French Dad Explains Paris Terror To His Toddler – Video Explaining Power Of Flowers And Candles Gets 15 Million Views [Video]
When a French dad explains the Paris terror to his toddler son, the internet gets a rare glimpse of the resilience not just of the nation, but of humanity as well. A short video of a father underlining the importance of remembering the victims of the terror attacks that rocked Paris last week to his son has gone viral.
A heartwarming video of a young French dad explaining why random people mourn the death of victims of Paris attacks has garnered almost 15 million views on Facebook alone, reported the New York Daily News. The ability to help the boy understand the power of flowers and candles against automatic weapons and bombs isn’t easy. However, the French dad, interviewed by a reporter from France’s Le Petit Journal, has offered one of the simplest, most powerful reasonings behind unfamiliar strangers mourning the deaths of innocent people by placing flowers near the venues where the attacks occurred and holding candlelight vigils to remember those who died in the brutal acts of violence.
The video is a conversation between a very young boy and his father. The child had told the reporter the attacks were conducted by “bad guys” who were “not very nice,” reported Mass Live.
The toddler, identified as Brandon Le, who is just a preschooler, insists on abandoning France and going away from the violence that rocked Paris last week. He is justifiably worried that his family will now have to look for alternate accommodations, preferably far away from the terror. Though any concerned father would accept the same, at least as one of the options, this particular father doesn’t support the notion. Instead of flatly refusing his toddler son, he manages to teach him a valuable lesson about the power of humanity, love, and compassion.
This dad explaining the Paris attacks to his young son is precious and sad and very French. https://t.co/9BO3RKKoCd pic.twitter.com/MK0VoXKLyA
— someecards (@someecards) November 17, 2015
The boy justifies his thinking with an argument saying there are bad guys with guns. These men won’t hesitate to shoot since they are “really really mean daddy,” he says. The father then calmly replies that they aren’t moving. He adds that “there are bad guys everywhere” and an attack on Paris isn’t a reason to move out. Then the father says something so beautiful, it proves why Paris is called the “City of Love.”
The father says, “It’s okay, they might have guns but we have flowers.”
The confused toddler asks if the flowers and candles can truly protect humanity against the barbaric terrorists and their weapons.
His skepticism is quite apparent when he says, “But flowers don’t do anything.”
To this the father replies, “Sure they do,” and he points out to a number of people who are laying flowers. His sincerity merely accentuates his statement,
“[The flowers are] to fight against guns.”
The conviction in the father’s voice causes the boy to merely ask if flowers and candles can protect people against guns. To this father says, flowers and candles help us remember the victims.
“[Flowers are] to remember the people who are gone yesterday.”
The father, who explained why people have been responding to gun violence with peace rallies, flowers and candles, has been identified as Angel Le, reported USA Today.
Tips for talking to kids about the #ParisAttacks https://t.co/AeSbnNaZVf pic.twitter.com/7C7Qt7ZAoS
— WTOP (@WTOP) November 19, 2015
He identified himself on Le Petit Journal’s Facebook page and thanked all the supporters saying, “When I see all this support that tells me one thing: I’m proud to be French and proud of my fellow countrymen.”
The devastating Paris terror attacks claimed the lives of at least 129 people on Friday. Following the attack, France stepped up its airstrikes on Syria, where ISIS is active. Twenty bombs were dropped within 48 hours of the Paris attacks. While the airstrikes were taking out ISIS operations in Syria, the police in Paris conducted overnight raids on suspected ISIS operatives.
Despite the violence, the French dad’s explanation of Paris terror and how candles and flowers too can serve as weapons has managed to give hope during violent times.
Here’s the complete video in French.
[Photo by Antoine Antoniol/Getty Images]
