Real life is more than just a headline

By now you’ve likely read about the bombing that took place a few days ago in Suruc, a Turkish town on the Syrian border. The authorities have arrested a suspect, and news reports are explaining the complexities involved in the case.

My wife and I were in Istanbul shortly after the bombing and witnessed demonstrations that took place in that city’s Taksim Square. Thousands of placard-carrying protestors marched past the hotel where we were staying, their chants filling the air for hours.

Unwilling to engage my inner Tom Clouse and join the crowd, I remained a bystander, watching. And it was only later, when the maitre d’ of the hotel restaurant where we were eating hurriedly began closing windows that we learned the demonstration had turned violent.

“Pepper spray,” he said.

BBC and other services reported that the police employed firehoses, too.

The next day, not a sign of the event could be seen. Life resumed as normal, and we caught a ride to the train station so that we could travel to the western Turkey city of Eskisehir.

Of course, nothing will ever return to normal for the people who lost loved ones in Suruc. The world can be such a willfully violent place.