In the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks in Paris, thousands of people superimposed the French flag on their Facebook profile picture. I did, too.

Then, soon after, posts started appearing with reasons why people should not put up the French – or any – flag on their profile when such events happen. The main reason was that we should put up the flags of any nation where terrorist acts take place and that would mean changing very, very often.

This reasoning is intrinsically flawed because showing support for one people does not automatically mean that you do not support another. I put the French flag up on my profile picture not only in solidarity with the French people, but importantly with their way of living because it is also my way of living. The terrorist attacks were aimed at disrupting this very essence of the way Europeans live their lives. That is why I, as a European, wanted to show my support.

In this same month there were numerous other attacks – in Iraq, Lebanon, Mali, Palestine, Israel, Egypt, Somalia, Chad, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Bosnia. The list for the whole year is impressive. They are all tragic, and include uncountable dead. I feel for every single child, parent, brother and mother killed. And most others do, too.

But when you get hit on home ground, everything takes on a different perspective.