizens are occasionally scared of becoming a victim of a terror attack in the Netherlands.
During the past years, a number of terrifying attacks has taken place in Western Europe. From a rational point of view, the chances of dying in such an attack are negligible: infinitesimally smaller than dying in a traffic accident. But it feels different. The apparent randomness and landmark locations like London Bridge make us feel that it might as well have been us who were the victims.
It is understandable that politicians talk tough after a terror attack, especially since the legitimacy of the government, which is tasked with taking care of its citizens, is at stake. "Enough is enough", said Prime Minister of the United KingdomTheresa May says 'enough is enough' after seven killed in London Bridge attack Theresa May after the third attack on their soil within a few months. According to her, internet companies can no longer be sanctuaries for extremist content, the police must have more extensive powers, and punishments for terrorism must be made more severe. Action is being taken in the Netherlands as well. The Senate approved a bill that gives the secret services a dragnet surveillance power. In the near future, the secret services will be able to eavesdrop on large numbers of innocent citizens. These measures and the usual call for vigilance appear to be aimed at reducing the symptoms instead of solving the problems. Everyone understands that it is impossible to always be able to prevent someone from driving into a crowd. Paradoxically, these measures claim victims of their own: innocent citizens are accused of crimes they did not commit and we restrict our own liberties.
Examples abound: The hipster-members of a Swedish beard clubThese Aren’t the Beards You’re Looking For that were contacted by the police because they, like ISIS, had a black flag. The alleged explosives'Explosieven' waren shoarmakruiden in the home of a terrorism suspect that turned out to be shoarma spices.