Wednesday, May 18, 2016

The Bataclan terror attack, from the stage


During the Paris terror attacks last November, the single worst atrocity was at the Bataclan theater, where the music group Eagles of Death Metal was performing.  Now the lead singer of the group has spoken about it in an interview with Taki's Magazine.  Here's an excerpt.

They were in the venue early. That implies some staff were in on it.

I got in a lot of trouble for saying that. I know for sure that they were in there early. I remember them staring at my buddy. I just chalked it up to Arab envy. You know what I mean? When a Muslim sees a cocky American dude with tattoos, he stares at him. I realized later it was Abdeslam and he was staring at my buddy because they thought he was a threat. There’s no denying the terrorists were already inside, and they had to get in somehow. During the shooting I went outside and the backstage door was propped open. How did that happen?

. . .

I’ve heard you say you credit your childhood with your survival. You had a real dad who stuck around and taught you about guns.

I knew what gunfire was. I was able to think through it. I was also able to remember practical lessons of my life because I had to be in fights as a kid. My mom didn’t go sue anyone. I didn’t have playdates. I had some practical upbringing growing up in the desert where you got to get yourself out of your problems.

Also, the reason I’ve done well with this healing process is everything I was raised to believe was affirmed that night. In a way, that’s a blessing of God. When the first bullets started being fired, people looked at me. I remember that. It pissed me off because I knew right then and there it was going to be bad. I knew these kids had no idea what was coming. None. They’d never heard a gunshot in real life and it hit them so hard.

. . .

You went to the hospital?

I had pieces of teeth and human bone pulled out of my face. A girl got shot right next to me by the shooter at the top of the stairs who I had met earlier. She stepped one step in front of me and her head just exploded. It blew pieces of her teeth and skull into my face.

. . .

Do you think a percentage of the security staff was Muslim?


I know they were. Look, security guards backstage are notorious for being dicks. They check your ID every few minutes and nobody goes back and forth without being checked, even if you’re in the band. This guy didn’t care what we did. He didn’t even look at me.

The only time he seemed remotely interested in us was when he said to my girlfriend, “Do you speak French?” and “Where are you from?” She said she was from Texas and he was getting frustrated because that’s not what he meant. Then she said, “I’m American” and he lost interest. I honestly think he was trying to determine if she was Arab or not. She’s Mexican and she could easily pass for Lebanese and I think he was going to warn her if she was Muslim.

. . .

Maybe one of the reasons the cops are so much more pragmatic about this threat is that they are the ones who have to go into Les Banlieues and confront these people. Naïveté is a luxury they can’t afford.

When the cops went in after the attack, they shut down, what, 450 mosques? They found recruitment material in every single one of them. What the **** is wrong with us that we don’t know about that?

There's more at the link.

In view of what is, in my opinion, the absolute certainty that more such attacks are coming, I highly recommend reading the whole interview.  There are lessons to be learned that might save your life someday, or the lives of your loved ones.

Peter

7 comments:

Y. said...

He has already said that once, then took it back.

It's all weird. Witness statements and cameras say they entered just before shooting.

Jonathan H said...

Many concert venues in the US have security and prohibit concealed carry - I won't go into them; fortunately the closest 2 venues to me don;t have those rules, so I wait until people I want to see are there. An added bonus is that tickets are cheaper and parking is far easier due to the size of the host city.
One thing to keep in mind: Whenever you are in a dark place with lots of people (concert, church, festival) carry a good flashlight - light makes most situations better, whether it is an injury, something dropped, or dealing with unruly people.

Anonymous said...

I've been waiting for attacks similar to bataclan and beslan that haven't happened in the US by now but thinking more about it, I'm less surprised. In one respect, given the existing 5th column that exists in the US and the floodgates that have been opened legally and illegally that exponentially increases the threat, it's somewhat surprising that it hasn't happened. I surmise that they're waiting for a larger base of support to infiltrate more areas of the country before beginning their campaign. After all, if your enemy has propped open the gates and is actively encouraging and assisting you in setting up enclaves and bases of operation in his nation then why queer the deal by shooting up theaters and schools now? To make him move a few thousand troops out some godforsaken desert shithole in Asia that's bleeding him dry economically? Why do that when you can simply move in your own people to his territory with his willing assistance and in the long term simply outbreed and take his county from him.

I think they probably realize, more than most Americans do, that the US is a nation in terminal decline. They know that all they have to do is increase their numbers peacefully and when the inevitable collapse comes they'll be in a better position vs the other factions fighting for dominance. If they have any brains they'll play the long game and keep their hotheaded splodeydopes occupied with things elsewhere.

SiGraybeard said...

It says a lot to me that to get a real story of what happened there you need to go to a heavy metal musician. Are people going to say he wasn't an eye witness?

The fact that he's a gunnie and raised in the country probably saved his life. Just note what he talks about: he knew where he was and he knew where the exits were. Situational awareness. His assessment of the guards and his girlfriend sound like things I've heard before.

Will said...

Y:

Just because they entered shooting doesn't mean they weren't in earlier, to scope out the situation. You don't want to walk in blind when intending to do what they did. Getting first hand intel prior to action is the gold standard. Some of them may be stupid, but certainly not all of them.

I notice that the Colombian drug guys that were illegally carrying concealed pistols during the cafe shooting didn't get much coverage in the media.

Y. said...

@Will

That is apparently someone's clever hoax..

http://www.elconfidencialdigital.com/seguridad/Narcos-yihadistas-misiles-sucesos-Paris_0_2603139669.html

sharpenedaxe.com said...

A couple of news outlets have reported that some companies in France hosting concerts this summer have cancelled TEODM being on their rosters because of these comments. I'd like to say that people need to pull their heads out of the sand, but it goes far, far beyond that now.