Cats: they do a lot for us. They kill our mice. They wake us up 10 minutes before our alarm’s supposed to go off. And now they fight terrorism. Or at least our obsession with cats helps fight terrorism.
As Belgium launched several counter-terrorism operations this weekend, the Police Federale requested communications silence from citizens in their capital of Brussels. Yet there were still those who took photos of ongoing operations and posted them on Twitter with the hashtag #BrusselsLockdown.
Belgian citizens began to flood this and similar hashtags with cat memes. It was an attempt to bury any useful intelligence from being easily recognizable on Twitter. Anyone looking to glean information about what the Federal Police were doing would have to sift through thousands of cat memes to do so.
It’s also an example of a country maintaining its humor in dire circumstances. By Monday, schools and public transit remained closed. Authorities continued conducting operations to curtail what they called a “serious and imminent threat.”
Instead of police movements, Twitter showed storm troopers riding hovercats, kitty snipers, and a surprising number of cats licking beer bottles.
Stay inside they said. #BrusselsLockdown pic.twitter.com/hpAfV417Hf
— Julia Reda (@Senficon) November 22, 2015
BREAKING NEWS : Belgium Police using the new 200mph Hovercat during terrorist operations #BrusselsLockdown pic.twitter.com/MnIpiOZT3x
— Jayce le Satirique (@jaycelight) November 22, 2015
This, dear outsiders, is how we fight terrorism here. They haven’t got a chance! We haz kittens! #BrusselsLockdown pic.twitter.com/sdq1MbrKsz
— Gilles Bordelais (@Gilles_PPDE) November 22, 2015
Exclusive picture of the man the police is looking for #BrusselsLockdown pic.twitter.com/9dHN9gA4yw
— Florence (@flowindey) November 22, 2015
It’s amusing, it’s useful, and it may also be one of the strongest weapons citizens themselves have in fighting terrorism. After all, what is the goal of terrorism but to make us live in and act out of fear? Letting terrorist organizations like ISIS influence how we conduct our lives already gives them power to change who we are. So fight back with cats and whatever else works to keep our own lives our own. Cats included. As a thank you, the Belgian federal police tweeted back their own thank you: a giant bowl of cat food.
Voor de katten die ons gisteren geholpen hebben… Alsjeblieft! #BrusselsLockdown pic.twitter.com/QlwY9EtzEZ
— Federale Politie (@FedPol_pers) November 23, 2015
Would you do the same thing, or would you be glued to the news? Would you post images of an ongoing operation, or hunker down with your favorite cat memes?