Sustained terror normalizes precaution until fear becomes habit

Evidence

In Algiers, c’est la terreur…. One can no longer distinguish the brave from the cowards. Unless, as a result of living in fear, we have all become insensitive and unaware. Certainly, I don’t want to die and I absolutely do not want my children to die, but I am taking no particular precaution beyond those which have become habit over the past fortnight; limitation of going outside, expeditions to buy “in bulk”, an end to the visits of friends. But each time one of us goes out, on his return he describes an incident or reports a victim. — Horne, Alistair, A Savage War of Peace- Algeria 1954-1962, 1583

Categorization

• DEFINE: Feraoun’s journal defines what ‘living under terror’ actually felt like — the diurnal texture of fear normalized.
• FICTION: This is a ready-made first-person voice for any fiction set in a collapsing order — the paradox of ‘insensitive and unaware’ from fear.
• XREF: connects to: Defense mechanisms can persist after their original trigger disappears — Frantz Fanon, Constance Farrington, Black skin, white masks, 748; Living under looming war requires adapting psychologically to permanent low-grade dread — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 138; Terrorism fear uniquely suits political manipulation because it resists quick fixes (+12 more)

Related

• Ritual persistence reflects chronic paranoia in the protection trade (similarity 0.82)

Broader Connections

• Living under looming war requires adapting psychologically to permanent low-grade dread #corroborates (0.70) — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 138
• Terrorism fear uniquely suits political manipulation because it resists quick fixes #expands (0.60)
• Manufactured terrorist threats serve governance by keeping citizens fearful and quiescent #exemplifies (0.60)
• Collective fears can reshape group behavior in ambiguous situations. #expands (0.55) — Cohen, Stanley, Folk devils and moral panics, 647
• Perspective shifts can transform fear into relief. #qualifies (0.55) — Leo Tolstoy, A Confession, 221
• Fear can trap individuals in hopeless situations. #exemplifies (0.50) — Leo Tolstoy, A Confession, 53
• Domestic war on terror functions as a manufactured spectacle of fear rather than safety #exemplifies (0.50) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 484