Susie O’Brien: Don’t let the terrorists win by stopping children from attending concerts
PARENTS should not stop kids going to pop concerts after the Manchester tragedy, because it lets the terrorists win by stopping us from living our lives, writes Susie O’Brien.
Susie O'Brien
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- Rita Panahi: Time for prayers and hashtags is over
- Patrick Carlyon: Innocents lost in Manchester carnage
PARENTS should not stop kids going to pop concerts after the Manchester terrorist tragedy.
We can’t let the terrorists win; we can’t let them stop us from doing what we want to do.
We’ll be nervous. We’ll probably be more over-protective than we might otherwise be. We might even think twice.
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But let’s not stop our kids having fun merely because of this horrible act overseas.
These days, terrorist attacks and threats are a way of life. We have become used to hearing about attacks in far-off places. Sometimes, as in the case of the Sydney Lindt cafe siege, the tragedy is close to home.
Although this attack occurred 16,000km away, it hit home for many parents in a way other attacks have not because it occurred at a kids’ pop concert.
The faces of these kids looked familiar: they could have been our daughters and sons. The adults could have been us.
The details of those who died tell much about this terrible crime: they include eight-year-old Saffie and 18-year-old Gina, who met Grande herself last year.
Footage shows children and adults clutching pink balloons screaming and crying as they tried to get out of the stadium after the bomb went off.
Eyewitnesses told of children lying in pools of blood on the ground as others rushed to escape. I can’t imagine the sheer terror and panic.
Afterwards, around 50 children were taken to a nearby hotel as officials tried to reunite them with their families.
Also affected was every person witnessing the carnage and terror, along with those whose loved ones are still missing, presumed dead.
It’s horrible to think that such a rite of passage now has such negative connotations. What’s more enjoyable than a teen or pre-teen going to their first proper concert?
It’s also awful to think that some parents will now weigh up the risks and decide that going to concerts is too unsafe. I respect this decision, but it saddens me.
This is the way terrorists control us. They make us do their work for us by making us afraid to live our normal lives.
Although we do need to be mindful that the world is not as safe as it used to be, we must carefully weigh up the risks with the reality.
In this country, the official level of terrorism activity is still only “probable” — the middle of five categories of risks.
It’s two levels higher than it should be, but at least there are no specific alerts covering upcoming events.
Sadly, it’s the world we live in now, and we all have to do the best we can to keep our kids strong and safe. Making them scared of daily life is just letting the terrorists win.
Susie O’Brien is a Herald Sun columnist
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