After the attacks in Paris and the recent shootings in California, a lot of people are continuing to see the same thing: increasing discrimination, increasing fear and decreasing sensibility.

Take this for example: As the chaos in Paris was dying down, France’s government was already pledging to fight against the evils of Da’ish (ISIS) in the Middle East. This was before the legal process had been completed and before it could definitely be proved that they were from Da’ish but France was already getting itself into what I see as being a long and protracted conflict that they will fine difficult to get themselves out of.

After a couple of days, it became clear that the attacks were committed by people affiliated with Da’ish and it looked like France had made the right call. France was increasing it’s air presence, making the opposition to the terrorist group look a bit more formidable.

But what’s going to happen? Inevitably, Da’ish will lose ground, chased away from the land they’ve gained in the last few months. They’ll find a country and take refuge, perhaps with or without their leader. A couple of the more motivated countries will continue a war against the group in their last territory and perhaps, some many years later, will finally hand off the job to the local army.

As Da’ish is pushed back, the Alliance’s forces will leave behind them disenfranchised and disgruntled locals, attempting to put their lives back together. Many of their family members will be dead, Alliance military outposts will abuse the vulnerable and the power vacuum will begin to breed a carbon copy of the very thing that the Alliance is fighting right now. Fueled by anger at the West for leaving them in this state and aided by the weapons left behind, a new group united by religion will form, ready to take on the countries that had caused their pain. And it will begin again.

This exact same thing has happened multiple times before. This is what formed Da’ish in the beginning, what formed Al-qaeda, what formed the anti-Western sentiment that the West now has to deal with.

The root causes are simple: European imperialism and colonialism started the process hundreds of years, and Western exceptionalism continues it today. We know what’s good for them. We are democratic and modern. We are the only ones who can bring them the gifts of Capitalism.

The Middle East is one of the most oil rich areas and since it is, as far as Western nations are concerned, unclaimed, we go into there enthusiastically, invading countries, deposing democracies, financing dictatorships and signing treaties. We act in ways we never would if they were Western countries but they’re not so it’s all fine.

European imperialism opened the wound in the Middle East. Once they began to withdraw, the US decided it was time to get involved. The Iraq war left a power vacuum and a whole bunch of people who had a very good reason to hate the evil Western powers. And you’ve got to admit, if you weren’t from a Western country, you would think that too.

Why is this? Why do Western countries constantly invade others, treating the local civilians like they’re children and need to be brought to see our Western ways? First it was religion, now it’s oil, democracy and Capitalism. Why?

It’s because we’re not thinking. We have all the power, all the weapons, all the force, the force of markets, the military force, the force of being so big. We want to use it and when we see a problem we don’t think. We just do.

All our problems right now are birthed from the fact that humans are reactionary. If country X invaded your city today, took it over, installed a new government and abused you, your friends and your family, you would react. You would fight against them if you could, you would protect your relatives and those you care about and if a new uniting force came along, be it a religion or an ideology that presented the opportunity to overthrow the oppressors and revenge yourself upon them you would join it.

And when a terrorist groups attacks your country, killing civilians and hostages, you feel insecure. What are you going to do? What if that were to happen to you? How can you stop that? Of course you would want your country to go to war with the perpetrators, destroying them lest they kill any more innocent people. Of course you would let your government put through draconian security legislation. You can’t stop and think about what you’re doing and saying and buying into because the threat is so great.

And this will keep happening. This exact loop, over and over again, repeated endlessly as the oppressed try to gain recognition and respect and the terrified attempt to protect themselves. It will just get worse, more people will die and the divide will deepen until it is no longer possible to heal it.

We need to stop that now. We need to stop and think.