Posted: January 28th, 2017

There is a common emotion that all terrorists intend to evoke in the people they terrorize: fear. Fear is the great equalizer, and terrorists consider themselves a success if they have created fear in a population.

There is a common emotion that all terrorists intend to evoke in the people they terrorize: fear. Fear is the great equalizer, and terrorists consider themselves a success if they have created fear in a population. Fear played an important part in how residents of New York City responded to the attack on the Twin Towers on September 11th.
Initial studies conducted by the Department of Homeland Security have shown that residents of Shady Oaks, a small city population comprised of many senior citizens as well as people with disabilities, feel secure from any acts of terrorism, including catastrophic events. The feeling is unfounded, however; the reason residents do not fear terrorist threats is not because they feel prepared to react to such threats but because of the belief that their historically safe community would not be a target of terrorism.
As part of your project to improve the city of Shady Oaks preparedness against potential acts of terrorism, you must work with the mayor of Shady Oaks as well as with the police department, highway patrol, fire department, hospitals, and finally, residents to develop awareness of the possibility of terrorist attacks on Shady Oaks and the need for an emergency response plan.
The goal of this Discussion Board posting is not to develop an emergency response plan for the city of Shady Oaks, but rather, to address the concept of fear as it relates to terrorism and how people respond to fear. How will you go about creating awareness in Shady Oaks without instilling in its residents an irrational level of fear?
In your Discussion Board posting, you should do the following:
Describe why it is important to approach (with the residents of Shady Oaks) the subject of terrorism with sensitivity.
What are the possible consequences of not approaching the subject of terrorism with sensitivity?
Considering the number of elderly and disabled residents of Shady Oaks, what are some of the factors you should take into consideration about the people of Shady Oaks and their needs, and how will this affect your approach?
Outline your plan to rationally initiate communication with those in Shady Oaks about the possibility of terrorist attacks, as well as the importance of being prepared for a catastrophic event rather than simply responding to an event.
Would you organize a town hall meeting and address any concerns there, or would you work only with the mayor and police and fire departments and trust them to convey the information to the public? Would you circumnavigate these trusted community members and opt instead to use your status as a representative of the Department of Homeland Security to go door to door and talk to each citizen? Why or why not?
Why do you think your method of approach is the most appropriate? Be sure to support each of your responses to the aforementioned questions with valid reasoning. 700 words ….