Yes:” human beings can have an impact on broader, existing, ingrained perceptions. The Christian Science Monitor reports that the often (unfairly) tarnished image of the U.S. military in Europe is on the upswing, and part of the reason is the actions — and reactions — of the unarmed Americans on that train who sprang into action to tackle and beat down a suspected terrorist:
“Behaving like military” can be a loaded comment in Europe. Twelve years after the US invaded Iraq – to the outrage of many European nations, first among them France – the political impact still reverberates. Just recently Jeremy Corbyn, vying to lead the Labour Party in Britain, said that if elected he will issue a public apology over Britain’s participation in the Iraq war 12 years ago.
But the instinct and steely resolve showed by three young Americans, including one US airman and a National Guardsman just back from Afghanistan, has elicited an outpouring of praise for American daring. Authorities have lauded the three and one Briton for preventing what could have been another mass terrorism event on a European train Friday night.
Already hailed as heroes across social media over the weekend, with American flags and the words “Thank you” blazing across the Twittersphere, today they were awarded France’s top honor, the Legion of Honor, at French President François Hollande’s official residence.
Perceptions are like stereotypes. They’re reinforced and exploited by people for various reasons: how easy it is to use a stereotype and how simple it is to use to bolster a political agenda. But stereotypes can be chipped away when the subject of an inaccurate, flawed or downright bigoted stereotype is seen in action, such as in the 1960s with the American civil rights movement. The actions of three young Americans (and not to be forgotten the brave European who first went after the gunman) put a focus on the stuff that they were made of and how they literally ran into the line of fire and did not hesitate. The Monitor notes:
“This Legion of Honor is representative of your courage and also your incredible act of humanity … to save those also on the train,” said President Hollande, to the khaki-clad childhood friends, Alek Skarlatos, Spencer Stone, and Anthony Sadler, who saw a suspected terrorist begin what leaders believe was intended as a rampage, and rushed in to stop it, along with Briton Chris Norman.
“Spencer and Alek, you are soldiers but here you were simple passengers … you behaved like military, but more than anything you behaved like men who defend liberty,” Hollande said.
France gave the United States the Statue of Liberty. Many years later, France got to see some Americans selflessly acting within seconds to try and defend life and liberty of a trainful of people that included many French citizens.
And the impact of this incident? To use a much overused word, it’s huge:
The US war on terror is not the natural object of affection in Europe. Europeans have been more critical than the global average of the interrogation methods used by the US, including at Guantánamo Bay, against suspected terrorists in the wake of 9/11, the latest Pew Global Attitudes & Trends survey shows. While a median of 50 percent in 40 nations oppose such practices, in Germany opposition rose as high as 68 percent. In both France and the UK, 58 percent of residents say they are against the methods.
Today, the controversies have been forgotten in lieu of a profound appreciation. “People here can have disagreements about specific topics related to the US military, be it Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.,” says Bastien Delaubert, a journalist at a bustling train station in Paris Monday morning. But “they are nothing short of heroes. It sounds like a big word, but that is exactly what they are.”
AND:
In Europe there is more support for American action than the headlines suggest, says Bruce Stokes, who is tapped into European attitudes as the director of global economic attitudes at the Pew Research Center. After recovering from an all-time low, the American public image has taken a hit from interrogation techniques and the NSA spying scandal. But it hasn’t translated into widespread distaste for the US.
“I do think that we carry around in our heads this image of everyone hates us,” Mr. Stokes says. “It is true that we have an image problem in some places, but it’s not true that we have an image problem in Europe anymore.”
In fact, many European nations have a favorable opinion of the US, including in France, Italy, Poland, Britain, and Spain. The outlier is Germany, where American spying allegations have badly damaged trust.
So changing attitudes for the better were reinforced and boosted by three young men who faced with with seemed to be the beginning of mass murder terrorism seemed to act i=on the old saying: “He who hesitates is lost.”
And there were many winners in terms of lives and perceptions — as the suspected terrorist lost.
Joe Gandelman is a former fulltime journalist who freelanced in India, Spain, Bangladesh and Cypress writing for publications such as the Christian Science Monitor and Newsweek. He also did radio reports from Madrid for NPR’s All Things Considered. He has worked on two U.S. newspapers and quit the news biz in 1990 to go into entertainment. He also has written for The Week and several online publications, did a column for Cagle Cartoons Syndicate and has appeared on CNN.