I disagree with one particular in Heather Mac Donald’s polemic in City Journal on the pundit reactions to the mass murder in Manchester last week. Here’s the passage in question:
No, the terrorists will have failed if they can no longer slaughter children. They don’t care if a terror attack is met with candlelight vigils; they care if border restrictions and law enforcement make it impossible to destroy lives.
I believe that reflects a grave misconception about these acts of terrorist violence, a misconception held by conservatives, libertarians, and progressives alike.
We are not the audience for whatever the perpetrators are trying to accomplish with these atrocities. We and the actual victims are merely set pieces. The audience they’re trying to reach is other Muslims, particularly other Muslim extremists. The audience they’re trying to reach is their own tortured consciences. The audience they’re trying to reach is their God.
What we do, how we react, what we believe doesn’t make a whit of difference to them.
