Brussels terror attacks: Why ramping up online surveillance isn’t the answer

I am in Brussels. And I am scared. Very scared... of the probable security backlash following last month’s terrorist attacks.

I don’t want to live in a city where everyone is viewed with suspicion by the authorities, because it won’t stop there. Suspicion is infectious. When misappropriated and misdirected, suspicion becomes racism and prejudice—two of the key ingredients that led the attacks on the morning of Tuesday, March 22.

ISIL is not only fighting a cultural war; it's fighting a media war. For that reason maybe we should stop talking about it as though it were a “real” war. As though there were valiant warriors on both sides. As though those responsible for the Brussels bombings are anything more than murderers, plain and simple. Truthfully, the only community the Brussels attackers belong to now is the criminal community.