Toronto van attack: A caution about how we see ourselves

Earlier this week, there was a terrible tragedy in Toronto as a man killed ten people and injured 14 others as he drove his van into pedestrians on Yonge Street (click here to read more).

Today, the name of one of the victims, who worked at Earl Haig Secondary School (where I have spent some time supervising a student teacher), was released. Her story, having worked only a single day at that high school and being a single mother of a seven year old, is heart-wrenching. To read more about the victims click here.

Yesterday and today, after some of the initial shock of the attack has abated, I have been amazed at how "self-congratulatory" people have been about how individuals/Toronto/Canada has reacted. I have sensed a "we're better than others" ... the police officer who arrested the man did not shoot him, news agencies deliberately delayed associating the attack with terrorism, and, on social media, people confronted those from outside of Canada who tried to conjure up connections with multiculturalism, religion, and terrorism.

I am proud of how we as Canadians generally responded to this horrible incident.

But...

I'm also concerned that we are patting ourselves on the back and making it seem like no other city (or country) that has been involved in an attack such as this has not reacted in kind. I'm guessing that there are many in Norway (2011 car bomb attack in Oslo followed by an attack at a summer camp)  who also responded as we did in Canada. I think many Londoners would say that they have experienced multiple such attacks (2017 London Bridge, 2005 bombings) and have jolly well carried on. How about those in Nice in 2016?

For that matter, are there not many in countries which are under constant threat of attack who also respond in ways that seek peace?

We have experienced a terrible tragedy in Canada. Yes, I am proud that we did not immediately jump to conclusions that contribute to "uber" militarized and politicized responses. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. We are not that different than others around the world who are reasonable, peace-seeking peoples. For that, we should be thankful.