Discussion Board – Week 6
During the ongoing terrorism battle, the Government has disrupted several terrorist plots that were very close to being launched. One of the issues facing emergency managers is deciding when it is most appropriate to notify the public. As you can imagine, this is a very controversial subject, trying to balance what the public needs to know and what the public should know. The assessments must weigh the desire to protect citizens versus the risk of unnecessarily alarming the public, potentially distributing the economy, and upsetting public/elected officials. How do you balance these competing interests? Is it more important to share information as a precaution and risk alarming citizens or wait until an event occurs and respond according to the incident?
Week 6 Discussion: Terrorism Battle
Terrorism battle has a negative impact on people’s lives. It is a difficult situation for the government to choose the actions that should be taken during a terrorist plot whether they notify the public about the same or should not alarm the same to public because it can disturb the economy and, upset the public as well. It is essential to balance such incidents. The terrorist plot is an alarming situation and the government should find out whether and needs to convey it to the public or not. In certain cases, the government should alarm the public about the same they should provide the precautions and make the preparations so that a panic situation does not take place. Panics and chaos are the significant factors created after such alarm (Zhenfang et al. 2021, p.5). After alarming the situation, the government should provide the proper precautions to make the public safe
According to my perception and belief, it is essential to inform the public about the situation rather than wait for the incident to occur. If the public has the information related to the situation, then they can be cautious of terrorism. It is correct that panic can take place, in case of alarming the public about the situation, but it is the safest thing that the government can do. The chances of happening the incidence cannot be decided in the present so alarming the public is the better option. Notifying the public helps the citizens to acknowledge the situation that can take place, and they can be mentally prepared for the same in advance and have the time to make the necessary decisions for themselves.
Suppose the situation is not informed previously and the incident has taken place. In that case, it will be very difficult for the government to handle the situation properly and to provide guidance to the public (Birdoğan & Abuasad, 2020, p.165). The public will also get traumatized due to the situation, and there are chances that they might not be able to handle the issue and will be in fear of danger. Ignoring the public about the same will help the citizens cope with the situation and be ready to handle the situation. If the information is not there about the same, the public will not understand how to handle the situation, and the management will also be unable to do the same. It is because the public has various questions related to the issues that have taken place, and if they do not get the answer to their question, they will get more tension and fear of the same. The situation will not be in their hands or out of control. So, it’s better to inform them the same, though they can get panicky or upset, they will be prepared for the same.
In case no information is given to the public. In that case, it will be very difficult for the government to handle the situation properly and to provide guidance to the public (Birdoğan & Abuasad, 2020, p.165). The public will also get traumatized due to the situation, and there are chances that they might not be able to handle the issue and will be in fear of danger.
References
Birdoğan, B. A. K. İ., & Abuasad, N. (2020). The evaluation of humanitarian supply chain performance based on balanced Scorecard-DEMATEL approach. Alphanumeric Journal, 8(2), 163-180.
Zhenfang, X., Wei, W., Jingzhuang, P., Jun, W., & Xuyang, Q. (2021, December). Design of a cooperative prevention and control platform for low, slow and small threat. In 2021 International Conference on Cyber-Physical Social Intelligence (ICCSI) (pp. 1-5). IEEE.
